Staff (Earth Clinic) on 01/18/2013

Ecuador, one of the first countries we looked more deeply into, ranks Sangre de Drago near the top of that nation's list of national treasures. This deeply red sap of the Croton lechleri tree has been a central remedy in the medical lore of many of that nation's peoples for generations going back at least to the 1600's. Increasingly, it's emerging as a favorite in health stores and supplement catalogs as well!

Proanthocyanodins are the health blessing and tongue-tangling curse to have splattered Dragon's Blood onto the natural health scene. These super-efficacious antioxidants make up 90% of the Sangre de Drago sap used in traditional medicine. This is the same family of anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer compounds that makes grade seed extract a coveted health aid. They seem to have adaptogenic abilities to positively affect the immune system, oxidation, and regulation of inflammatory responses.

So not only do sangre supplements offer all of us improved immune function and helpful antioxidants, but this appealing tree sap may help those with autoimmune disorders as well—potentially dampening out-of-control immune responses.

Sangre de Drago Remedies: As a local remedy the latex sap, also known as Sangre de Grado in Peru (still talkin' about exsanguinated dragons), is used to bind and disinfect wounds. Such use can speed wound healing by 4-20 times normal healing rates while also reducing pain, inflammation, and itchiness quite substantially. Applied more generally to the skin, its component taspine can renew and improve the look of skin by supporting cell growth and collagen strength.

Internally, it has been taken to relieve inflammation and diarrhea as well as to treat and soothe ulcers of the mouth and stomach. In fact, the FDA has approved an extract from the sap as an anti-diarrheal drug for those with HIV or AIDS. Anti-carcinogenic, tumor-killing, and herpes remedies using sangre de drago are likewise being investigated with some hopefulness!

Sources:
Study: Sangre de Drago modulates immune function.

Sangre extract approved as anti-diarrheal HIV/AIDS drug.