IngredientsDivi-divi (Libidibia coriaria, synonym Caesalpinia coriaria) is a leguminous tree or large shrub native to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and northern and western South America. The species was first formally described by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1763 as Poinciana coriaria. In 1799, Carl Ludwig Willdenow transferred it to the genus Caesalpinia, and in 1830, Diederich von Schlechtendal transferred it to his newly created genus Libidibia. The genus Libidibia was not always accepted and the species was usually placed in Caesalpinia, until molecular phylogenetic studies led to the reinstatement of Libidibia.
Accepted synonyms include Caesalpinia coriaria Willd., Caesalpinia thomaea Spreng., Libidibia coriaria Schltdl., and Poinciana coriaria Jacq. It is a member of the Fabaceae family and the Caesalpinioideae subfamily, commonly known in Mexican vernacular as "cascalote."
Common names include divi-divi, cascalote, guaracabuya, guatapana, nacascol, tan yong, and watapana (Aruba). Divi-divi is the national tree of Curaçao and is very popular in Aruba where it is also called "watapana."
Divi-divi is a slow-growing, large evergreen shrub or small tree native to open, coastal areas of Central America and the West Indies. It is also relatively common in cultivation, and has become locally naturalized in tropical Africa. It rarely reaches its maximum height of 9 m (30 ft) because its growth is contorted by the trade winds that batter the exposed coastal sites where it often grows. In other environments it grows into a low dome shape with a clear subcanopy space.
Leaves are bipinnate, with 5–10 pairs of pinnae, each pinna with 15–25 pairs of leaflets; the individual leaflets are 7 mm long and 2 mm broad. The fruit is a twisted pod 5 cm (2.0 in) long. The small, yellow-green flowers are held in dense, 2-inch long panicles and are not considered showy. The flowers are followed by twisted, 2–3-inch long pods that contain small, glossy brown seeds.
Notable for its distinctive twisted pods and broad, spreading crown shaped by prevailing winds, it typically reaches 6 to 10 meters in height and thrives in arid to semi-arid climates, tolerating poor, rocky, or saline soils.
All parts of the plant are used to treat various ailments, including the bark and leaves as astringents, the flowers for heart disease and digestive issues, the roots for their antiseptic properties in ulcer treatment, and nut-based infusions for relieving tonsillitis. In modern research contexts, the primary part studied is the fruit pod, given its exceptional concentration of polyphenols and tannins. The pods are known to contain high concentrations of phenolic compounds with strong antioxidant capacity, while both leaves and fruits have been found to be rich in saponins, tannins, flavonoids, ethyl gallate, and gallic acid, all of which contribute to their bioactivity.
Preparations documented in the scientific literature include:
Divi-divi has been traded since pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, where Maya and Aztec healers valued the fruit pods for their tangy pulp and the bark's binding tannins. Spanish chroniclers in the 16th century noted divi-divi pods being carried by merchants along Yucatan trade routes, sometimes used as a natural leather dye binder or as a digestive aid mixed with honey.
Divi-divi has been used in Central America for many centuries as a tanning material, and its cultivation spread to several other countries, particularly India, before it fell out of favour in the 1950s. According to the FAO's Ecocrop database, the pods provide tannin and a black dye used in the tanning industry and for ink. It is grown as an ornamental in many parts of the tropics and is sometimes still cultivated for its tannins.
Fruits of divi-divi (Caesalpinia coriaria) are traditionally used by the Wayúu community in La Guajira (Colombia) to treat oral and skin cavity diseases caused by bacteria and fungi. The Wayúu community that occupies this area uses fruit extracts of C. coriaria against different skin and mucous illnesses.
Caesalpinia coriaria is widely used as a traditional medicinal plant in Mexico for protective and healing purposes and the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Its presence predominates on the Pacific coasts in the states of Oaxaca, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Sinaloa, and it is known to be a species commonly used by traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments. Caesalpinia coriaria, also named cascalote, has been known traditionally in México for having cicatrizing and anti-inflammatory properties.
The therapeutic potential of this species is further supported by the long-standing use of its leaves and fruits for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities, with traditional preparations such as decoctions of dried fruits and leaves being employed to relieve gastrointestinal discomfort and stomach cramps.
Extracts obtained from C. coriaria contain a wide range of bioactive compounds, including tannins, terpenoids, phenols, coumarins, quinones, flavonoids, saponins, carbohydrates, proteins, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, anthraquinones, steroids, and polyphenols.
Estimates suggest that the tannin content in C. coriaria fruits ranges from 34 to 47%, with some studies reporting approximately 35% hydrolyzable tannins and around 10% condensed tannins. In the pods, considerable concentrations of total polyphenolic compounds (439.08 mg/g), condensed tannins (7.72 mg/g), flavones and flavonols (149.50 mg/g), as well as total flavonoids (16.84 mg/g) have been reported.
Monogalloylglucose, digalloylglucose, trigalloylglucose, tetragalloylglucose, and pentagalloylglucose are part of the class of hydrolyzable tannins, specifically gallotannins, which are esters of glucose and gallic acid with varying degrees of galloylation. These compounds show significant biological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, because of their capacity to scavenge free radicals and interact with cellular proteins and enzymes. Gallotannins demonstrate enhanced bioactivity with increasing galloyl units, as observed in pentagalloylglucose, which is particularly noted for its potent protein-binding and enzyme-inhibitory effects.
Among the predominant phenolic constituents, methyl gallate, ethyl gallate, and corilagin stand out, whose multiple biological activities, including potent free radical scavenging effects, have been identified and described in several studies.
Corilagin, a gallotannin, is one of the major active components of many ethnopharmacological plants. It was isolated from Caesalpinia coriaria (Jacq.) Willd. (dividivi) by Schmidt in 1951 for the first time. In the past few decades, corilagin was reported to exhibit anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities.
The compounds isolated and identified by chromatography and spectroscopic analysis from pod extracts include stigmasterol, ethyl gallate, and gallic acid. Methyl gallate and gallic acid are secondary metabolites from Caesalpinia coriaria that have been demonstrated to have antibacterial activity.
Ellagic acid was prepared from various plant sources in the early 20th century, including from divi-divi (Caesalpinia coriaria (Jacq.) Willd.), myrobalan (Terminalia catappa L.), and algarrobilla (Prosopis humilis Hook.).
HPLC analysis identified phenolic compounds, including ellagic acid, in the ethyl acetate extract, while GC–MS analysis of the hexane extract revealed hexadecanoic acid, 11-methylheptacosane, dodecanoic acid, and nonacosane as major constituents.
Various botanical parts of the tree, such as leaves, pods, flowers, seeds, branches, and bark, have been studied due to their bioactivity and their astringent, antiparasitic, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory properties. The phytosterol stigmasterol has also been identified as a constituent of pod extracts.
Hydrolyzable tannins such as galloylglucoses and ellagitannins in divi-divi exert antioxidant activity through direct scavenging of reactive oxygen species and reduction of oxidative stress. These compounds show significant antioxidant properties because of their capacity to scavenge free radicals and interact with cellular proteins and enzymes.
By modulating nitric oxide production, as well as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pathways, methanol extracts of C. coriaria pods significantly reduced gastrointestinal lesions in rat models, showing effects comparable to conventional medications, possibly due to the presence of gallic acid derivatives. In the gastroprotective rat study, the extract's gastroprotective effect was accompanied by significant decreases in leukocyte recruitment, and gastric levels of TNF-α and LTB4 by two to fourfold. Gastric levels of PGE2 were maintained and the antioxidant enzyme activities of SOD and nitrate/nitrite in the gastric tissue were improved.
The antibacterial activity is attributed chiefly to polyphenolic fractions, particularly gallic acid and methyl gallate. The aim of one study was to isolate and identify the secondary metabolites with antibacterial activity from Caesalpinia coriaria fruit; the hydroalcoholic extract was subjected to bipartition with ethyl acetate giving aqueous and organic fractions. The isolation of the bioactive fraction (EtOAc-F) yielded two important compounds, methyl gallate and gallic acid, identified by HPLC and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).
Cytotoxic assays on cancer cells showed different ranges of activities. A differential effect on cell cycle progression was observed by flow cytometry. In particular, ethyl gallate and tannic acid induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and showed interesting effects on microtubule stabilization in Hep3B cells observed by immunofluorescence. The induction of apoptosis was characterized by morphological characteristic changes, and was supported by increases in the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 expression and activation of caspase 3/7.
The pharmacological relevance of divi-divi lies in its content of bioactive phenolic compounds with anthelmintic properties, particularly effective for controlling parasitic infections in cattle and small ruminants; this makes it a valuable resource for farmers who lack access to synthetic veterinary drugs, as the use of its extracts during the fattening phase not only contributes to reducing gastrointestinal parasitism, but also enhances growth performance and minimizes drug residues in animal-derived products. Condensed tannins are believed to interfere directly with the cuticle and metabolism of gastrointestinal nematodes.
Evidence level: Preclinical (animal model studies) — no human clinical trials identified.
The most rigorous animal-model study on divi-divi's gastrointestinal effects was published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2023). The study investigated the gastroprotective effect of extract of Caesalpinia coriaria pods against ethanol-induced and indomethacin-induced gastric lesion models, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities, and its main compounds through LC-MS analysis. Male Wistar rats were orally administered a methanol extract obtained from the pods of C. coriaria at doses of 10, 30, 100, and 300 mg/kg prior to inducing gastric lesions with ethanol or indomethacin. Gastric mucosal lesions were evaluated by macroscopic and histopathological alterations.
Pretreatment with the extract at doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg significantly reduced gastric ulcer lesions in both models. Compared with the reference drugs (omeprazole or ranitidine, respectively), no significant difference was found (p < 0.05). The results suggest that the gastroprotective effect of the methanol extract of C. coriaria pods occurs through anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and NO modulation properties, and gallic acid derivatives may be the main possible compounds responsible for its actions.
Limitation: This is an animal model study only. No human clinical trials have been conducted to validate these findings in gastrointestinal disease.
Evidence level: Preclinical (in vitro) — no human clinical trials identified.
The background context for one in vitro study noted that divi-divi fruits are traditionally used by the Wayúu community in La Guajira (Colombia) to treat oral and skin cavity diseases caused by bacteria and fungi. A study published in 2021 evaluated methanolic and ethanolic extracts of dry divi-divi fruits against Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 12384 and Candida albicans ATCC 14053. Extracts were obtained from the Soxhlet method using two solvents (methanol and ethanol 98%) prepared from pulverized fruits. This study revealed that C. coriaria has an antimicrobial effect on the tested species, opening the field of its possible use as a therapeutic agent.
A separate study (Olmedo-Juárez et al., 2019, Microbial Pathogenesis) isolated and identified compounds from C. coriaria fruit extracts and tested them against several clinically important bacteria. The hydroalcoholic extract and its isolated fractions were evaluated in vitro to determine their Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus species. The study revealed that C. coriaria has an antimicrobial effect on the tested species, opening the field of its possible use as a therapeutic agent.
An earlier study using aqueous, acetone, methanol, and hexane extracts from dry C. coriaria pods (using Soxhlet apparatus) also assessed antibacterial activity. Recently, much attention has been directed towards extracts and biologically active compounds isolated from popular plant species, with the use of medicinal plants playing a vital role in covering basic health needs and offering a source of antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral agents.
Limitation: All antimicrobial evidence to date is in vitro. No human or animal infection-model clinical trials have been conducted specifically for divi-divi in infectious disease settings.
Evidence level: In vitro and limited in vivo (animal) — no human clinical trials identified.
One study aimed to evaluate the in vitro lethal effect of a methanolic extract (ME) from Caesalpinia coriaria fruits against Haemonchus contortus eggs and infective larvae. The anthelmintic activity was assessed using the egg hatching inhibition assay (EHI) and the mortality test. The ME was assessed using five concentrations: 6.15, 3.12, 1.56, and 0.78 mg/mL against eggs and 150, 100, 75, and 50 mg/mL against larvae. Ivermectin (5 mg/mL) was used as positive control. A clear concentration-dependent effect of the ME was observed in both the EHI and mortality tests.
Caesalpinia coriaria is shown as an alternative for the formulation of antimicrobial and anthelmintic drugs due to its content of bioactive compounds; it is a promising source of bioactive molecules with various applications, including anthelmintic properties, antibacterial effects, and environmental benefits.
Limitation: The anthelmintic evidence base consists of in vitro studies and preclinical animal models. No human trials have been performed for this indication with divi-divi specifically.
Evidence level: In vitro (cell line studies) only — no human clinical trials identified.
A 2018 PMC study (Sánchez-Carranza et al.) constituted the first phytochemical and cytotoxic study of C. coriaria and showed the action of its phenolic constituents on cell cycle, cell death, and microtubule organization. Phytochemical reports on Caesalpinia species had previously identified a high content of phenolic compounds and shown antineoplastic effects against cancer cells. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify the active compounds of a water:acetone:ethanol (WAE) extract of C. coriaria pods and characterize their cytotoxic effect and cell death induction in different cancer cell lines.
A separate study (Anandhi and Revathi, 2013) investigated the in vitro anticancer activity of C. coriaria pods on SiHa cervical cancer cell lines. In vitro anticancer activity of Caesalpinia coriaria (Jacq.) Willd (pods) on SiHa cell lines was reported in Biochem Cell Arch.
Limitation: All cytotoxic/anticancer findings are from in vitro cell line experiments. These results cannot be extrapolated to clinical anticancer efficacy without further in vivo and human studies.
Evidence level: In vitro — no human trials identified.
One of the main reasons C. coriaria has attracted significant research interest is its high tannin content, particularly concentrated in the leaves and pods. Multiple in vitro antioxidant assays (including DPPH and related methods) have demonstrated substantial free radical scavenging activity, attributed primarily to the gallic acid derivatives, corilagin, and ellagitannins present in pod extracts.
The applications of this species extend beyond human medicine, as several studies have demonstrated its potential as ruminant fodder with promising results, and its use in artisanal leather tanning processes is also well documented. Incorporating C. coriaria fruit waste into ruminant diets reduces methane and carbon dioxide emissions while improving ruminal fermentation, offering an eco-friendly approach to livestock management.
There is no established or standardized human dosage for divi-divi. The following doses appear only in preclinical research contexts and should not be construed as clinical recommendations.
No pharmacokinetic, bioavailability, or human pharmacodynamic data are currently published for divi-divi extracts or their isolated constituents.
The tannin content in C. coriaria fruits ranges from 34 to 47%, with approximately 35% hydrolyzable tannins and around 10% condensed tannins. High-dose, concentrated tannin intake can precipitate dietary proteins and may reduce the absorption of non-heme iron and other minerals. This is a pharmacological property shared with all high-tannin botanical preparations and follows from the general protein-binding mechanism of condensed and hydrolyzable tannins.
No formal human toxicological studies, clinical safety trials, or dose-ranging studies have been published specifically for Caesalpinia coriaria in human populations. From a future perspective, in vivo studies or concrete industrial applications should be done, in order to provide greater practical value to the extracts from several botanical parts of C. coriaria, which are rich in phenolic and tannin chemicals, have the potential to improve agriculture, medicine, and sustainable technologies.
Reports indicate that the fruits of this tree are consumed by ruminants in their grazing routes, without manifestations of intoxication symptoms. While this offers informal reassurance regarding acute toxicity at naturally consumed quantities, it does not constitute systematic safety evaluation for humans.
The tannins in divi-divi are of the hydrolyzable type (gallotannins and ellagitannins), chemically distinct from proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins), and are generally considered to have lower acute mammalian toxicity when ingested in moderate quantities. However, at high supplemental doses, particularly in extracts standardized to very high tannin percentages, potential effects on digestive enzyme activity and nutrient absorption are well recognized within the broader tannin pharmacology literature.
Corilagin, first isolated from divi-divi in 1951, was reported to exhibit anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities; however, little attention was paid to its pharmacological properties due to the complicated and inefficient extraction method. In recent years, with the development of extraction technology, corilagin became much easier to obtain, leading to renewed interest in its anti-tumor, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities. No specific toxicity studies for corilagin derived from divi-divi in humans have been published as of the reviewed literature.
Divi-divi (Caesalpinia coriaria / Libidibia coriaria) does not appear in major pharmacopeial monographs (e.g., European Pharmacopoeia, USP, WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants) as a recognized and regulated herbal medicine. It is also not listed in German Commission E or ESCOP monographs. No EFSA opinion or NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet exists for this species. Its regulatory status is therefore that of an unregulated botanical ingredient in most jurisdictions.
From the future perspective, in vivo studies or concrete industrial applications should be done in order to provide greater practical value to the extracts from several botanical parts of C. coriaria, which are rich in phenolic and tannin chemicals and have the potential to improve agriculture, medicine, and sustainable technologies.
The current evidence base for divi-divi as a dietary supplement or medicinal botanical in humans is preliminary. Published work is dominated by:
No peer-reviewed human clinical trials evaluating safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, or efficacy of divi-divi preparations in any disease indication have been identified. The phytochemical identity of its key constituents (gallic acid, methyl gallate, ethyl gallate, corilagin, ellagic acid, pentagalloylglucose) is well-established, and these compounds individually have broader evidence bases in the pharmacological literature. However, translating in vitro and animal data to clinical claims for divi-divi specifically requires dedicated clinical investigation not yet conducted.
Health conditions that Divi-divi may help support.
Body systems that Divi-divi may help support.
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