The following is Part 2 of the article by Dr. Mowry

  

~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~

Dr. Mowry is known primarily for his efforts to bring scientific data about herbal medicine to the attention of the American public. Toward this end he has published the books entitled the Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine, and Guaranteed Potency Herbs: Next Generation Herbal Medicine, which have become standard texts in the field.

 

Dr. Mowry is Director of the Mountainwest Institute of Herbal Sciences, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Drug Detox Observations

A common thread that runs throughout early and current empirical and clinical reports of lapacho treatment is the consistent observation that the herb eliminates many of the common side effects of the orthodox medications. 

 

There is no explanation of this action, but it is so often seen that one cannot easily doubt its validity. Pain, hair loss and immune dysfunction are among the symptoms most commonly eliminated.

 

Modern Investigative Work

While scientific research on lapacho has been going on for decades, most of it is worthless from a medicinal point of view. Some of it, however, is very good, and has resulted in the isolation of several individual medicinally active constituents and in the analysis of their properties. 

 

The current interest in AIDS has stimulated renewed interest in lapacho since the herb is such an effective anti-viral substance.

 

The main problem with American research on the plant is the tunnel-vision with which the work is engaged. Without any understanding of the ultimate source of the plant's effectiveness, researchers routinely isolate what they think should be the active component and apply it is standard screening trials. 

 

The results of such research are sometimes positive, sometimes negative, sometimes strong, sometimes weak--always inadequate, by definition. It didn't surprise anyone that the trials performed by the National Cancer Institute were less than convincing.

 

And it also didn't surprise anyone when that same institute rejected out-of-hand the highly positive results obtained by many non-American researchers who utilized different methods. 

 

The self-serving tendency of the American medical/regulatory establishment to accept only its own research is indulged by the rest of the world's scientific community with polite and somewhat amused patience, as they wait for America to grow up.

 

The following is a summary of some of the effects of lapacho and/or any of its constituents that have been validated by modern research:

 

1. Laxative effect. Regular use of lapacho will maintain regularity of bowel movements. This property is undoubtedly due to the presence of the napthaquinones and anthraquinones. Users of lapacho universally report a pleasant and moderate loosening of the bowels that leads to greater regularity without any unpleasant side-effects such as diarrhea.

 

2. Anti-cancer effect. The greater part of the basic research on lapacho, both in the United States and in other countries has dealt directly with the cancer question. Obviously, this issue is of great importance. Any tendency of lapacho to ameliorate the course of cancer should be made known to all persons likely to benefit from it. The absence of side effects makes lapacho a treatment of choice even in conjunction with standard forms of therapy. 

 

The user has nothing to lose and much to gain from the judicious use of lapacho. Naturally, any and all treatment of a cancerous condition should be done under the supervision of a qualified physician. Some constituents or groups of constituents of lapacho have indeed been found to suppress tumor formation and reduce tumor viability, both in experimental animal trials and in clinical settings involving human patients. 

 

In addition, anecdotal data abounds to such an extent that to overlook its importance is to turn one's back on a potentially invaluable source of aid and health. Leukemia has proven particularly susceptible to the application of lapacho and several of its constituents. Some researchers feel that lapachol is one of the most important anti-tumor agents in the entire world.

 

"I had a large tumor in my brain. Traditional treatment produced only minor success. Then I began to use lapacho tea. 

 

After several weeks a CAT scan showed that the tumor was totally gone. The doctors couldn't believe it because they had classified my case as basically untreatable."

 

Part of the effectiveness of lapacho may stem from its observed ability to stimulate the production of red blood cells in bone marrow. Increased red blood cell production would improve the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. This, in turn, could have important implications for the health of tissues throughout the body. 

 

Also needed for oxygen transport by red cells is iron. This might explain the augmentation in lapacho's therapeutic properties when it is combined with iron-rich yerbamate, another South American plant; in fact, it is native practice to almost always combine these two plant species.

 

3. Anti-oxidant effect In vitro trials show definite inhibition of free radicals and inflammatory leukotrienes by lapacho constituents. This property might underlie the effectiveness of lapacho against skin cancer, and definitely helps to explain observed anti-aging effects. 

 

Modern science has recently uncovered the importance of free radicals in the generation of many debilitating diseases, from cancer to arthritis. These molecules are even heavily implicated in the normal aging process. Reversing their action has become big business in world health circles. 

 

Anti-oxidants, or free-radical scavengers, have emerged as premier candidates for the role of healers and disease-preventers. Among the antioxidants few have greater potency than lapacho and other constituents of lapacho.

 

4. Analgesic effect The administration of lapacho is consistently credited in reports issuing from South American clinics as a primary modality for lessening the pain associated with several kinds of cancer, especially cancer of the prostate, liver or breast. Arthritic pain has also been relieved with lapacho ingestion.

 

5. Antimicrobial/anti-parasiticidal effects includes inhibition and destruction of gram positive and acid-fast bacteria (B. subtilis, M. pyogenes aureus, etc.), yeasts, fungi, viruses and several kinds of parasites. Two troublesome families of viruses inhibited by lapachol are noteworthy: Herpes viruses and HIV's. Together, these viruses account for much of the misery of mankind. 

 

The antimalarial activity of lapacho spawned a great deal of research interest in the early decades of this century. A 1948 article reviewed the progress and indicated that the N-factors, especially lapachol, were among the most promising anti-malarial substances known at that time. 

 

Lapacho's immunostimulating action is due in part to its rather potent antimicrobial effects.

 

"I began using yerbamate and lapacho tea about 3 mos. ago. I immediately experienced a surge of energy . . . within half-an-hour I was up dancing which is pretty amazing considering I've got MS and spent most of the Spring in a wheelchair. Within 2 days I noticed a lessening of pain and muscle spasms which was fantastic . . . my urinary, bowel and digestive functions have vastly improved . . . There is no doubt that the MS has greatly improved with the herbs as I quit using them for a week and all the old symptoms return.

 

I start the tea again and they subside, I've repeated this scenario three times."

 

6. Anti-fungal effect Lapacho is often singled out as the premier treatment for Candida or yeast infections. Lapachol, N-factors and xyloidone appear to be the primary active principles.9/10 By the mid 70's the list of N-factors that inhibited Candida albicans and other fungi had grown to several dozen.

 

It would be misleading to categorically state that the N-factors in lapacho have proven antimicrobial and anti-fungal activity in and of themselves. Studies have shown that the manner in which they occur in the plant must be taken into consideration. We know, for example, that anti-fungal activity is lost when the N-factors are tightly bound to highly water-soluble or highly fat-soluble groups. 

 

It has not been clearly determined how the N-factors occur in lapacho.

 

N-factors, obtainable from various chemical supply companies, have become favorite testing agents in government/university labs due to the rise in yeast infections resulting from increased use of cytotoxic drugs, corticosteroids, antibiotics and immunosuppressant's.

 

An interesting application has been reported in which toe and fingernail fungi infections are relieved by soaking these appendages in lapacho tea off and on for a couple of weeks.

 

7. Anti-inflammatory The anti-inflammatory and healing action of lapacho extracts was demonstrated in a study in which purple lapacho extract was administered to patients with cervicitis and cervico-vaginitis, conditions resulting variously from infections (candida albicans, trichomonas vaginalis), chemical irritations and mechanical irritation. 

 

The lapacho extract was applied intra-vaginally via gauze tampons soaked in the extract, and renewed every 24 hours. The treatment proved to be highly effective. One wonders what might happen were the tampon method combined with the ingestion of strong teas. The anti-inflammatory action of lapacho might also account for its observed tendency to reduce the pain, inflammation and other symptoms of arthritis. 

 

Anecdotal accounts of complete cures are even available. As yet virtually untested in research settings, the purported ability of this plant to reduce symptoms of joint disease may be ultimately validated and added to the growing list of benefits to be enjoyed by the daily ingestion of lapacho tea.

 

"I recently had a violent M.S. attack. I lost my balance, lost vision in my left eye and had excruciating pain in my left leg. I went to bed, took the anti-seizure medication and an analgesic. I drank about 1-1/2 quarts of lapacho and mate. 

 

Within 6 hours I was up stuffing turkey. Usually these episodes lay me up for weeks. I am convinced the lapacho and mate made the difference."

 

8. Other beneficial effects Routine screenings have revealed several minor properties of lapacho that might occur if needed in certain individuals: diuretic, sedative, decongestant, and hypotensive, to name a few.

 

"I started drinking the red lapacho because I had read a testimonial letter that indicated that its daily use had been effective against the pain of arthritis. 

 

I was skeptical to say the least. Prior to drinking the tea I could not stand on a hard surface for more than 5 minutes because the pain was excruciating in my hip.

 

Since drinking the red lapacho regularly I have been on my feet for two or three hours without pain. Now the doctor tells me the tissues in my hip are regenerating!"

 

Unfortunately, space limitations preclude a lengthy discussion of all the benefits of lapacho, but some of the major actions listed above require further elaboration as follows.

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK...