Tabebuia avellanedae health benefit and anti tumor activity

Tabebuia species are native to tropical rain forests throughout Central and South America and have long been used as a folk medicine to treat bacterial infection, blood coagulation, cancer and inflammatory diseases. Tabelula is also known as Pau D'arco and available as a supplement.

Red Lapacho ( Tabebuia avellanedae) - A global ethnopharmacological commodity?
J Ethnopharmacol. 2009. Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, London, UK.
Red Lapacho, a canopy tree indigenous to the Amazonian rainforest and other parts of South America, has been acclaimed to be one of the "miraculous" cures for cancer and tumours. For the first time, during the 1960s, it attracted considerable attention in Brazil and Argentina as a 'wonder drug'. Traditionally, the botanical drug is widely used in local and traditional phytomedicine, usually ingested as a decoction prepared from the inner bark of the tree to treat numerous conditions like bacterial and fungal infections, fever, syphilis, malaria, trypanosomiasis, as well as stomach and bladder disorders. As early as 1873, biomedical uses of Red Lapacho ("Pau D'Arco") were reported. In 1967 after reports in the Brazilian press it came back to the light of clinicians (and the public in general).

Active compounds
Two main bioactive components have been isolated from Tabebuia avellanedae: lapachol and beta-lapachone. beta-Lapachone is considered to be the main anti-tumor compound. Beta lapachone appears to be generally safe and one of the most important interactions of Tabebuia avellanedae has been associated with interference in the biological cycle of Vitamin K in the body. The botanical substance material available on the international markets seems to be of varying quality and composition, making a specific assessment of the products' therapeutic claims problematic.

In vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of taheebo, a water extract from the inner bark of Tabebuia avellanedae.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2008; School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, and Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Kangwon National University, South Korea.
In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the ethnopharmacological activity of Tabebuia avellanedae in various in vitro and in vivo inflammatory conditions. Our data suggest that the ethnopharmacological action of taheebo may be due to its negative modulation of macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses by suppressing PGE(2) production. Thus, this water extract may be developed as a new therapeutic remedy for various inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and atherosclerosis.

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