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Chuchuhuasi Bark Powder


This product is no longer sold by Raintree Nutrition, Inc. See the main product page for more information on why. Click on one of the product search links in the left margin of this page to find other available products. You can also see the rainforest products page to find other companies selling rainforest herbal supplements or rainforest plants in general.

Indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest have been using the bark of chuchuhuasi medicinally for centuries; its name means "trembling back" which describes its long history of use for back pain.* This rainforest tree goes by several botanical names including Maytenus krukovii, M. ebenifolia, M. laevis, M. chuchuhuasca and M. macrocarpa. To learn more about this wonderful rainforest plant, go to the Tropical Plant Database file on Chuchuhuasi. To see pictures of chuchuhuasi, click here.

Traditional Uses:* as a pain-reliever, muscle relaxant, and an anti-inflammatory for arthritis, rheumatism, and back pain; as an aphrodisiac for loss of libido (male and female); to cool and balance adrenal function; to tone, balance, and strengthen female hormonal systems and for menstrual disorders, libido loss, menstrual pain and cramps; as a general tonic (tones, balances, strengthens overall body functions) and mild immune stimulant

Suggested Use: This plant is best prepared as a decoction or a tincture. To prepare a decoction: use one teaspoon of powder for each cup of water. Bring to a boil and gently boil in a covered pot for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and settle for 10 minutes and strain warm liquid into a cup (leaving the settled powder in the bottom of the pan). It is traditionally taken in 1 cup dosages, 2-3 times daily. For more complete instructions on preparing herbal decoctions and tincture extracts, see the Methods for Preparing Herbal Remedies Page.

Contraindications: None reported.

Drug Interactions: None reported


Published Research on Chuchuhuasi


All available third-party research on chuchuhuasi can be found at PubMed. A partial listing of the published research on chuchuhuasi is shown below:


Anti-inflammatory & Pain-Relieving Actions:
Sosa, S., et al. "Anti-inflammatory activity of Maytenus senegalensis root extracts and of maytenoic acid." Phytomedicine. 2007; 14(2-3): 109-14.
Honda, T., et al. "Partial synthesis of krukovines A and B, triterpene ketones isolated from the Brazilian medicinal plant Maytenus krukovii." J. Nat. Prod. 1997; 60(11): 1174-77.
Morita, H., et al. "Triterpenes from Brazilian medicinal plant "chuchuhuasi" (Maytenus krukovii)." J. Nat. Prod. 1996; 59(11): 1072-75.
Sekar K. V., et al. "Mayteine and 6-benzoyl-6-deacetyl-mayteine from Maytenus krukovii." Planta Med. 1995; 61: 390.
Bradshaw, D., et al. "Therapeutic potential of protein kinase C inhibitors." Agents and Actions 1993; 38: 135-47.
Itokawa, H., et al. "Isolation, structural elucidation and conformational analysis of sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids from Maytenus ebenifolia Reiss. X-ray molecular structure of ebenifoline W-1." J. Chem. Soc. Perkin. Trans. I 1993; 11: 1247-54.
Itokawa, H., et al. "Oligo-nicotinated sesquiterpene polyesters from Maytenus ilicifolia." J. Nat. Prod. 1993; 56: 1479-85.
Gonzalez, J. G., et al. "Chuchuhuasha—a drug used in folk medicine in the Amazonian and Andean areas. A chemical study of Maytenus laevis." J. Ethnopharm. 1982; 5: 73-7
Moya, S., et al. "Phytochemical and pharmacological studies on the antiarthritics of plant origin." Rev. Colomb. Cienc. Quim. Farm. 1977; 3(2): 5.

Antioxidant Actions:
Bruni, R., et al. "Antimutagenic, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Maytenus krukovii bark." Fitoterapia. 2006 Dec; 77(7-8): 538-45.

Immunostimulant Actions:
Nakagawa, H., et al. "Chemical constituents from the Colombian medicinal plant Maytenus laevis." J. Nat. Prod. 2004; 67(11): 1919-24.
Moreira, R. R., et al. "Release of intermediate reactive hydrogen peroxide by macrophage cells activated by natural products." Biol. Pharm. Bull. 2001; 24(2): 201-4.
Flemming, K. "Increase of phagocytosis activity by Maytenus laevis leaves and Scholler-Tornesch lignine (Porlisan)." Naturwissenschaften. 1965 Jun; 52(12):3 46-7.
Dicarlo F. J., et al. "Protection of mice against gram-positive bacteria with Maytenus laevis and other RES stimulants." Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 1964 May; 116:195-7.
DiCarlo, F. J., et al. "Reticuloendothelial system stimulants of botanical origin." Journal of the Reticuloendothelial Society 1964: 224-32.

Antimicrobial Actions:
Bruni, R., et al. "Antimutagenic, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Maytenus krukovii bark." Fitoterapia. 2006 Dec; 77(7-8): 538-45.
Kloucek, P., et al. "Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal barks used in Peruvian Amazon." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2007 May; 111(2): 427-9.
Kloucek P, et al. "Antibacterial screening of some Peruvian medicinal plants used in Calleria District." J. Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Jun; 99(2): 309-12.
Perez-Victoria, et al. "New natural sesquiterpenes as modulators of daunomycin resistance in a multidrug-resistant Leishmania tropica line." J. Med. Chem. 1999; 42(1): 4388-93.
Sotanaphun, U., et al. "Antimicrobial activity and stability of tingenone derivatives." Planta Med. 1999 Jun; 65(5): 450-2.
Martinod, P., et al. "Isolation of tingenone and pristimerin from Maytenus chuchuhuasha." Phytochemistry 1976; 15: 562-63.

Cytotoxic & Anti-tumorous Actions:
Morita, H., et al. "Antimitotic quinoid triterpenes from Maytenus chuchuhuasca." Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2008 Feb 1; 18(3): 1050-2.
Reyes, C., et al. "Biological evaluation, structure-activity relationships, and three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship studies of dihydro-beta-agarofuran sesquiterpenes as modulators of P-glycoprotein-dependent multidrug resistance." J. Med. Chem. 2007 Oct; 50(20): 4808-17.
Torpooco, V., et al. "New dammarane triterpenes from Maytenus macrocarpa." Chem. Pharm. Bull. (Tokyo). 2007 May; 55(5): 812-4.
Bruni, R., et al. "Antimutagenic, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Maytenus krukovii bark." Fitoterapia. 2006 Dec; 77(7-8): 538-45.
Nakagawa, H., et al. "Chemical constituents from the Colombian medicinal plant Maytenus laevis." J. Nat. Prod. 2004; 67(11): 1919-24.
Shirota, O., et al. "Two cangorosin A type triterpene dimers from Maytenus chuchuhuasca." Chem. Pharm. Bull (Tokyo). 2004; 52(9): 1148-50.
Chavez, H., et al. "Macrocarpins A-D, new cytotoxic nor-triterpenes from Maytenus macrocarpa." Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2000; 10(8): 759-62.
Chavez, H., et al. "Sesquiterpene polyol esters from the leaves of Maytenus macrocarpa." J. Nat. Prod. 1999; 62(11): 1576-77.
Chavez, H., et al. "Friedelane triterpenoids from Maytenus macrocarpa." J. Nat. Prod. 1998; 61(1): 82-5.
Sekar, K. V., et al. "Mayteine and 6-benzoyl-6-deacetylmayteine from Maytenus krukovii." Planta Med. 1995 Aug; 61(4): 390.
Shirota, O., et al. "Cytotoxic aromatic triterpenes from Maytenus ilicifolia and Maytenus chuchuhuasca. J. Nat. Prod. 1994; 57(12): 1675-81.

Chemicals Identified:
Shirota, O., et al. "Nine new isoxuxuarine-type triterpene dimers from Maytenus chuchuhuasca." Chem. Biodivers. 2004 Sep; 1(9): 1296-307.


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