Pau D'Arco/Lapacho
Can you tell us anything about a herb called Pau D’Arco? My sister has been diagnosed with a large bowel tumour which is inoperable because it is attached to the pancreas. We have heard of one case, overseas, of a tumour like this disappearing when the person took this herb. Can you recommend a supplier and tell us how to use it?
Pau D’Arco is a Brazilian herb that is also known as Lapacho and, since it is not uncommon to find products containing very little of the active ingredient, you are right to take care about where you source it from. In a Canadian survey of 12 different Lapacho products, for example, only one contained any Lapachol - the anticancer agent - at all and even then, the dosage was so low it would have had no therapeutic effect.
To learn more about this and other anti-cancer herbs, read Herbs Against Cancer by Ralph Moss (Equinox Press, £15.25 and available from the Nutricentre Bookshop on 020-7436 0422). If you decide to go ahead, order your Pau D’Arco from the same company. 40 ready-made teabags from Wisdom Herbs cost £5.99. For the loose, dried herb 50g from Rio Trading costs £4.99.
To make the tea, you simmer two tablespoons of the bark in three cups of hot water for 20 minutes. Your sister should aim to drink three cups a day. Remember though, although small-scale trials in Brazil have shown partial and complete remissions in a handful of cancer patients taking this herb, Pau D’Arco has consistently failed to live up to its anti-cancer reputation in larger clinical trials. One theory is that this is because it is the whole tea that works, not just the isolated active ingredient that was used in these trials.
Concerns about toxicity of this herb have also been raised and your sister should consider working with a qualified naturopath who will monitor her reaction.