Cecropia Tree Medicinal Use for Obesity, Diabetes Asthma, Kidney Disorder

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 304-365

One of the most interesting symbioses in the rainforest exists between the Cecropia tree and the Cecropia ant (Azteca sp.) The Cecropia trees recruit ants to live in them and protect the tree.  

The ants drive off herbivorous insects, attack herbivorous vertebrates, and remove epiphytes and competing plants.  Their wastes also provide a lot of nitrogen to the plant.   The plant provides them with housing (inside hollow stems) and gylcogen-rich  bodies.  At least, that's the simple explanation of the relationship.

The Cecropia leaf is quite popular among the Amazonian Indian tribes who use it for its anti-inflammatory qualities in the treatment of lung, kidney and rheumatic inflammations. For instance, these tribes prepare a tea made of leaves to treat respiratory problems and diabetes. 

It is further used to cure liver disorders and to stimulate menstruation. People from Trinidad take these leaves as a remedy for colds, fever, flu, snake and scorpion bites. The Palikur indigenous people resort to Cecropia leaves when they need to take care of bruises, wounds, bone fractures and mostly to clean the genitalia and relieve the pain felt after childbirth.

Cecropia is a Neotropical genus consisting of sixty-one recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees.

The genus is easily identified by its large, circular, palmately lobed leaves, about 30–40 cm in diameter and deeply divided into 7-11 lobes. The trees consist of very few branches, usually with candelabrum-like branching system. In Costa Rica, three-toed sloths are often spotted easily in Cecropia trees because of Cecropias’ open, leafless branches compared to other trees. 

Cecropia trees have a hollow trunk and branches, which are divided into a series of chambers by partitions. The tree produces special structures in velvety-brown glandular patches under the leaf stems, providing nourishment for Azteca ants, which defend the leaves.

Common nameTrumpet tree, embauba, trompettier, snake wood, yagruma, bois cannon, Yagrumo hembra, ambay, sandpaper tree.


FamilyMoraceae (Mulberry family).

Medicinal Uses

The trumpet tree or embauba is widely used in traditional medicine throughout Central and South America.Virtually every part is used – bark, roots, sap, leaves and fruit – to treat a diversity of ailments. 

Each country has different uses for extracts of this plant, such as treatment for bronchitis and snakebites in Trinidad and a cure for diabetes and hypertension in Guatemala.

Recent scientific research on the trumpet tree has shown 

• potential for treating obesity, as well as 
• bacterial infections and 
• cancer. 
• The tree is regularly used throughout the world by herbalists for treating respiratory disorders and 
• diabetes.

Suriname's traditional medicine. - 

• The leaves of Embauba are used against: albumin in the urine and 
• have a good effect on the urinary passages, 
• bladder and 
• kidney disorders.

Tea made from the leaves is used as

•  a cure for asthma, 
• cough and 
• other upper- respiratory complaints such as bronchitis, 
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), 
• emphysema, 
• pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Trumpet tree is also used to treat 

• high blood pressure, for 
• childbirth and 
• menstruation and 
• to strengthen the heart.

The other parts of the plant are also useful: 

• the bark decreases mucus, 
• the roots ease bile problems and 
• the fruit greatly soothes the skin thanks to its emollient qualities.

 In many parts of Latin America, Cecropia tea is considered to be 

• a miraculous cure for asthma and apparently it is brewed from its leaves.
• Cecropia has a beneficial effect in patients who suffer from type 2 diabetes. 

Dosage
Tincture: 1 - 3 ml daily
Infusion (herbal tea): 1 - 2 cups daily

Plant Chemicals

Trumpet tree has among its plant chemicals: glycosides; lipids; alkaloids; flavonoids; isoorientin; chlorogenic acid; tannins; resins; ambain; cecropin; cardenolid; leucocyanidin; methyl-salicylate; proanthocyanidins; ursolic and stearic acids. The latex contains an alkaloid, cowleyin.

Reforestation

Cecropia trees are common in the rainforest - and in the tropical dry forest as well.  The trees are often seen along the roadsides as well. They are related to the mulberry tree.  

They often invade disturbed areas (hence their presence on roadsides) and are considered a pioneer species.  They don't do well in the shade; in the rainforest they depend on the appearance of openings due to treefalls, landslides, fires, etc.  

They are very quick-growing and shed the lower limbs (this shedding epiphytes as well).  In addition to the ants, the Cecropia trees have a number of chemical defenses including latex ducts (which gum up the mouthparts of feeding insects) and tannins.

Kapok Tree Sacred tree of Maya Medicinal Uses as Diuretic and for Type 2 Diabetes

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 303-365

Kapok is the most used common name for the tree and may also refer to the cotton-like fluff obtained from its seed pods. The tree is cultivated for the seed fibre, particularly in south-east Asia, and is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, silk-cotton, Samauma, or ceiba.

Reforestation

The kapok tree is deciduous, shedding all of its leaves during the dry season. As its seeds are easily blown into open areas, kapok trees are some of the first to colonize open areas in the forest. The white and pink flowers of the kapok tree emit a foul odor that attracts bats. 

As the flying mammals move from flower to flower feasting on the nectar, they transfer pollen on their fur, thus facilitating pollination. The kapok tree does a great job at spreading its seeds, producing anywhere between 500 and 4,000 fruits at one time, with each fruit containing 200 seeds. When these fruit burst open, silky fibers spread the many seeds all over the forest.

Due to its content of bitter substance, kapok is not attacked by pests.

Other Names

Ceiba pentandra is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously separated in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety C. pentandra var. guineensis) to tropical west Africa. 

Medicinal Uses

Ceiba pentandra bark decoction has been used as

•  a diuretic, 
• aphrodisiac, and 
• to treat headache, as well as
•  type II diabetes. 
• It is used as an additive in some versions of the hallucinogenic drink Ayahuasca.

The seeds, leaves, bark and resin have been used to treat 

• dysentery, 
• fever, asthma, and 
• kidney disease.

• In Samoa the bark is used for asthma, while 
• in the Philippines where trees were planted, the bark is regarded as useful for fever, 
• as a diuretic, for 
• diarrhoea and 
• as a purgative. 
• It is also applied to swollen fingers and wounds, while 
• an infusion is used as mouthwash.

• decoction of the flowers is given for constipation and 
• an infusion of the leaves is used for coughs, 
• hoarseness, 
• catarrh and 
• uterine discharge. 
• The tender young leaves are used for gonorrhoea, as are the tender tap roots, which are also used in cases of dysentery. 
• The unripe fruit is demulcent, emollient and astringent so useful to soothe the mucous membrane in cases of bronchitis and so on. 
• A decoction of the roots is given for diarrhoea and chronic dysentery while 
• the gum from the bark is astringent and styptic so good for wound healing. 
• It is sometimes given in milk to children who have diarrhoea 

 Clinical studies have shown that the stem bark has liver protective properties and the tree has antioxidant properties, (leaves and stem bark) while root extracts have been found to have anti-diabetic properties.

Plant pacifies 

• vitiated pitta,
•  wounds, 
• ulcers, 
• skin diseases, 
• hemorrhoids, 
• urinary calculus, 
• cystitis, 
• inflammations, 
• cough, 
• bronchitis and 
• dark discolorations on face.

Useful part : Resin, Leaves, Bark, Thorns.

Folclore

According to the folklore of Trinidad and Tobago, the Castle of the Devil is a huge kapok growing deep in the forest in which Bazil the demon of death was imprisoned by a carpenter. 

The carpenter tricked the devil into entering the tree in which he carved seven rooms, one above the other, into the trunk. Folklore claims that Bazil still resides in that tree

Mayan Culture

In Mayan myths the kapok tree was sacred. They believed that the souls of the dead would climb up into the branches which reached into heaven.

Capirona Tree Cure for Diabetes and Cancer

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 302-365

Nombre común (Spanish): 

Capirona

Scientific name: 

Calycophyllum spruceanum

Capirona (Calycophyllum sp.) is among the most important trees in the lives of

 Amazonian people.  It grows over 100 feet tall, high enough to emerge above 

the main canopy.

The capirona tree turns deep red and sheds its bark twice a year  to get rid of parasites. 

This tree avoids lichens, fungi, epiphytes and lianas, by getting rid of its bark. Once or twice a year it sheds off its bark entirely. The smooth green bark underneath is kind of like a sunburnt human! Look around you and compare its smooth, baby like bark, against the rest. 

The older the tree, the more of its bark will be unpeeled, creeping up its trunk. It flowers between march and april. It fruits between july and November. Seeds are dispersed by the wind.

This tree can grow to the forest’s canopy and reach a height of 30 metres. It has a very distinctive appearance due to its smooth and shiny bark. It has the ability to completely shed its bark, which changes from a vibrant green to brown colour depending on the time of year. It is common to find Capirona trees growing close to one another.

Extremely resilient and flood resistant, the Capirona produces small,  white flower and long seed pods with 3-5 seeds inside. 

The bark is commonly brewed into a salve which is rubbed on the skin, forming a thin coating that helps fight the effects of aging, parasites, and fungal infections.  The bark is also effective in treating diabetes. Peruvian tribes commonly use Capirona decoctions to treat fungal infections of the skin as well as certain skin parasites that are commonly found in the Amazon Basin.

Medicinal Uses

This tree is commonly used by the Kichwa, Kukama and Tikuna tribes for its medicinal properties. 

The bark is used for 

• cleansing wounds, 
• cuts and burns, due its 
• anti-bacterial qualities. 
• It also has anti-fungal and 
• anti-microbial properties, 
• used for treating skin conditions. 
• The bark is used for treating wrinkles and patchy skin. 
• It is believed to help the skin rejuvenate, as does the bark of this tree. 
• It has been used in the cosmetic industry for its ability to prevent wrinkles, 
• remove discolorations and scars. 
• Also an antioxidant, and known to be used as a repellent and insecticide.
• The bark is also effective in treating diabetes.

It has small perfumed white flowers. 

This tree is a sacred teacher plant and used by shamans for its curative/spiritual qualities. 

• It can be used as part of a shamanic dieta or as an 
• admixture to Ayahuasca.
• Capirona has a very light energy that can brighten dark moods. 
• Connect to this tree to help combat negative energies from other people or the environment. 
• The essence can make your energetic body slippery, like the bark of this tree, so that negative energies slide off. 
• The colour of Capirona's energetic medicine is lime green, representing the tree's distinctive bark. 
• This colour is refreshing and invigorating.

How to use it?

A bark decoction is used topically for 

• eye infections and 
• infected wounds as well as 
• for skin spots, 
• skin depigmentation, 
• wrinkles and scars. 
• It also stops bleeding quickly and 
• is often applied to bleeding cuts and 
• to soothe insect bites and 
• reduce bruising and swelling. 

The resin is used for 

• abscesses, and 
• skin tumors.
•  A tea made from the bark is used as a lotion after bathing. This forms a thin film covering their bodies believed to help fight the effects of aging, parasites and fungal infections

A bark decoction is also used to treat diabetes. 1kg of the bark is boiled in 10 liters of water until 4 liters remain. It is believed that if this decoction is drunk every day (about 5 ounces daily) for three consecutive months that it is a “cure” for diabetes.

• Peruvian tribes also apply the powdered bark to fungal infections of the skin. 
• They also prepare a bark decoction to treat skin parasites – especially “sarna negra” – a nasty little bug that lives under the skin which is commonly found in the Amazon basin area.

Calycophyllum spruceanum grows in the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru

Links

http://web.horacemann.org/pages/faculty/pictures/amazonpage6.htm
http://www.thesacredscience.com/blog1/chazuta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j0dzcEBRdk