Summarized Description:
Chanca Piedra -- which literally means "stone breaker,"
due to its ability to break up and dissolve kidney stones -- is one of our native
traditionals.
It also possesses the ability to impair certain calcium-forming
organisms ("nanobacteria") which, in turn, cause inflammation
and the production of bad calcium in the body. (It is widely
believed that a host of disease conditions are tied to the
overproduction of bad calcium in the body.)
This product can be used
as tea using the instructions below, and it also lends itself
to encapsulation by experienced end users.
Uses & Protocols
I. Preparation --- if you can boil water, you
can make this product: Professional herbalists will
recognize this as a standard decoction.
Add 1.5 Tablespoons Chanca Piedra to a large sauce pan,
along with one quart of purified water (0.95 liters).
You have enough product in the product bag to do
this seven to eight times.
Heat until a very low-level boil or "barely boiling" level
has been reached and continue boiling for 5 minutes.
Stir occasionally.
Remove heat source and let cool.
Pour the contents of your pan through a strainer
and into a large glass vase or container so
as to remove most of the tea fragments.
Dispose of tea fragments.
Drink your tea hot . . . refrigerate glass vase and
enjoy later as a refreshing cold tea . . . or refrigerate
and reheat later if you want to enjoy the product as a hot tea.
You may add cinnamon, lemon, and/or honey to taste.
More specific protocols for the use of the product are provided below.
II. Protocols. Tea: Prepare the tea according to the instructions above.
Drink two to three cups of the tea daily or as recommended by your health care practitioner.
Capsules: Take two capsules, 2x a day, or as directed by your naturopathic practitioner.
Contraindications
None indicated.
Medicinal Activities
Further information for practitioners:
World-famous botanist Dr. James Duke attributes the following activities
to this plant (p. 533-534; see hardcopy cover at right),
drawn from the extant literature. (See his graduation for "level of
efficacy" on our traditionals page;
followed by Duke's bibliographic abbreviations (in capital letters),
which we identify
on a separate page.)
To U.S. Users: This product
have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Sourcing From
Amazonian Wilderness
All the materials used to
make our Amazonian & Andean Medicinal Teas are wild-crafted and harvested
from the Central Andes and Amazonian regions of Ecuador and Peru.
There are no cultivated varieties used.
Click photo to enlarge.
Ethnobotanical
Dosage / Usage
Duke provides a "food farmacy
potential" score for this plant of, "FNFF=X" ("I found nothing
credible suggesting the plant as food.")
Historical / Ethnobotanical Dosages: 3-6 g. powered herb (KAB);
14-28 ml. tea (KAP); 900 to 2,700 mg. plant powder / day for 3 months
(SKY); 10 plants / l water (PH2); 1 to 3 cups weekly for prevention,
3 to 4 cups / day to expel stones (RAI); 2 to 3 g. capsules / tablet,
2X/day (RAI); 2 to 6 ml. extract (1:2)(KEB).
Indications for its
ethnobotanical use worldwide are broad and fall into the
following categories (p. 534-535):
Cuts, inflammation, pimples, swelling, and wounds -- (Nepal: NPM).
Diuretic tonic in malaria with splenic and hepatic ailments --
(Puerto Rico: KAB).
Dysentery, gastrosis, sores; the fruits for bruises, ringworm,
scabies, and tubercular sores -- (Yanani in S.A.: KAB).
Additional Online
Resources on
This Herb
Tropical Plant Database -- This is a comprehensive
review of the plant, its medicinal properties, physical characteristics, phytochemistry, clinical
research done on the plant to date, and current practical uses from Leslie Taylor's site ("Raintree").
She also produces a 62-page tech report
for chanca piedra.
Stonebreaker --
This is a comprehensive website devoted to "Chanca Piedra" created by
Univ. of Wisconsin biology student,
Sam Zwerzik,
who was inspired to create a "Stonebreaker" website due to the promise that
this medicinal plants for the effective treatment of AIDS.
Bhuiaonla --
This site, also the creation of a student, (Pankaj Oudhia), focusses on the known
medicinal properties of chanca piedra from a ayurvedic perspective.