Let us now begin by considering what the rainforests have given man so far. I guess the ubiquitous banana and guava might reasonably be considered rainforest fruit, perhaps coffee at a stretch. But let us look a little more closely at what the local Indians have found to use from the plethora of exotic plant life that is their greenhouse home.

This kind of study is called ethnobotany and it is interesting that many of today’s prescription drugs were developed from a study of the ethnic usage of local plants. It is a fact that there are 121 prescriptive drugs used throughout the World today that come from following up local native usage. There is abundant evidence that the peoples of the tropical rainforests, as with tribes from all around the World, have acquired sufficient knowledge to utilise local plants as part of their primary health care regimes for thousands of years. But perhaps before we move forward we should take a further step backwards and consider how it is that these simple forest dwellers learned which plants had beneficial effects.

Maybe they had studied the local animals and their habits; we now gibe this topic the grandiose name of zoopharmacognacy. There are many examples, particularly of primates, using the herbs for their therapeutic effects. For example, muriqui monkeys feed on a fruit rich in compounds that promote progesterone production and thence ovulation. Chimpanzees use the leaves of Aspila species as anthelmintics. Recent studies, with the benefits of all the modern hardware and analytical tools of a 20th century laboratory, have discovered that these leaves are rich in a group of compounds called thiarubines. One of these, thiarubin A, perhaps not surprisingly, is showing promise as a nematode.

In the rainforests of Borneo the local tribesmen, the Dayaks and Iban, have studied OrangUtans chewing the leaves of certain vines during the rainy season and then rubbing the spittle on their chests. Is this a rainforest "Vick"? Quite simply, the answer is yes!

Old drugs......

There are many cases of pharmaceuticals currently in use that originated in the rainforests. Perhaps the best known of these is Cinchona officinalis, the source of the anti-malarial alkaloid, quinine. The bark of the trees was originally collected from the high rainforests of the Andes where is had been known in the local dialect at "quina-quina, bark of barks, and enjoyed a reputation for curing many fevers. It became so successful that is over-harvesting created what was undoubtedly the first conservation crisis for a medicinal plant, almost bringing about the demise of the species in its natural habitat. It seems that only by transferring germ plasm to new plantation in India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia was the species saved from long-term genetic impoverishment and possible extinction.

Ipecacuanha is another medicine of Brazilian rainforest origin. It is extracted from the dried rhizome and roots of the Cephaelis of Uragogo ipecacuanha (Brot), members of the Rubiaceae family. Depending on variety and source the roots contain approximately 2% to 3% of total alkaloids of which emetine and cephaeline are the most prominent. Ipecacuanha is a well-known emetic.

In addition to the positive benefits of plant drugs, the local Indians also gained knowledge of more malevolent species. This may be instanced by the use of the poison extracted from the wourali root (Strychnos toxifera) and locally known as curare. This was applied with great effect to the tips of arrows and blow darts. Interestingly, the highly toxic alkaloids that act as paralyzing poisons are now forming the basis of a new class of muscle relaxant drugs for use during the major surgery.

Hallucinations and quick lifts......

The feiticeiros, or Shamans of the Waika or Yanomamo Indians, who live in the high forests of the Venezuelan - Brazilian border, use a snuff, known as parika, prepared from the powdered bark of the virola tree and sucked into the nostrils through bamboo tubes during certain religious ceremonies in order to bring about a state of euphoria.

Also used by South American Indian Shamans, as a hallucinogen during religious ceremonies is Brugmansia suaveolens, a plant closely related to the Datura species, members of which have been traditionally used around the World for their psychotropic effects. More recently Datura has been growth commercially in South America as a source of the alkaloid, hyoscine.

Gaining in popularity in the sophisticated cities of the Western World is a product called guarana? This started to be popular in the late eighties at nightclubs where it was sold in capsules behind the bars to give a quick lift. A cloak of respectability now covers the herb with capsules being sold in retail chemists’ chains. It has also now found its way into several designer healths and tonic drinks such as Rio Amazon Guarana "Jungle Elixir" marketed through health shops.

Guarana, Paullinia cupanan, is a lianan-like vine that grows widely in the Amazon rainforest and has been cultivated in certain areas for many years, particularly around Luzea, near the River Maues. This stout, twining plant produces black seeds twice a year, in March/April and again in October/November. The seeds are pounded and roasted and then made into hard, chocolate colored sticks. These are then powdered when needed, mixed with water and drunk as a "tea". It was reported that the Brazilian botanist, Adolpho Ducke, could spend great amounts of time in the Amazon forests sustained solely by guarana. It has been likened to a rainforest ginseng, but this is not necessarily correct... if needed, a rainforest ginseng actually exists, as we shall see later.

The main active ingredients of guarana have been identified as tetramethylxanthine or guaranine, which on roasting is believed to convert to trimethylxanthine, or caffeine, a well-established stimulant.

......And new

There is now much work being carried out to screen rainforest plants as sources of potential cures for 20th century diseases. Shaman Pharmaceuticals, of San Carlos, California are in the forefront of this research and have initiated collaborative projects with certain Indian tribes such as the Waorani Indians of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Their success may be measured by the fact that they have brought to Phase 1 human clinical trials a new anti-virus drug, SP-303 ("Provir") within 16 months. The source plant had been used traditionally to treat diarrhea, pulmonary problems, cuts, skin irritations, rheumatism, tonsillitis, tuberculosis, coughs and flu, haemorrhoids, sore muscles and as a contraceptive. Success breeds success, and in order to protect the rainforest from over-harvesting and to make certain that there is not a repeat of the disaster that very nearly overtook the cinchona species, Shaman Pharmaceuticals has formed the Healing Forest Conservancy. This is a non-profit making organization whose charter is to maintain medical plant biological diversity and to provide a structure whereby a portion of the profits generated from commercialization of plant derived compounds can and will be distributed to countries that participate in plant collection and other collaborative activities.

So, medicinally speaking, I think we have sufficiently modern confirmatory evidence to see that the local tribes have acquired significant amounts of detailed information on the therapeutic effects of the local flora. However, unlike the Chinese, these herbal cures have not been recorded for thousands of years in the form of herbal pharmacopoeia or formularies. Indeed, the forest published herbal pharmacopoeia of the New World was the so-called Badiano manuscript of 1552. Originally in the Aztec language, Nahuatl, Juan Badiano, an Indian from Xochimilico, translated the work into Latin. There is, however, archaeological evidence that links the Amerindians with the medicinal, ceremonial and cosmetic use of herbs for thousands of years before this important manuscript appeared, but virtually all of this knowledge is only being passed down by word of mouth by successive feiticeiros within each tribe.

Just as the Amerindians traditional use of herbs for their primary health care regimes has in many cases now been verified by contemporary pharmacology, so the plethora of fruit, seeds, roosts and leaves used for native cosmetics applications are now finding functional use in contemporary cosmetics and toiletries formulations.

A selection of these is described in the following pages. All of them are now available as high quality hydroglycolic extracts foe ease of incorporation into cosmetics and toiletries formulations. For each one, a brief ethnobotanical survey is given detailing the native use of the plant; this being followed by details of the functional ingredients found in the extracts and the benefits they impart to your formulations. All of the species used are either custom wild crafted or organically cultivated in natural rainforest, with all care being taken to make certain there is no detrimental impact on their natural environment. None of the plants are subject to contamination by pesticides or fertilizers and none of the extracts have been tested on animals.

The information contained herein is accurate to the best knowledge and belief of Campo Research, and specification quoted may change without prior notice. Information contained in this technical literature is believed to be accurate and is offered in good faith for the benefit of the customer. The company, however, cannot assume any liability or risk involved in the use of its natural products or their derivatives, since the conditions of use are beyond our control. Statements concerning the possible use are not intended as recommendations to use our products in the infringement of any patent. We make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, other than that the material conforms to the applicable standard specifications.

Campo Research accepts no liability whatsoever (except as otherwise provided by law) arising out of the information supplied, the application, adaptation or processing of the products described herein, the use of other materials in lieu of the Campo materials or the use of Campo materials in conjunction with any other products.