Emerging Infectious Diseases - Plants versus Chemicals

It has long been known by doctors and scientists that bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and other disease-causing microorganisms can readily develop defense mechanisms against our prescription drugs and become drug resistant. Many have already, as is readily apparent in the news today. The common staph bacteria (Staphylococcus) has gone thru so many mutations over the last thirty years that many different strains have evolved which are now completely resistant to the eight major antibiotic drugs that were once effective against it.  There are also at least five new strains of malaria that have evolved which are now completely resistant to our gold-standard antimalarial drugs. The hepatitis virus has continued to mutate into new types and subtypes and our antiviral drugs are largely ineffective. Could plants hold the answer? Very possibly! 

The rainforests of the world are, and will continue to be, of the most utmost importance and one of the main areas where the search for new antimicrobial drugs will likely take place.  Rainforests hold the highest biodiversity and sheer number of novel chemicals on the planet.  Acre for acre, there are more species of plants, animals, insects, and even microbial species such as bacteria, fungi and viruses than anywhere on earth. It is estimated that one-half of all species on earth are found in tropical rainforests.

Survival instincts are bred in all living things. It is literally part of the cellular makeup of all species on earth. In highly mobile species like humans, animals and insects, the main survival mechanism is  “flee, fight, or hide.”  Even bacteria and virus species are considered mobile and have learned to flee or hide from immune cells and chemical agents attacking them, as well as to fight them by mutating.  With stationary plants rooted to the ground and incapable of physically fleeing from danger, this survival instinct is controlled by wonderfully complex and rich chemical defense mechanisms that have evolved over eons. Living plants have either created a chemical defense mechanism against what might harm them, or they have succumbed and become extinct.

In the species-rich rainforest there are many species of fungi, mold, bacteria, viruses, parasites, and even insects that attack and kill plants.  It is of little wonder that rainforest plants contain so many potent and active plant chemicals—they are in a constant battle for survival in an environment literally teeming with life that is constantly evolving. From the soil-borne root-rot (a virus) that attacks tender herbaceous plants, to the fungi and mold smothering the life out of huge canopy trees or even the incredible amount of insects devouring any defenseless leaf in the forest. . .  rainforest plants have learned to adapt, create chemical defenses against attack and to survive. Within this rich arsenal of defensive chemicals, many rainforest plants have been tested with antibacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, anti-mold and insecticidal chemicals with potent actions. This IS the mechanism they’ve use to survive, grow and flourish as well as to fight the many disease-causing organisms that attack them.   It is likely that within these diverse chemicals created to protect the plants from disease, at least a handful of highly active chemicals can and will be harvested and put to the use of protecting humans and animals from the same types of disease-causing organisms.

A very interesting emerging concept is that many disease-causing microorganisms can pretty easily adapt and mutate to become resistant to a single chemical, but. . . it would be much harder and take much more time for it to create a defense mechanism against numerous different chemicals simultaneously.  Unlike a single chemical drug, a single medicinal plant can contain up to 400 different chemicals or more— many of which can have active biological properties. Could this hold the answer?  Very possibly!.  For example: a rainforest Indian shaman’s “dysentery remedy” was evaluated a few years back by scientists. It was a crude plant extract that contained seven plants.  Now, one must remember; a dysentery diagnosis in the Amazon could be attributed to any number of different bacteria, amebas and even parasites in contaminated and communal food and water supplies found and shared in the close communal living environments of indigenous groups. The Indian shaman doesn’t have the ability to send blood or stool samples to a laboratory to find out which specific organism is causing the dysentery in his village, but he must still select the appropriate plants to treat his patients. Maybe this is why a shaman usually selects a handful of plants (about 4 to 7) to brew into a plant-based remedy, instead of just one.  When the seven different plants in the dysentery remedy were analyzed, at least twelve different known antibacterial chemicals, five anti-amebic chemicals, and seven anti-parasitic chemicals were found between all the plants in the shaman’s formula. Of the twelve different antibacterial chemicals in the extract, there were at least five different biological pathways of action which the plant chemicals possessed to kill bacteria.  Based on just the chemical content of the plant extract and the number of different dysentery-causing microbes that were susceptible to these chemicals. . . the shaman didn’t really need to know which microorganism was the culprit in what main-stream medicine would call his “shot-gun” approach. But... his shotgun was loaded with a thousand or more individual plant chemicals that had at least 31 active chemicals which hit the top 10 or so main microbes that might cause dysentery—and it was effective!  Imagine a conventional practitioner sending his patient home with 31 prescriptions. . . not likely!

But let’s go back to that interesting concept. . . If this particular dysentery-microbe was a easily-mutating bacteria like Staphylococcus; how likely would it be that this one organism could survive long enough to create a defense against 12 different antibacterial chemicals coming at it and in at least 5 different ways simultaneously? Not very likely.  That’s why, sometimes, plants really can be better than drugs.  These drug-resistant strains of bacteria are certainly more prevalent in first world nations which regularly employ single-chemical antibiotics than in poor tropical countries where mainly plant-based remedies are used. Maybe it will take a broadly-scattering “shotgun” to fight these tricky and quickly mutating organisms, instead of single chemical bullet.

As more of our gold-standard single-bullet drugs become less effective to newly developing strains of drug-resistant bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites; we will probably see more interest and research on medicinal plants, herbal based drugs and traditional remedies. Much of this research is taking place in the rainforests of the world.  The following rainforest plants (and/or their chemical constituents) have been identified through laboratory research to possess antimicrobial actions. For more information about these rainforest plants and the research conducted on them see the online Tropical Plant Database  or they can be found in my book, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs.

Antibacterial:
The rainforest plants documented with antibacterial actions are: abuta, ajos sacha, amor seco, anamu, andiroba, avenca, bellaco caspi, bitter melon, Brazilian peppertree, cat’s claw, clavillia, copaiba, cumaseba, embauba, erva tostão, fedegoso, gervâo, guacatonga, guaco, huacapu, macela, matico, mullaca, mulungu, mutamba, pau d’arco, picão preto, sangre de grado, sarsaparilla,  simarouba, tamamuri, ubos, and vassourinha.

Ten  of the most potent of these rainforest plants were formulated into one product that was sold in capsules and called Amazon C-F. It was also available in non-alcoholic liquid extract formulated for children called Amazon C-F Extract.  This glycerine liquid extract was also used topically on the skin for various skin infections.  Between the ten plants ingredients (cat's claw, amor seco, fedegoso, picão preto, mullaca, clavillia, simarouba, Brazilian peppertree, gervâo, and bitter melon) in these products there are at least 14 known chemicals that have been documented with antibacterial actions. There were also 8 different antiviral plant chemicals between all the plants that were active against common upper respiratory viruses.  C-F stood for Cold-Flu and it has been used for colds and flu effectively for over 15 years.  I've also personally used it for many other types of bacterial infections, here, and in my rainforest travels with remarkable results.

Antiviral:
The rainforest plants documented with antiviral actions include abuta, ajos sacha, amargo, anamu, bitter melon, Brazilian peppertree, carqueja, cat’s claw, chanca piedra, clavillia, erva tostão, huacapu, iporuru, macela, matico, mullaca, mutamba, pau d’arco, picão preto, sangre de grado, simarouba, ubos, and vassourinha.

Nine of these dynamic antiviral rainforest plants were formulated into a product called Amazon A-V  that was once sold by Raintree. Between these plants (which included a blend of bitter melon, clavillia, mullaca, jergon sacha, carqueja, amargo, chanca piedra, mutamba, and anamu) there are at least 11 documented plant chemicals with antiviral actions. The formula was also available in a topical formula for the skin that was called Amazon A-V Topical.

Anticandidal & Antifungal:
The rainforest plants that have been documented as active against fungi, yeast, candida and mold are anamu, avenca, bellaco caspi, Brazilian peppertree, clavillia, copaiba, cumaseba, guaco,  jatoba, matico, mulateiro, pau d’arco, picão preto, piri-piri, sangre de grado, tamamuri, ubos, and vassourinha.  All of these plants can be found in the Tropical Plant Database.

I formulated two products using twelve of these potent rainforest plants called Amazon A-F Capsules and Amazon A-F Topical (used topically on the skin and nails).  They contained jatoba, Brazilian peppertree, anamu, bellaco capsi, matico, piri-piri, pau d'arco, ubos, fedegoso, tamamuri, guaco, and graviola. The liquid topical formula also contained sangre de grado and copaiba oil, both documented with potent antifungal properties.  Between these plants, there are at least 19 documented antifungal and/or anticandidal plant chemicals.

Antiparasitic & Antiprotozoal:
The rainforest plants documented with actions against parasites and protozoa include amargo, anamu, andiroba, bitter melon, boldo, carqueja, epazote, erva tostão, fedegoso, graviola, guaco, huacapu, piri-piri, quinine, simarouba, tamamuri, and ubos.  More information on each plant can be found in my book or in the Tropical Plant Database.

I formulated a blend of ten of these rainforest plants (which include amargo, simarouba, boldo, fedegoso, carqueja, quinine, erva tostão, epazote, anamu, and graviola) that was sold by Raintree and called Amazon A-P capsules. These plant ingredients deliver 14 different plant chemical which are documented to kill various parasites, protozoa, and intestinal worms.

While Raintree Nutrition is no more, these formulas still live on. Why?  Because they work!   By following the above links on the product names, you can see instructions on how to make these formulas yourself.  Most all of these formulas  are now manufactured under different herbal manufacturers’ labels in the United States, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Ecuador, and Australia/New Zealand. You can find product search links to help you find them on the pages the formula name links to above.


I hope to find some time in the next month to create a new section of this blog called "Practitioner Insights" and share more specific details how these plants and formulas have helped so many people here in the U.S. and in my travels in the Amazon jungles. I have quite a few stories to tell!  I never trekked through the rainforest without one (or more) of each of these products/formulas in my backpack.