The name Catuaba ( , via Portuguese from Guarani) is used for the infusions of the

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

of a number of trees native to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The most widely used barks are derived from the trees ''

Trichilia catigua ''Trichilia catigua'' is a flowering plant species in the genus '' Trichilia''. The species is used in folk medicine and shamanism in the aphrodisiac and stimulant catuaba. Cinchonain-Ib Cinchonain-Ib is a flavonolignan found in the bark ...

'' and ''

Erythroxylum vaccinifolium ''Erythroxylum vaccinifolium'' is a flowering plant species in the genus ''Erythroxylum''. It is used to prepare catuaba, an infusion used as an aphrodisiac in Brazilian herbal medicine. It contains a class of tropane alkaloids called catuabine ...

''. Other catuaba preparations use the bark of trees from the following genera or families: ''

Anemopaegma ''Anemopaegma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. Species of ''Anemopaegma'' along with many other unrelated plants go by the name of catuaba. Species Species include: *'' Anemopaegma acutifolium'' DC. *'' Anemopaegma al ...

'', ''

Ilex ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

'', '' Micropholis'', ''

Phyllanthus ''Phyllanthus'' is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book.'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University P ...

'', ''

Secondatia ''Secondatia'' is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1844. It is native to Jamaica and South America.Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Con ...

'', '' Tetragastris'' and species from the

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All spe ...

. It is often claimed that catuaba is derived from the tree ''Erythroxylum catuaba'', but this tree has been described only once, in 1904, and it is not known today to what tree this name referred. ''E. catuaba'' is therefore not a recognised species (Kletter et al.; 2004). Local synonyms are Chuchuhuasha, Tatuaba, Pau de Reposta, Piratancara and Caramuru. A commercial liquid preparation, Catuama, contains multiple ingredients, one of these being catuaba from ''Trichilia catigua''. An

infusion Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An i ...

of the bark is used in traditional Brazilian medicine as an

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or coca ...

and

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...

stimulant. These claims have not been confirmed in scientific studies. In catuaba is found a group of three alkaloids dubbed

catuabine Catuabines are a group of tropane alkaloids, isolated from ''Erythroxylum vaccinifolium'', which are used in the preparation of the drug Catuaba (which in traditional Brazilian medicine is purported to be an aphrodisiac and central nervous system ...

A, B and C. A study by Manabe et al. (1992) showed that catuaba extracts from Catuaba casca (''Erythroxylum catuaba Arr. Cam.'') were useful in preventing potentially lethal

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable d ...

s and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

infection in

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

Notes

References

* * * * * Reprint published in 3 parts in ''Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy'', as cited below as da Silva, A. J. (2004, 2005) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *{{ cite journal , author = Zanolari, B. , author2 = Guilet, D. , author3 = Marston, A. , author4 = Queiroz, E. F. , author5 = Paulo, M. de Q. , author6 = Hostettmann, K. , title = Tropane alkaloids from the bark of ''Erythroxylum vacciniifolium'' , journal = Journal of Natural Products , volume = 66 , issue = 4 , pages = 497–502 , year = 2003 , pmid = 12713400 , doi = 10.1021/np020512m Catuaba is a medicinal plant found in Brazil in the Amazon region that contains an incredible abundance of plant life – more than half of the planet's vegetation. The most famous of all Brazilian aphrodisiac plants and is the result of the blend of four main medicinal herbs from the Brazilian Amazon: Catuaba (Trichilla catigua) (28.23%) Ginger (Zingiber officinale) (3.26%) Guarana (Paullinia cupana) (40.31%) and Muirapuama (Ptychopetalum olacoides) (28.23%)
Cautuba Aphrodisiac: How To Use, Benefits and Contraindications!
Herbal and fungal stimulants Traditional Brazilian medicine Plant common names fr:Catuaba