Is Pau D’Arco a healthy tonic or snake oil? Pau D’Arco is all too often misunderstood and in the same breath not understood at all by most health-conscious men and women in this day and age. Let us discuss what Pau D’Arco is and is not right off the bat.
Pau D’Arco is NOT a cure-all, as deficiencies in certain minerals and nutrients can result in several health problems for many people. However, many people receive promising results from using Pau D’Arco because several symptoms of nutrient and mineral deficiency can come from the same root problems.
The Pau D’Arco, also known as Tabebuia tree is found in the Brazilian Rain forest and can grow up to 30 meters tall (approximately 98 feet). The inner bark of the tree is dried and then shredded, this is what the tea and in some cases the tinctures are made from.
Pau d’arco roughly translated to English means “bow tree”, as many Amazonian cultures have used the tree for making bows as well as its medical uses by these native people.
Throughout the 1960’s and into today there is a huge amount of research being done on Pau D’Arco and its potential medical uses. Dr. Walter Accorsi In 1967 of the Municipal Hospital in Santo Andre, Brazil Was quoted as saying “From my first experiments with Ipe Roxo, I learned two important things which, greatly encouraged me in regards to cancer: First, that it eliminates the pain caused by the disease; and second, that it multiplies the number of red blood cells. This bark is used to treat stomatitis (swelling of the mucus membranes in the mouth), ulcers in the throat, gastric ulcers, syphilitic chancres, itchiness wounds, eczema, and boils.”
Since there are many preparations related to the true Taheebo extract and sold on the market as “Pau D’Arco,” Lapacho Colorado,” the buyer must be beware, as these preparations do not have the excellent medical qualities as the true Taheebo preparation and may not be the best Taheebo extract (Tabebuia avellanedae).
The Taheebo extract contains many compounds with different biological activities and can be consumed as a nutritional supplement and be used as an adjunct to other treatment drugs prescribed by your physician in various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, etc.”
“U.S. Patent 5,663,197
Granted to Taheebo Japan Co., Ltd. on September 2, 1997.
The present invention relates to a novel compound possessing antitumor activity, and an antitumor agent comprising said compound.
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U.S. Patent 6,656,485
Granted to Euro-Pharma S.r.l. on December 2, 2003.
Products for body hygiene containing Lapacho extracts and also quercitine and possibly other quinones present in Lapacho extracts salified or whatever modified in order to make them soluble in water are described. The preparation of the above said compounds and their use is also described.
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U.S. Patent 6,875,745
Granted to Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. on April 5, 2005.
.beta.-lapachone, a quinone, is derived from lapachol (a naphthoquinone) which can be isolated from the lapacho tree (Tabebuia avellanedae), a member of the catalpa family (Bignoniaceae). Like camptothecin and topotecan, .beta.-lapachone inhibits DNA Topoisomerase I (Li, C. J., et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1993). This compound has been found to be effective against several types of cancer cells in vitro, including lung, breast, colon and prostate cancers and malignant melanoma (Li, C. J., et al., Cancer Research 55:3712-3715 (1995) and unpublished data).
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U.S. Patent 5,969,163
Granted to Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation on October 19, 1999 .
The present invention is drawn toward novel tricyclic naphthoquinone derivatives, a synthetic method for making the derivatives, and use of the derivatives to inhibit neoplastic cell proliferation. The naphthoquinone derivatives of the present invention are related to the compounds known by their trivial names as .beta.-lapachone .beta.-lapachone is a naturally occurring product which can be found in small amounts in the lapacho tree (Tabebuia avellanedae) of South America. .beta.-Lapachone may also be readily synthesized from lapachol (3), an abundant quinone which is also found in the lapacho tree.
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U.S. Patent 5,763,625
Granted to Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation on June 9, 1998 .
Lapachol (1) is a natural product known since 1858 and is the most abundant quinone found in the heartwood of several genera Bignonoceae. Its name is derived from the “lapacho” tree (Tabebuia avellanedae Lr. ex. Griseb), a tree found mainly in subtropical and tropical South America (Northern Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil). The yellow lapachol confers its color to the wood where it is sometimes visible in yellow deposits. The structure of lapachol has been known and its antitumor properties raised considerable interest in the past, having reached the stage of clinical trials. When treated with sulfuric acid it cyclizes to .beta.-lapachone (2a), also present in the heartwood of the lapacho tree. Lapachol can also be converted into 3-bromolapachone (2b), and the latter can be converted in a two-step sequence into 3-hydroxy-.beta.-lapachone (2c). The alcohol group of 3-hydroxy-.beta.-lapachone is amenable to etherification when treated with alkyl halides in dry dimethyl sulfoxide in the presence of potassium hydroxide powder. It was found that it is possible to alkylate the 3-hydroxy residue of 3-hydroxy-.beta.-lapachone without ring opening of the .beta.-lapachone structure by avoiding alkaline reaction media which are usually necessary in etherification or esterification procedures. It was thus possible to obtain methyl, benzyl, and allyl ethers (2d) of 3-hydroxy-.beta.-lapachone, as well as .beta.-ethoxycarbonyl derivatives (See Synthesis 1). In synthesis 1 and 2 R is as previously defined herein. What makes this approach attractive is that lapachol is a relatively abundant natural product. In the heartwood of the abundant South American lapacho tree, its content varies between 3% (in subtropical South America) to 7% (in tropical South America). These values should be compared with those for camptothecin (0.01% in the stem wood of C. accuminata) or in taxol (0.02% in the bark of the American western yew).
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Japan Patent 2,669,762
Taiwan Patent 092054
China Patent 092054
Granted to Taheebo Japan Co., Lted., Shinichi Ueda on July 4, 1997 (Japan) and April 30, 1998 (Taiwan, China).
Ingredients of natural bark tea TAHEEBO contain various useful elements. One of them is naphthofuran dione (NFD), a component of quinine, a coloring agent. NFD is known to play an effective role in maintaining people’s health. A research team of Taheebo Japan has confirmed that NFD can only be found in the inner layer of the bark of Taheebo trees. NFD has been patented in the USA, Japan and Chinese Taipei. In Japan, Taheebo Japan Co., Ltd. holds its patent and TAHEEBO is the only natural bark tea containing NFD. ________________
The following instructions are for preparation of a fine grind of the inner bark of the Pau d’arco tree.Mix 3 tablespoons of the tea with one quart of cold distilled water in a teapot. The ratio can be increased to 4-6 tablespoons if deemed necessary.Use only a glass or stainless steel pot. Do not use aluminum or tin containers.Once tea comes to a boil let it “low boil” for at least 20 minutes in order to allow the beneficial compounds in the tea to release.
Pour the tea through a piece of linen cloth or tea strainer.
Sweetener such as honey or raw sugar can be added for flavor. Fruit juice can also be added to enhance the flavor. ”
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