Common Name

Standardized: muira puama
Other: potency wood

Botanical Name

Croton echioides Mull. Arg.
Plant Family: Euphorbiaceae

Overview

Muira puama is an understory tree in the Amazonian rain forest. Growing 15 feet (5 meters) high, it bears white flowers with an intense scent of jasmine. The bark and root are employed in the traditional herbal practices of the jungle.

Parts Used

Bark and root.

Typical Preparations

Can be taken as a tea, but more effective if used as a tincture. Take the tincture with a small amount of warm water to which you have added a little lemon juice. This assists absorption of the beneficial tannins. Another convenient form is a capsule.

Summary

The native peoples of the Amazon who use muira puama combine it with catuaba, allowing the mixture to stand in warm water overnight to make an amber infusion.

Health Benefits of Muira Puama

promotes:

brain development      

• Preventing cognitive impairment
• Decreasing brain amyloid plaque deposits
• Decreasing hippocampal (brain memory center) loss caused by amyloid plaques
• Inhibiting enzymes that break down acetylcholine in the brain (hippocampus and striatum), similar to how Alzheimer’s treatments work

• healing
  
• decreases stress
  
• body fat percentage
  
• cholesterol
  
• aids in sexual performance