Taheebo History

Provie has  conducted extensive research into the medicinal healing qualities of this magical botanical - Taheebo. Also known as Pau D’ Arco and Lapacho.  Our journey begins in the Rain Forests of South America. 

For many centuries the indigenous tribes of the Amazon Basin used the natural healing qualities of many of the flora found occurring naturally in these regions.  Throughout the course of history some medicinal botanicals from these regions have found their way into mainstream society.  To wit, Quinine, which is taken from the bark of the South American Cinchona tree and is a medicinally accepted treatment for malaria.  Quinine also played a significant role in the colonization of some southern regions of the Americas’ and Africa by the Europeans.  Quinine, in its un-extracted form, has been used by Europeans since at least the early 1600s.

Like the life saving qualitities of Quinine, the Taheebo tree’s resilience to fugal attacks, decay, pests and rot brought it noteworthy attention from the indigenous tribes and cultures of the Amazon basin.

The Taheebo tree is an evergreen tree with rosy colored flowers belonging to the bignonia family.  There are approximately 100 known species. The medicinal part used is the bark -specifically the inner lining of the bark called the phloem.

The history of Taheebo's use can be tracked back to the Mayans and Incas.  For centuries it has been regarded as an important healing herb.  Often, the inner bark of the Taheebo tree was ground up and used as a poultice to treat a variety of skin diseases like eczema, psoriasis, hemorrhoids, fungal infections and skin cancers.

A Yugoslavian scientist, Voislav Todorovic, claims to have found evidence that the Taheebo plant was used by the early Vikings and Russians.  He further claims that, in the late 1800’s, a Russian chemist manufactured toothpaste that contained Lapachol and was supposed to have been extremely effective in preventing tooth decay.

In 1873 Dr. Joaquin Almeida Pinto wrote about Pau D’ Arco’s medicinal properties. He prescribed it as a fever reducer and used it for ulcers, rheumatic disorders and especially for skin disorders like herpes, eczema and the mange.

In 1960’s Dr. Walter Accorsi in Santo Andre Brazil and Dr. Theodore Meyer proved Pau D’ Arco’s healing ability on viral warts. Dr. Theodore Meyer, an award winning botanist from Argentina, died in 1972 after years of attempts to convince the scientific community of the great healing value of Pau D’ Arco.  From a scientific point of view the greatest legacy that Dr. Meyer left was to bring Pau D’ Arco to the attention of the world.

Circa 1960 Brazil.  Another physician was told of an amazing tale of Lapacho’s curative powers.  He used Lapacho to treat his brother lying in a Santo Andre hospital dying of cancer.  His brother recovered and the doctor, Orlando dei Santi, began to use Lapacho to treat other cancer patients. Other physicians joined Dr. dei Santi’s team.  After a few months of treatment, several cases were documented as being cured.

Because of the pioneering work by Dr. Orlando dei Santi at the Municipal Hospital in Santo Andre, Lapacho has become a standard form of prescribed treatment for some forms of cancer as well as all kinds of infections.