A Potent Immune System And Mood-Balancing Botanical Support

Camu-Camu (Myrciaria dubia) is the name of a bush which grows in the Amazonian rain forest of Peru. The Camu-Camu bush produces a fruit with the same name which contains powerful phytochemicals with health benefits, including the amino acids serine, valine, and leucine, and more Vitamin C than any other known plant in the world. The camu-camu fruit has a surprising range of therapeutic effects. Many people have stopped using large dosages of synthetic Vitamin C because they find that Camu-Camu is energizing, mood-lifting and highly effective in strengthening the immune system.*

The Camu-Camu fruit is about the size of a large grape and has a purplish red skin with a yellow pulp. It grows wild, is harvested directly into a freezer boat, which travels down the river ways of the Amazon where the fruit is picked at the height of its ripeness and flash-frozen. It is then taken to a processing plant where it is thawed, peeled, liquefied and spray dried. The resulting powder is a pale pink to yellow beige with very potent effects.

Although the number of milligrams of Vitamin C, which Camu-Camu contains, is low compared to the milligrams in synthetically derived Vitamin C tablets, it has more natural Vitamin C than any known botanical on the planet, the effects on the human body are incomparable. Because of its food form, with bioflavanoids and other phytochemicals, clinical evidence suggests that it is far more effective, milligram for milligram, than synthetic Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Many people report that just two capsules daily (1/3 tsp.) is sufficient to significantly increase their wellness.

Camu-Camu is very well known and prized in Japan but is almost unknown in the U.S. Nevertheless, the Peruvian government expects that it will become a major export when its amazing properties are discovered in the United States. It is preparing for the expected large increase in demand by making Camu-Camu seedlings available free of charge to communities of native people who are rain-forest dwellers for them to plant and to tend. It takes four to five years for the Camu-Camu bush to bear fruit. The growing popularity of this wild rainforest fruit is contributing to the sustainable development of the Amazon River basin and helping the forest dwellers to maintain their traditional way of life.

Some of the extraordinary medicinal properties of this Amazon rain forest fruit are described by Gary Null, Ph.D., a nationally known nutritionist and researcher, (1996). The camu-camu fruit has a surprising range of health-promoting effects. Camu-Camu helps to strengthen the immune system, maintain healthy gums, eyes and skin. Some extraordinary properties of this Amazon rainforest fruit are described by Gary Null, Ph.D., a nationally known nutritionist and researcher. In his Clinician’s Handbook of Natural Healing, (1998), Null lists disease conditions and the herbs that have been found effective for their health promoting properties in reference to specific organ/system weaknesses and problems. In discussing the holistic treatment of depression, he lists 19 plants containing chemical compounds with mood-balancing properties, in order of potency. Camu-Camu is no. two on his list.* Anecdotally and in clinical experience, Null’s assessment of Camu-Camu has proven to be correct although the Camu-Camu fruit as such has hardly been studied at all, apart from clinical experience there is only indirect inferential evidence from scientific studies on the effect of Vitamin C. it appears to provide nutritional support for the brain to optimize its own mood balancing chemistry. Additionally, published research suggests that Vitamin C supports an increased serotonin level in the brain. Some health care practitioners have reported that Camu-Camu has same day mood-balancing effects. There are no side effects, such as photo-sensitivity or gastrointestinal problems, and it can be used safely in combination with pharmaceutical antidepressants.* There have been no reports of its interference with the effectiveness of any pharmaceutical drugs.

All forms of the herpes virus dormant at the base of the spine and become active when the immune system is stressed beyond its ability to respond effectively against pathogens. Common stressors include emotional upsets, other illnesses, prescription drugs, insufficient rest, poor diet, menstrual periods, vaginal yeast infections, and too much sunlight on the skin. Genital herpes is usually transmitted sexually.

The principal anti-viral pharmaceutical medicine is Acyclovir® which has unpleasant side effects in some people. The herpes virus takes a number of different forms and is widespread today as a public health problem in the United States. More than 50% of the U.S. population gets cold sores, which is the result of the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1). Many people also suffer from shingles, which is a remanifestation of the chicken pox virus in adulthood in a new form.

The Epstein-Barr virus is a common form of the herpes virus which may linger in the body for years, raising the total viral load which the body must combat. Yet another form of the herpes virus is genital herpes which is caused by the herpes simplex virus 2. In total, more than 80% of the U.S. population suffers from some kind of herpes infection. Null lists 19 plants which contain anti-herpetic phytochemicals. The plant with the largest amount of these phyto-chemicals is Camu-Camu.*

Health care practitioners report that a premium quality Camu-Camu has provided very effective nutritional support for putting shingles into remission, cutting the expected time for reduction of symptoms in half, by supporting the body’s natural defenses. Users report that “cold sores,” resolve in one day, genital herpes will often resolve in 48 hours, and the Epstein-Barr type of chronic fatigue will show some improvement in one or two weeks. Camu-Camu may also be taken on a daily basis to provide highly effective support the body’s immune defenses against the herpes virus when it is lies dormant in the body.

The Camu-Camu fruit has a surprising range of medicinal effects as measured both by traditional use and by quantity of a variety of phytochemical compounds which experimentally have demonstrated therapeutic effects. Dr. James Duke retired chief botanist for the U.S.Dept.of Agriculture, pre-eminent New World tropical botanist, and author of many botanical books, including the popular Green Pharmacy, lists some of these effects in his Ethnobotanical website, based on amounts of various phytochemicals which Myrciaria dubia contains. In a comparative study of hundreds of botanicals, ranked in order of effectiveness for various health conditions, Camu-Camu was ranked among hundreds of herbs as follows:

• antimutagenic - No. 4;
• anti-viral -No.6;
• anti-oxidant - No.4;
• asthma - No.1;
• atherosclerosis - No.1;
• cataracts - No.1;
• colds - No.1;
• depression - No.2;
• edema - No.1;
• gigivitis-peridontal disease-No.1;
• glaucoma - No.1;
• hepatitis - No.1;
• infertility - No.1;
• migraine-cluster headaches - No.1;
• osteoarthritis - No.1;
• Painkiller - No.1;
• Parkinson's disease - No.1*

This is only a partial listing. For a complete list, see Dr. James Duke’s Ethnobotanical database, www.ars-grin.gov/duke/. There is a disclaimer on his website which warns that the information he provides is not meant to claim that any herb can diagnose, prevent, or cause any disease condition which hw mentions. And Dr. Duke urges the readers of his website to seek out a health care professional for treatment of illness

* These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and the information given here is for educational purposes only. This product is not intended to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.

Chemical Analysis of Camu-Camu

In an analysis performed by an independent laboratory, the following amounts per 100 grams of chemical compounds were found in an analysis of 430 grams of spray-dried Camu-Camu powder (Royal Camu Powder):

References:

Dr. James Duke’s Ethnobotanical database: www.ars-grin.gov/duke/

Null, Gary. A Woman’s Encyclopedia of Natural Healing, Seven Stories Press, New York, N.Y., 1997.

The Clinician’s Handbook of Natural Healing,. Kensington Press, New York, N.Y., 1998

by Viana Muller, Ph.D. This article may not be reprinted without permission from the author.

Copyright by Whole World Botanicals, Inc. (2001-2008)