- Region
- South America
- Origin
- Andes of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, where it has been grown for thousands of years
- Traditions
- Kallawaya healing knowledge
South America · Food · № 1011
Lupinus mutabilis
Food · South America
Tarwi
Lupinus mutabilis
A lupin with white to purple flowers and protein-rich, oily beans. The raw beans are bitter from lupin alkaloids, which are removed by days of soaking and rinsing.
Safety notes
Raw or insufficiently rinsed beans are poisonous. Lupin can cause allergy, especially in people allergic to peanuts. Not internally as a medicine in pregnancy. 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: Raw beans are poisonous. Not with a lupin or peanut allergy.
Preparation
As food: cook the dried beans, then soak them for several days in repeatedly changed water until they are no longer bitter.
Use in traditions
Tarwi or chocho is an important protein-rich food in the Andes. According to Girault the Kallawaya eat the beans only after washing them for days in fresh water, and boil up that washing water for baths against rheumatism. They drink an infusion of leaves and flowers against intestinal worms, and lay boiled leaves on boils to bring them to a head.
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 food; the bath water for rheumatism; boiled leaves on boils.
Preparation and amount
Wash the beans for days in fresh water; boil up that washing water for a bath.
Caution: Raw beans are poisonous. Not with a lupin or peanut allergy.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Steam and bath