''Peumus boldus'', commonly known as boldo (from the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

name ''foḻo''), is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of tree in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Monimiaceae The Monimiaceae is a family (biology), family of flowering plants in the magnoliid Order (biology), order Laurales.Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Monimiaceae" At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Botanical Databases At: Missouri Botanical Gar ...

and the only species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Peumus''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the central region of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, between 33° and 40° southern latitude. Boldo has also been introduced to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, though it is not often seen outside

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

s. Due to its common name, it is often confused with the species '' Plectranthus ornatus'', known as ''falso boldo'' ("false boldo"), ''boldo paraguayo'' or ''boldo rastrero'', which has led to confusion about the uses, properties and toxicity of both species.

Description

''Boldo'', together with ''

litre The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter ( American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A ...

'', ''quillay'', '' peumo'', '' bollén'' and other indigenous plants, is a characteristic component of the sclerophyllous forests endemic to central Chile. Its leaves, which have a strong, woody and slightly bitter flavor and

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...

-like aroma, are used for culinary purposes, primarily in Latin America. The leaves are used in a similar manner to

bay leaves The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used as a herb in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. The flavour that a bay leaf ...

and are also prepared as a

herbal tea Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plai ...

, primarily in Chile and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The edible fruits are small

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

s about 2 centimeters in diameter, green in color and having a pleasant flavor. Though not well known outside their native range, boldo fruits, which appear between December and February, are very tasty, nutritious, small, green, edible spheres. Boldo's assertive flavor comes primarily from the presence of the chemical

ascaridole Ascaridole is a natural organic compound classified as a bicyclic monoterpenoid that has an unusual bridging organic peroxide, peroxide functional group. It is a colorless liquid with a pungent smell and taste that is soluble in most organic solve ...

, which is also present in the ''

epazote ''Dysphania ambrosioides'', formerly ''Chenopodium ambrosioides'', known as epazote, Jesuit's tea, Mexican tea or wormseed, is an annual or short-lived perennial herb native to the Americas. Description ''Dysphania ambrosioides'' is an annual p ...

'' plant.

Uses

In Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay, boldo is mixed with ''

yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a bev ...

'' or other teas to moderate its flavor. Some families keep a boldo plant at home for this purpose, although boldo teabags are readily available in nearly all supermarkets. Boldo and plants with similar properties are widely used as mild

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

in various South American countries in both urban and rural areas, even among people who do not usually drink

s other than mate beverage. In Brazilian

pharmacopoeia A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (or the typographically obsolete rendering, ''pharmacopœia''), meaning "drug-making", in its modern technical sense, is a reference work containing directions for the identification of compound med ...

, boldo is an officially listed phytotherapeutic plant, as a cholagogue and choleretic used for treatment of mild

dyspepsia Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier ...

. Boldo is in the family

, which is closely related to the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant Family (biology), family that includes the bay laurel, true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genus (biology), genera worldwide. They are dicotyled ...

(which includes many other plants used for their aromatic leaves, such as

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

, cassia, bay leaf, and camphor laurel). Boldo leaves have a slightly bitter, soft flavor and a bit of a rough, coniferous taste when brewed in tea. They are used as a culinary herb to spice many savory dishes including fish, mushrooms, and vegetables and as a component in sauces. In some local South American kitchens boldo leaves are also popular for wrapping frying fish and meat. Boldo fruits, when dried, are used to make spicy condiments.

Toxicity

In 2009, the European Medicines Agency assessed boldo as follows: Boldo leaf contains the alkaloid boldine. Boldo leaf also contains 2–4% of volatile oil. Major constituents reported as:

(16–38%), 1,8-cineole (11–39%) and p-Cymene (9–29%).Mariano, 2019 Ascaridole is highly toxic, and this raises concerns about the suitability of boldo leaf in traditional herbal medicinal products.

Abortifacient An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: '' abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...

and teratogenic effects in rats were observed with very high doses (800 mg/kg) of a dry ethanolic extract of boldine in the first days of pregnancy, not present at lower doses. Most investigations have been carried out using boldine. Limited information is available on herbal preparations of boldo leaf and where studies have been reported, details of the preparations are usually lacking. There are no reported genotoxicity or carcinogenicity studies with herbal preparations of boldo leaf. Boldo oil should not be used internally or externally. Where boldo leaf is used, the total exposure to ascaridole should be considered from a safety standpoint. The levels of ascaridole in herbal medicinal products should be quantified. In view of the low solubility of ascaridole in water, the use of aqueous extracts including herbal teas could be accepted. The use of ethanolic extracts of boldo leaf is not considered acceptable for traditional herbal medicinal products, in view of the potentially higher levels of the toxic ascaridole constituent.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q833994 Monimiaceae Flora of the Chilean Matorral Trees of Chile Trees of Mediterranean climate Drought-tolerant trees Endemic flora of Chile Medicinal plants of South America Dietary supplements Herbs Herbal teas