Guaco
Mikania glomerata (also M. laevigata)
Herbs & Roots. Latin American & Amazon and Dr. Sebi's list.
Also called Guaco vine, Guaco de cheiro
Spanish: Guaco
Coumarin may harm the liverA climbing vine from Brazil, used as a tea or syrup for coughs and asthma. Its leaves smell sweet from a natural compound called coumarin.
Did you know? Its leaves smell like sweet hay or vanilla because they contain coumarin, the same compound that gives tonka beans and sweet clover their scent.
What it may help, and how strong the proof is
- Breathing & asthma. Long used for asthma and bronchitis in Brazil. Lab work and traditional use only. No good cough trial was found.Traditional proof
- Sore throat & cough. Used in cough syrups for sore throat. No strong human trials exist.Traditional proof
Parts of the body
Traditional use
In Brazil guaco has long been used for coughs, bronchitis and asthma. It appears on Brazil's national essential-drug list for coughs.
How it is classified
- Herbal actions
- Expectorant, Antispasmodic. Energy: neutral.
How people take it
Leaves are made into tea or sold as a sweet syrup. No trial has set a safe daily dose.
Syrup and tea.
Where to get it
Grows as a climbing vine in Brazil and nearby South American regions. Sold as dried leaf, tea, syrup and tincture in Brazilian pharmacies and online. Quality and coumarin content vary.
Be careful
Coumarin can harm the liver at high doses. Avoid it in pregnancy and with liver disease. Coumarin-containing herbs may add to the effect of blood thinners.
Avoid if: pregnancy; breastfeeding; liver disease; bleeding disorders.
Mixing with other things
- Use cautionBlood thinners (warfarin, Eliquis, Xarelto, Plavix, daily aspirin)
Coumarin-containing herbs may add to blood thinner effects. The size of this effect is unknown.
Adds up with others that may slow blood clotting: , , , , , , , , , , , , , and 40 more.
The honest take
Guaco is a long-used Brazilian cough remedy with some pharmacology, but no good human trial shows it eases coughs. Claims that it is proven are overstated. Its coumarin content is the main safety concern.