Croton lechleri mother tincture

The latex of Croton lechleri, a tree of the Euphorbiaceae family native to the Amazon and commonly known as “dragon’s blood” or “sangre de drago,” plays a central role in traditional Peruvian and South American medicine. Used since ancient times by Andean and Amazonian peoples, it is renowned for its healing, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and hemostatic properties, as well as for its effectiveness against diarrhea. Research conducted since the 1990s, particularly using functional proteomics, has confirmed certain traditional uses and demonstrated its immunomodulatory effect in various in vitro and ex vivo models.

Clinically, this latex has demonstrated promising anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, and chondroprotective activities, making it a potential adjunctive treatment for chronic osteoarticular conditions with an autoimmune component, such as rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis. Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which involve immune, inflammatory, and bacterial components, represent another promising therapeutic avenue. For external use, the product is traditionally used to reduce bleeding, promote healing, and protect wounds, with applications also described as a mouthwash or for vaginal use; More recently, it has been used as a supplement to conventional treatments for certain viral conditions (recurrent canker sores, HPV-related lesions).

Bibliographic references:

1. Caniguéral, S. and Sanz-Biset, J. (2015) – Ethnopharmacology in Central and South America, in Ethnopharmacology (eds M. Heinrich and A. K. Jäger), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK.

2. Dorfman P, Fischer S, Herbosch S, Marco-Chover A, Reymond PO, Reymond A. – Applications cliniques du latex de Croton lechleri, plante majeure de la phytothérapie amazonienne. La phytothérapie européenne, 2016 Juil-Août ; 93 : 8-19.

3. Jones K. – Review of sangre de drago (Croton lechleri) – a South American tree sap in the treatment of diarrhea, inflammation, insect bites, viral infections, and wounds: traditional uses to clinical research. J Altern Complement Med. 2003 Dec ; 9(6) : 877-96.

4. Risco E, Ghia F, Vila R, Iglesias J, Alvarez E, Cañigueral S. – Immunomodulatory activity and chemical characterisation of sangre de drago (dragon's blood) from Croton lechleri. Planta Med. 2003 Sep ; 69(9) : 785-94.

5. Namjoyan F, Kiashi F, Moosavi ZB, Saffari F, Makhmalzadeh BS. – Efficacy of Dragon's blood cream on wound healing: A randomized, double-blind, placebo, controlled clinical trial. J Tradit Complement Med. 2015 Jan 22 ; 6(1) : 37-40.