A First Hand Look at Traditional Plant Medicines

Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients May '98

Original, unedited version of a shorter edited version which appeared in The Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients.


A First Hand Look at Traditional Plant Medicines in Iquitos, Peru; It’s People, Culture and Rainforest Habitat
by Phillip N. Steinberg, C.N.C.

After three years, having written one booklet and 18 magazine articles about cat’s claw, I was thrilled to finally be traveling to Peru, the country where Uña de gato (cat’s claw) has been a household word for many years. I was finally going to take a first hand look at the Peruvian Amazon, the natural habitat where Uña de gato and a countless number of other medicinal plants, thrive and flourish in the lush tropical rainforest environment.

My trip was sponsored by Natural Energy, Inc. an American company whose principals, desired to learn everything they could about Uña de gato and other herbs, which might show promise for alleviating some of the illnesses of modern man.

Our destination was Iquitos, Peru, a city of about 400,000 people located in the central northwestern portion of the country. Situated on the Amazon river and surrounded by jungle, Iquitos is home to two Universities and several non-profit organizations devoted to the study and preservation of the country’s most valuable asset; the Amazon rainforest and the botanical treasures that it provides.

My co-travelers where Eddie Shiojima, C.E.O. and Gary V. Bailey, President of Natural Energy, Inc. It was late Saturday evening, on October 5th, 1996, when we boarded our Faucett airline flight in Miami, FL. With a stop for refueling in Panama, it was approximately 5:45 Sunday morning when we arrived at the airport in Iquitos. Needless to say we were all very tired; but excited about what the next week held in store for us. Our guide, Alan Shoemaker, an American who had been living in Iquitos and studying shamanism for several years, met us at the airport with his fiancee, Mariella. They took us to our hotel, the El Dorado, located in the heart of Iquitos, one block from the city hall, and the main square. After check-in and a much needed three hour rest, we walked one and a half blocks to Ari's Burger, a well known and popular cafe frequented by tourists from all over the world. This was to become our morning meeting place, where we would have breakfast and plan the days activities. Today, Sunday October 6th it was lunchtime and Alan was ready to begin escorting us on our adventure.

After a brief lunch, Alan, Mariella and Eddie hopped in a taxi, Gary and I hopped into a second taxi and we headed for the Beilin Open air marketplace. In Iquitos the predominate mode of transportation is by taxi. It’s inexpensive and they are everywhere. The taxi’s however, are not automobiles like one would find in the United States. They are modified motorcycles in a tricycle design with an open air bench seat in the rear and a waterproof plastic canopy to keep the driver and passengers dry whenever it rains. It’s a bumpy and not very comfortable ride, but very efficient and economical.

The Beilin marketplace was about five minutes away. It consists of several blocks of open air small kiosks or booths, most of which are shoddily constructed of rough cut lumber, similar to what one might find at a flea market in a very poor neighborhood of the United States.

Here one can purchase everything from fresh fruits and vegetables, prepared and cooked foods, to candy, gum, shoes, clothing, pots and pans, etc. Our interest however, was in the particular section where herbs and botanical medicines were being sold. Because it was Sunday, most of the booths were empty and closed; but the few that were open displayed a wide assortment of roots, barks, flowers, salves and bottles of liquid extracts, representing a typical cross section of the traditional medicines used by native Peruvians for hundreds of years. Uña de gato was everywhere in bundled strips of bark and full liter bottles of liquid extract. Another herb that has gained popularity more recently, is Sacha jergon. An Indian friend of Alan’s who was familiar with it’s use, posed for our cameras holding Uña de gato in one hand and Sacha jergon in the other. Sacha jergon is another powerful botanical that has traditionally been used with other herbs to treat cancer. There is also some anecdotal evidence, that a combination of Uña de gato with Sacha jergon can be used in the treatment of AIDS. One doctor in Iquitos, Dr. Roberto Inchaustegui, has reported some preliminary success in reversing the various viral and bacterial infections associated with full blown AIDS in some of his patients using the two herbs together.

As we continued through the market place we stopped at the booth of Lucia Vela. She is another friend of Alan’s, who has a more finely constructed booth, displaying one the most complete selections of traditional plant medicines anywhere in Iquitos. Lucia as we learned later, is one of the most knowledgeable, friendly and well-liked proprietors in the market place. After discussing some of the more popular herbs she had on display, Alan suggested a trip to the Iquitos zoo. For this excursion, Alan rented a small automobile.

It took about 20 minutes to arrive. There we observed a variety of native monkeys, jaguars, ocelots, birds and a huge black Paiche; a fish about the size of an adult human that looked like something out of the Jurassic period. It’s meat is tender and a popular food with Peruvians. On the zoo grounds was a small lake and popular swimming hole with a large open gazebo. Inside the gazebo was a dance floor, band stand, tables with chairs and a bar where we could purchase drinks. There were many local Peruvians who were dancing to excellent music being performed by a live Latin band. It was also a good place to sit, have a drink and take a much needed break from the 90 degree heat.

After a short while we headed back to our hotel to freshen-up for dinner. In the evening at the El Meson restaurant we were joined by Engineer Luis Lopez,. an author and Peruvian botanical expert involved in manufacturing Uña de gato and other herbal extracts. Over dinner we discussed the possibility of purchasing several herbal extracts through him for commercial purposes in Japan and American markets. I was impressed with his knowledge and willingness to share his information. As our day drew to a close, I reflected on how friendly people seemed to be everywhere we had been around Iquitos.

Monday morning October 7th, I awoke with great anticipation, looking forward to the day’s activities. Eddie, Gary and myself walked to Ari's’ Burger where we met Alan, Mariella and Juan Maldonado. Juan, another friend of Alan’s, worked at the restaurant and spoke very good English. This he had learned while working for a time as a short order cook in New York City. Since neither Gary, Eddie or myself spoke Spanish, we were quite pleased to have both Alan and Juan to interpret for us.

After breakfast, which for me was a large plate of delicious mixed fruit, we headed by taxi to The Center for Ecology and Development of the Amazon, a non profit international association dedicated to the preservation of the environment and the sustainable development of the Amazonian region of Peru. Here we met with the president Dr. Jose Rojas, another authority on the medicinal use of Peruvian botanicals. I asked his opinion about the two species of Uña de gato predominately used in Peru. His opinion was that Uncaria guianensis was essentially equal to Uncaria tomentosa in it’s ability to heal sickness; however one might need to use a little more of the guianensis variety to get the same results they would get with a little less of the tomentosa variety. Dr. Rojas verified that there is some evidence that Sacha jergon is a good treatment for cancer and AIDS, when combined with Uña de gato and that Uña de gato alone, was excellent for rheumatism and arthritis. He also discussed the importance of a vegetarian diet and the elimination of meat products as being equally important for someone trying to overcome serious diseases.

We asked him about side effects associated with Uña de gato. The only one he was aware of, was the following: Some people who take too much of the herb may have trouble focusing there eyes. This side effect will disappear within a few days by lowering the amount consumed.

Our next destination was the National University of the Amazon, where we had a meeting scheduled with Julio Arce, Dean of the School of Chemistry. Engineer Arce is also involved in botanical research and manufactures what he claims to be an 80:1 extract of Uña de gato. He welcomed us into his office where we sat and discussed our interest in his work. He also showed us his laboratory and explained some of the methods he uses for extraction. About this time, Eddie decided he should get samples of Uña de gato extract from Engineer Lopez and Engineer Arce for analysis in the United States.

Another herb Arce spoke about was Sangre de drago. He recommends this herb for heart arrhythmia. The sap is used to heal wounds and contains up to 90% proanthocyanidins. Proanthocyanidins are a class of polyphenols possessing tremendous anti-oxidant properties and have implications for the prevention and treatment of numerous acute, chronic, and degenerative diseases including: heart and cardiovascular disease, cancer, viral and bacterial infections, arthritis, hemorrhoids, ulcers and inflammatory bowel and perhaps even AIDS.

As we parted company with Engineer Arce we made arrangements to meet him later for dinner.

Next we headed for the main boat dock on the Amazon, where we boarded a large outboard for a trip up river to a Bora Indian village. It took about 20 minutes. When we docked, we were greeted by a group of young Indian girls ranging in age from about six to ten years old. They were mostly naked which I wasn’t prepared for; but as we walked into their village an even bigger surprise awaited: The Indian women were all bare from the waist up. It was somewhat of a challenge not to stare at them. With the men of the tribe, they performed several traditional dances for us and even persuaded us to join in with them. We then were encouraged to purchase some of their handmade crafts including blow guns, headdresses and necklaces for souvenirs to take back home. The chief and one of the tribesmen then took us into the surrounding jungle to show us some of the plants they have traditionally used as medicine; including Uña de gato. As we were preparing to leave, the chief asked us if we would give him and a young Indian boy a ride into Iquitos. The boy desired to see an allopathic physician because of swollen lymph glands and a fever. I thought this to be strange, since I knew that Uña de gato would probably eliminate his sickness in two to three days. With Mariella as my interpreter, I asked the chief why he doesn’t give the boy Uña de gato. He told me that the boy had become convinced that modern antibiotics were better. At this point, I pulled out a picture of my family and showed the chief my wife and three daughters. I explained through Mariella that I have been giving Uña de gato to all of them as a preventative and that I had found Uña de gato to be better than modern antibiotics. He seemed surprised; but also impressed. In discussing this with Alan, I became aware that Indian villages situated close to Peruvian cities are exposed to Christian schools and modern medicine where they are gradually convinced to give up their belief in traditional medicines.

That evening over dinner, Julio Arce invited us to visit a University reserve where Uña de gato and other medicinal plants are being grown for study and research purposes.

Before retiring to our rooms, Gary and I shared the feeling that it seemed like we had been in Peru for at least a week, because we had already been so many places and met so many interesting people.

Tuesday October 8th: Again we met for breakfast at Ari's’ Burger at 8 a.m. A plant that processes Uña de gato and other herbs was about two blocks away; but we had not been successful at arranging to see it. As we were finishing breakfast, Juan appeared and very excitedly, told us that he had gotten permission from a guard to let us in. We quickly walked over and entered to find large stacks of Uña de gato strips and a huge pile of Sacha jergon tubers. The manager of the plant offered us samples of a liquid herbal tonic he produced that was said to have aphrodisiac and energy boosting qualities. We all tried some. It was in an alcohol base, quite strong and went straight to our heads. As we regained our composure, we headed back to Ari's’ Burger to meet Julio Arce for a trip in his truck to the University owned rainforest reserve. Also joining us, was Jose Luis Padilla, a student of Arce’s whom we had met earlier at the University. He spoke very good English.

At the reserve, Arce walked us through one area where many different herbs had been planted, explaining what each one has traditionally been used for. Later, he had us board a small boat to cross a small river on the reserve, so that we could trek through a jungle area to find some wild growing Uña de gato. Unfortunately, we had only two small paddles and no engine which made it very difficult to cross. What should have taken 5 minutes took more like 20; however, we finally docked and started hiking through the jungle. We were warned to be careful where we placed our hands because of the possibility of being bitten by an Azulu ant, a particularly nasty venomous critter, native to the region. Most of us had on natural insect repellent made from herbs, which seemed to be quite effective at warding off mosquitoes. In fact, I was quite surprised that there seemed to be less mosquitoes here in the Amazon than in the summer back home in St. Louis, Missouri. The humidity was less than what I was accustomed to as well; it was only about 60%. Summers in St. Louis can often average 80-90% and reach temperatures exceeding 100. Here in the jungle it rarely reaches over 90!

After a short distance Eddie, was bitten by one of those nasty ants we had been warned about. It was on the tip of his finger and very painful. He wasn’t complaining very much; but it was evident that he was quite uncomfortable. We continued on for about 30 minutes but couldn’t find any Uña de Gato. Eddie’s finger was still hurting and had become numb down to his hand. We decided to head back to the boat where I began performing polarity healing techniques on Eddie’s hand. I was able to remove most of the pain within about 5 minutes, but it took several hours for the numbness to completely dissipate. Still, Eddie seemed relieved to have the pain almost gone.


Continued in part 2...

© 1998

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