SANGRE DE GRADO (Croton lechleri)

MEDICINAL:
- Latex BLOOD OF GRADE is mainly used as wound healing.
- This plant acts against stomach ulcers, rheumatic swellings, skin diseases,
fever, vaginal discharge, cancer, diarrhea, pharyngitis and tonsillitis,
gonorrhea, hemorrhoids, malaria, tumors, anemia and stomach and
intestinal ulcers.
- It is also used as a painkiller in childbed, after a tooth extraction and as
vaginal antiseptic.

BLOOD OF GRADE has been used since ancient times in traditional medicine
as a healing external wounds effective against ulcers and other sicks

In 1989 some Peruvian and American scientists analyzed the chemical

composition of the plant and discovered the active species, which called
Taspine, which has the ability to facilitate the migration of fibroblasts in the
skin, accelerating the healing process.

DISTRIBUTION AND CULTURE

BLOOD OF GRADE has-been used since ancient times in traditional medicine

as a healing external wounds Effective Against ulcers and other sicks

In 1989 some Peruvian and American Scientists Analyzed the chemical

composition of the plant and discovered the active species, called Taspine
Which, Which has the Ability to Facilitate the migration of fibroblasts in the
skin, accelerating the healing process.

Morphology
DESCRIPTION: BLOOD OF GRADE is a broad, rounded tree whose bark, graywhite glass, colored latex exudes a wine that is used by the pharmaceutical
industry.
Leaves: The leaves are alternate and cordate, and reach 20 cm long and 14
wide

INFLORESCENCE: It has a terminal inflorescence in bunches, and presents

amber flowers with numerous stamens.
BERRIES: Its fruits, capsule shaped, measuring 3 mm long by 4.5 mm wide
Seeds: Seeds BLOOD OF GRADE are smooth and oily endosperm is.

Common Names:
- Sangre de Drago Palo grade Dragon Blood.
- Irare, Jimi mosho, Shawan karo (in Shipibo-conibo).
- Pocure, Racurana, Uksavakiro, Widnku (in Amarakaeri) ..

PAPER
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
To cite this article:
Kenneth Jones. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. December 2003
Kenneth Jones
Armana Research, Inc., Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia, Canada

bjective: The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the pharmacologic evidence
that may or may not support clinical and ethnomedical uses of the sap of sangre de
drago (dragon's blood; Croton lechleri Mll. Arg.). Data sources used were BIOSIS, EMBASE,
PubMed, TOXLIT, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, manual searches, papers on file from
peer-reviewed journals, textbooks available at Armana Research, Inc., and researchers in the field
of South American botanical medicine.
Conclusions: The results of in vitro and in vivo studies largely support the majority of
ethnomedical uses ofsangre de drago including the treatment of diarrhea, wounds, tumors,
stomach ulcers, herpes infection, the itching, pain and swelling of insect bites, and other
conditions. Clinical studies of sangre de drago products have reported positive results in the
treatment of traveler's and watery diarrhea and the symptoms of insect bites. Because the sap has
shown low toxicity and preparations used in clinical studies were well tolerated, further clinical and
pharmacologic studies are anticipated. Acknowledgment of the diversity in the chemical makeup of
the sap from one geographic area to another and the recent characterization of alkaloid
chemotypes of sangre de drago will require that materials developed for clinical use are
standardized.