''Tynanthus guatemalensis'', commonly known as chib' iyal (Q'eqchi Maya) or ch'ajá xuu' (Yucatec Maya), is a flowering plant species in the genus ''

Tynanthus ''Tynanthus'' is a genus of woody plants that is part of the Bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae () is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the Order (biology), order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpet vines.Vernon H. Hey ...

''. It contains the chemical

eugenol Eugenol is an allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, a member of the allylbenzene class of chemical compounds. It is a colorless to pale yellow, aromatic oily liquid extracted from certain essential oils especially from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, ...

, the chemical responsible for the cinnamon aroma in the cinnamon plant. However, ''T. guatemalensis'' is not closely related to the cinnamon plant.

Distribution

''Tynanthus guatemalensis'' is a tropical plant found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Uses

Tea

''Tynanthus guatemalensis'' is popular as a tea with the

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

Medicine

''Tynanthus guatemalensis'' is used as a thirst remedy and an

antidiabetic Drugs used in diabetes treat types of diabetes mellitus by decreasing glucose levels in the blood. With the exception of insulin, most GLP-1 receptor agonists ( liraglutide, exenatide, and others), and pramlintide, all diabetes medications a ...

remedy among the

Mayans Maya () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived w ...

; thirst is a symptom highly associated with

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. The plant is also reputed to reduce the effects of

hyperglycemia Hyperglycemia is a condition where unusually high amount of glucose is present in blood. It is defined as blood glucose level exceeding 6.9 mmol/L (125 mg/dL) after fasting for 8 hours or 10 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating. Blood gluc ...

in diabetic patients.

Building material

The

xylem Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue (biology), tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem; both of these are part of the vascular bundle. The basic function of the xylem is to transport water upward from the roots to parts o ...

in the

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

of ''Tynanthus guatemalensis'' makes it a strong material, often used for ropes and scaffolding by the

References

Bignoniaceae Plants described in 1954 {{Bignoniaceae-stub