Bilyea

Grimolobium pubescens (syn. Otholobium pubescens, Psoralea pubescens)

A shrub of the pea family with leaves in threes. It contains bakuchiol, among other compounds; extracts lowered blood sugar in experiments with mice. Studies in people are lacking.

Safety notes

Contains coumarins; not together with blood thinners and not in pregnancy. Never replace diabetes medication. Traditional use is no proof of effect; consult a doctor or pharmacist if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take medication or have a medical condition.

Cautions by tradition (1)

Kallawaya healing in Bolivia: Not with blood thinners and not in pregnancy.

Preparation

Dried leaves as a tea.

Use in traditions

Also called culén or trinitaria in Spanish. According to the anthropologist Joseph Bastien this was the plant Kallawaya healers praised most highly. They drank the leaves as a nourishing substitute for coffee and tea, and used them for an acid stomach, bowel complaints and to 'cleanse' the kidneys and bladder. The well-known healer Florentino Alvarez, Bastien writes, warned that bilyea was too often treated as a cure-all. In Peru the plant is also used for diarrhoea and diabetes.

Applications

Use by tradition

How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.

Kallawaya healing in Bolivia

Attributed effects

As a daily drink instead of coffee or tea, for an acid stomach and bowel complaints, and to 'cleanse' the kidneys and bladder.

Preparation and amount

Steep a teaspoon of dried leaf for 10 minutes.

Caution: Not with blood thinners and not in pregnancy.

Ways to prepare herbs: Tea (infusion)

Sources

All herbs from South America →