What is Ipecacuanha used for? Ipecacuanha is a shrub, 30 to 50 centimeters tall, of the Rubiáceas family that is found in the humid tropical forests of Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, Peru and Mexico. C. acuminata is the most common species in Colombia, while Psychotria emética L. is the so-called black ipecacuana, native to Peru.
This shrub is sometimes creeping, with twisted stems and long, elliptical leaves arranged on short stalks that appear in pairs of two to six.
As for its flowers, these are small white in terminal clusters; which have a persistent calyx with five small teeth and a long tubular corolla.
The fruits are ovate, fleshy berries, the size of a pea, and smooth, crowned by the calyx and with seeds inside.
The root is cylindrical, full of closely spaced protruding rings and tortuous descending sections, 4-10 mm in diameter, with a ring-shaped brown surface. The root is collected between May and July, when the aerial parts have withered and most of the alkaloids are concentrated in the root. The bark is thick, greyish in color. The taste of the root is bitter and harsh.
Ipecacuanha was used from the remotest antiquity by the American aborigines of the current territories of Paraguay, Brazil and Central America. In fact, it is known that this plant was used by the Tupi-Guarani to combat bloody diarrhea.
The oldest written testimony that exists about it consists of a mention of three remedies against bloody discharges, one of which is called Igpecaya, included in a History of Brazil, written by a Portuguese monk who lived in that country between 1570 and 1600. .
In Europe, ipecac has been known since Legras imported some roots in 1672. Since then, it has been used against intestinal disorders, as well as as an emetic and expectorant. In 1912 the active principles of ipecac were discovered, and since then it has been part of numerous pharmaceutical preparations.
.
Ipecac properties
The active principles of greatest interest are alkaloids (2% to 4% by weight), among which emetine (72% of total alkaloids), cephaelin (26%) and psychotrin (2%) stand out.
It also contains very unpleasant-tasting saponins, ipecacuanhic acid, choline, resins, pectin, starch, calcium oxalate, and a foul-smelling ethereal oil. Emetine can be isolated as an amorphous white powder with a bitter taste, odorless, which turns yellowish when oxidized.
The root of ipecac is the one that concentrates the greatest number of properties of the plant and is sold in apothecaries in the form of pieces a few centimeters long, dark gray in color, thickened into ring-shaped parts, which do not close by complete. The root bark is very thick and is easily separated from the woody part.
As an emetic (that is, it causes vomiting), it is used to empty the stomach in case of intoxication or poisoning, when gastric lavage is not possible.
The emetic effect is due to a double action, by irritation of the gastric mucosa and by stimulation of the nervous center of vomiting.
In low doses, it stimulates sweating (diaphoretic) and the secretion of gastric juices, which is why it has an aperitif and digestive action.
It is also amebicidal by destroying the amoebas that cause dysentery amoebic and amebic abscesses of the liver.
.
What is ipecac used for?
What is Ipecacuanha used for Inducing vomiting in case of poisoning #1 Dissolve 6 grams of dried root powder dissolved in a cup of water.
What is ipecac for? Inducing vomiting in case of poisoning #2 Make an infusion of eight grams of fresh root in a quarter of a liter of water.
Ipecacuanha what is it for Cough Consume 4 tablespoons of the infusion of 2 grams of dried root powder in a cup of water.
What is Ipecacuanha used for? Bronchitis Prepare with half a gram of ipecac powder and one hundred grams of water, and also two tablespoons of honey or altea syrup, a drink that is taken one tablespoon every four hours.
.
syrup of ipecac
Due to its expectorant qualities, its use is recommended for all types of bronchial conditions due to its expectorant properties (since it stimulates the secretion of the bronchial mucosa).
However, ipecac syrup may have a number of contraindications and interactions with other medications. Hence, it must be taken with care.
Do not take this medicine together with any medicine that contains charcoal or alcohol, and even with other medicines to treat nausea and vomiting such as granisetron, ondansetron, or phenothiazines such as chlorpromazine, mesoridazine, prochlorperazine, and thioridazine.
.
What is ipecac for in homeopathy?
periodic neuralgia of the orbitwith tearing, photophobia and itching on the eyelids.
Nose: Coryza, with stuffiness of the nose and nausea. epistaxis.
Stomach: Generally clean tongue. Mouth, moist; much saliva. Constant nausea and vomiting, with paleness, twitching of the face. Vomits food, bile, blood, mucus. The stomach feels relaxed, as if hanging. very prolonged hiccups.
Abdomen: Amoebic dysentery with tenesmus; while making an effort so great that it causes nausea; little thirst. Cut, grab; worse, around the navel. Rigid body; stiff stretched
female diseases: Uterine bleeding, profuse, bright, effusive, with nausea. Vomiting during pregnancy. Pain from the navel to the uterus. Menstruation too early and profuse.
Respiratory: dyspnea; constant constriction in the chest. Asthma. Annual attacks of difficulty in breathing. continuous sneezing; rhinitis; wheezing cough Incessant and violent cough, with each breath. The chest seems to be full of phlegm, but does not give in to the cough. Bubbling rales. choking cough; the boy stiffens and blue in the face. Whooping cough, with nose and mouth bleeding. Bleeding from the lungs, with nausea; feeling of constriction; loud cough Croup. Hemoptysis due to the least effort (Millef). Hoarseness, especially at the end of a a cold. Complete hoarseness.
.
Precautions
Avoid high dosesas it can cause diarrhea.
Do not use in children under 3 years of age, or in pregnant women since it has a certain uterine tonic action, which could cause abortion. It is also not recommended in patients with cardiovascular conditions due to the possible cardiotoxic effect of emetine.
Avoid its consumption if you have gastric problems such as ulcers, gastritis, etc.
Avoid contact with ipecac powderas it can irritate the skin
.
Also know
natural remedies for vomiting
Remedies for food poisoning
Nausea and its natural treatments
video of the month