Amor Seco - Desmodium adscendens

What I first noticed when looking at the new research on amor seco is what I see quite often on many plants. As soon as scientists figure out and publish their research on what kind of disease or condition the plant works for, they then shift to studying what chemicals are in the plant that might be providing these benefits. The research on the plant stops and the research on the chemicals begin.

Most of the new research on amor seco is on just two chemicals found in the plant which many of its beneficial actions are now attributed to. One is named vitexin and the other is named D-pinitol. Both chemicals have wide-spread biological activities, and both are present in amor seco in sufficient quantity to attribute the plant’s documented action to the chemical’s biological activities. Both chemicals are providing these activities in pretty low dosages.

Amor seco does have one more important active chemical called dehydrosoyasaponin I, which in the past, was thought to be the main chemical responsible for amor seco's ability to treat asthma.  New research on vitexin and D-pinitol indicates that all three chemicals are probably involved in amor seco’s efficacy for asthma.

Amor seco, and now, new research on these two chemicals continue to support the plant’s long history of use in herbal medicine. I used this plant in several Raintree formulas and based on the last seven or so years of published researched, I wouldn’t change a thing. I just know more about which chemical(s) is involved in getting the results I’ve seen demonstrated over the years with these formulas.

The Raintree formulas I developed which contain amor seco include:

Amazon Joint-Muscle Support - A herbal remedy for arthritis and muscle and joint injuries, pain and inflammation

Amazon Lung Support - A herbal remedy for asthma and COPD

Amazon CNS Support - A herbal remedy for pain (especially neuralgia and nerve pain)

Amazon Sinus Support - A herbal remedy for allergies

Amazon Throat-Ez Extract - A herbal remedy for coughs and sore throats

Amazon Detox Support - A cleansing herbal formula for detoxification

Amazon C-F Extract and Amazon C-F Capsules - A herbal remedy for colds and flu


And yes, amor seco works for all of these conditions! See my book or database to learn why.


There was one area of research on amor seco that was relatively new.  It concerns amor seco's cellular protective properties and antioxidant actions.  Almost all the new studies in the last 5 years focus on these benefits of either an amor seco extract/tea or on the vitexin and D-pinitol chemicals. Be sure you read about these actions in the plant database or my book. In research published in 2016 to 2018 it shows amor seco and both of these chemicals are being used in combination with various chemo drugs to protect healthy cells from the damage chemotherapy cause with dramatic results.  You can read about my thoughts on that relative shocker here.

Amor seco is available to purchase under various company's labels but it's a bit confusing to find them.  The plant is marketed under four different names... amor seco, desmodium, burbur, and manayupa.  The easiest place to find a suitable product is by searching by the botanical name at MyHerbs.net.  They carry lots of different rainforest plants and formulas and some of the above referenced formulas I created for Raintree Nutrition can be found there as well.