IngredientsMaytenus krukovii, commonly known as chuchuhuasi or chuchuassi, is a member of the family Celastraceae native to the Amazon Basin in South America. Several botanical names have been given to this species of tree; it is referenced as Maytenus krukovii, M. ebenifolia, M. laevis, and M. macrocarpa, and all botanical names refer to the same tree. The species was formally described by American botanist Albert Charles Smith (hence the author abbreviation A.C.Sm.) and is recognized under this name in authoritative botanical databases including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Plants of the World Online. A further synonym in active use is Maytenus chuchuhuasca. It should not be confused with Heisteria pallida, which is sometimes referred to as chuchuhuasha or chuchuwasi.
The genus Maytenus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae, with members distributed throughout Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Australasia, the Indian Ocean, and Africa, growing in a very wide variety of climates from tropical to subpolar.
Chuchuhuasi is an enormous canopy tree of the Amazon rainforest that grows to 30 metres high, with large leaves (10–30 cm), small white flowers, and extremely tough, heavy, reddish-brown bark. The species is indigenous to the tropical rainforests of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The reddish-brown colour and exceptional hardness of the bark are among its most distinctive identifying features and are closely associated with its medicinal use.
Its Peruvian name, chuchuhuasi, means "trembling back," which refers to its longstanding use for arthritis, rheumatism, and back pain. Other recorded common names include chuchasha, chuchuasi, chuchuhuasha, and chuchuwasi. Alternative names in regional trade and commerce include chuchasha, chuchuasi, and chuchuhuasha.
The medicinal parts used are primarily the bark and root, traditionally employed in Amazonian herbal medicine for their therapeutic effects. The bark, root, and leaf are used to make medicine. Commercially, the bark is most prevalent, offered in the following forms:
Indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest have been using the bark of chuchuhuasi medicinally for centuries; its name means "trembling back," which describes its long history of use for back pain. Traditional healers and indigenous communities have utilized chuchuhuasi for centuries, employing different parts of the plant in various medicinal preparations.
Traditional uses include: as a pain-reliever, muscle relaxant, and anti-inflammatory for arthritis, rheumatism, and back pain; as an aphrodisiac for loss of libido (male and female); to cool and balance adrenal function; to tone, balance, and strengthen female hormonal systems and for menstrual disorders, libido loss, menstrual pain and cramps; and as a general tonic and mild immune stimulant.
Traditionally, decoctions and infusions made from Maytenus krukovii have been employed to address digestive disorders such as stomach ulcers, gastritis, and intestinal inflammation; its reputed anti-inflammatory and soothing properties made it a favored remedy for gastrointestinal distress.
The bark of chuchuhuasi is famous in western Amazonia, where it is more commonly used by people in urban centers; they regard it more highly than do Indians in remote areas, perhaps because of the ailments they suffer and apply it to. The most common use in this region is for rheumatism: to prepare the herb for pain, the bark is soaked overnight in cane liquor, and the resulting tincture is drunk.
In Colombia, the Siona Indians take a "piece of the trunk" (5 cm) and boil it in water (two litres) until the decoction reduces to half; to "cure" arthritis and rheumatism, they take "a small cupful" three times a day for a week, and they also regard the decoction as a stimulant.
In Peru, the Indians use the "reddish-brown stem bark" soaked in rum (aguardiente) as a tonic extract taken before breakfast to treat rheumatism.
Maytenus krukovii is respected as a plant teacher in Peruvian shamanism for the strength and protection it confers. It is one of the palos (trees) included in la dieta, the shamanic diet which forms the basis of shamanic training in the Ucayali region of Peru, and chuchuhuasi is one of many additional ingredients which can be added to the ayahuasca brew.
Chuchuhuasi is known as the "universal tonic of the Amazon," and Maytenus krukovii is prized as much for its revitalising and libido-enhancing effects as for its ability to relieve sore joints and muscles.
The remedy is subtle and slow acting; it may take several weeks before the full benefits are realized.
Chuchuhuasi is a powerhouse of plant chemicals — mostly triterpenes, polyphenol flavonols, and sesquiterpene alkaloids. Between 1976 and 2021, nearly 270 new compounds have been isolated and elucidated from the genus Maytenus.
Over the past decades, a large variety of biologically active secondary metabolites have been isolated and identified from members of the genus Maytenus, including a series of triterpenoids such as friedelane triterpenoids, lupane triterpenes, oleanane triterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their alkaloids, along with potent anti-tumor compounds.
The triterpene fraction of M. krukovii bark is one of the most extensively studied components. Key triterpene classes and individual compounds include:
Several friedelane triterpenoids with aromatized characteristic structures and sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids have been isolated from the genus Maytenus, and these have shown good anti-tumor and anti-bacterial characteristics. For sesquiterpenes and their alkaloids with the same skeletons, biochemical activity was found to vary with the nature of the esterification residues present; the greater the number of acetyl residues, the greater the anti-feedant activity.
In 1993, a Japanese research group isolated a novel group of alkaloids in chuchuhuasi that may be responsible for its effectiveness in treating arthritis and rheumatism. The pyridine alkaloids in the bark are likely responsible for its anti-arthritic effects.
Two of the better-known chemicals in chuchuhuasi are mayteine and maytansine — alkaloids long documented (since the 1960s) with antitumor activity that also occur in other Maytenus plants; while these chemicals are found in chuchuhuasi, they do not occur in high enough amounts to really be therapeutic for cancer. Sekar et al. confirmed the presence of mayteine and 6-benzoyl-6-deacetyl-mayteine in Maytenus krukovii, published in Planta Medica in 1995.
Maytansinoids are mitotic inhibitors which act by inhibiting tubulin polymerization. This mechanism forms the basis of modern antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) oncology drugs derived from maytansinoid chemistry, though these pharmaceutical developments are based on synthetic or microbially derived analogs rather than plant-extracted material.
The bark of M. krukovii also contains friedelan triterpenes, krukovine triterpenes, laevisine alkaloids, macrocarpin triterpenes, maytansine, mayteine, maytenin, phenoldienones, pristimerin, and proanthocyanidins. The polyphenol and flavonol content of the bark contributes to its antioxidant and antimutagenic activities demonstrated in laboratory studies (see Section 5 below).
In the United States, Sphinx Pharmaceutical Corporation of Durham, North Carolina, showed interest in chuchuhuasi; their focus was on protein kinase C (PKC)-inhibitory components of the bark of the Ecuadorian chuchuhuasi, Maytenus krukovii. Inhibitors of the PKC enzyme are of great interest because there is evidence the enzyme, in an over-active state, is involved in a wide array of disease processes including rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, brain tumors, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.
A pharmaceutical company studying chuchuhuasi's anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic properties determined that the alkaloids can effectively inhibit enzyme production of protein kinase C (PKC). This inhibition of PKC is proposed as a mechanism underlying the plant's traditional efficacy in arthritic conditions.
Traditionally, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and aphrodisiac properties are attributed to this plant; research reports suggest analgesic action by intermediation of opioid receptors, antipyretic effects, anti-inflammatory and gastro-protective actions. The opioid receptor pathway for analgesia has been proposed in preclinical models but has not been formally characterized or confirmed in human studies as of the available literature.
Activity of lupane triterpenoids from Maytenus species as inhibitors of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 was reported in Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry (2006). This mechanism is consistent with the anti-inflammatory effects observed in preclinical studies and provides a plausible molecular basis for pain and inflammation reduction.
The hydroalcoholic extract of Maytenus krukovii bark was investigated for its in vitro mutageno-protective activities by means of the Ames Salmonella/microsome assay; the extract showed an inhibitory effect in both TA98 and TA100 strains against the mutagenic activity of promutagen 2-aminoanthracene, but was not protective against directly acting mutagens sodium azide and 2-nitrofluorene; when tested as a radical scavenger and antioxidant it produced a dose-dependent inhibition.
In the 1960s, an American pharmaceutical company discovered potent immune-stimulating properties of a leaf extract and a bark extract, documenting that it increased phagocytosis — the ability of immune cells to attack bacteria and foreign cells — in mice. This reticuloendothelial system (RES) stimulating activity was among the earliest pharmacological observations made on chuchuhuasi.
Anti-inflammatory action was reported in the 1980s by an Italian research group, who reported that this activity — in addition to radiation protectant and antitumor properties — was at least partially linked to triterpenes and antioxidant chemicals isolated in the trunk bark. The cytotoxic mechanisms of tingenone and pristimerin, in particular, have been the subject of independent investigations in the broader Maytenus genus literature.
Animal and in vitro evidence:
Researchers in 1977 reported that alcohol extracts of the bark evidenced anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities in various studies with mice, which validated chuchuhuasi's traditional uses for arthritic pain. Its anti-inflammatory action was reported again in the 1980s by an Italian research group.
Preclinical animal studies on M. krukovii and related closely synonymous species have confirmed antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects. Plants belonging to the genus Maytenus (Celastraceae) are routinely used in folk medicine for the treatment of pain and inflammatory diseases, and preclinical studies have investigated the in vivo anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects of root extracts and tingenone, a natural triterpene. Oral pre-treatment with methanol extract and ethyl acetate extract (both 100 to 1000 mg/kg) and tingenone (5.3, 15.9, and 53 mg/kg) significantly reduced licking time in the second phase of the formalin test; hexane/ethyl ether extract reduced licking time in both phases and inhibited carrageenan-induced edema formation in mice; these results show that the extracts and tingenone had significant anti-nociceptive effects in the second phase of the chemical behavioral model of nociception.
Mouse analgesic comparison study:
In a study comparing the analgesic activity of methanol extract of Maytenus krukovii (chuchuhuasi) and three other plants against ibuprofen in mice, positive analgesic activity was found for the methanolic extract of M. krukovii at a dose of 1000 mg/kg orally; one hour after administration, the analgesic effect of chuchuhuasi was found to be comparable to ibuprofen. This study was conducted in an animal model and did not constitute a human clinical trial; it does not establish equivalence of effect in humans.
Human clinical evidence — the single available randomized controlled trial:
The most significant human evidence to date consists of a 4-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Maytenus krukovii "chuchuhuasi" decoction in mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis. The randomized clinical trial enrolled fifty patients with mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis (classified by Kellgren-Lawrence criteria) in a 4-week follow-up; they were distributed into three groups: Group I (40 mg/kg/day of M. krukovii), Group II (80 mg/kg/day of M. krukovii), and Group III (15 g/day of Daucus carota, which acted as placebo). Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, creatinine clearance, hematocrit, prothrombin time, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and WBC were measured; articular function, pain, and joint pathology were evaluated. The use of M. krukovii "chuchuhuasi" at doses of 40 and 80 mg/kg body weight per day showed a decrease in referred pain and improvement of functional capacity in patients with mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis.
This trial, published in a Peruvian medical journal, provides the only currently identified published randomized human clinical trial specifically for M. krukovii. The study has important limitations: the small sample size of 50 patients across three groups, the use of a vegetable placebo (carrot) rather than an inert matched placebo, the short 4-week follow-up duration, and the single-center design. No independent replication of this trial has been identified in the available literature.
Summary of evidence strength for musculoskeletal use: The available human evidence is preliminary — consisting of a single small-scale RCT with significant methodological limitations. Animal and in vitro evidence for anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity is consistent and relatively robust, but translating this to human efficacy requires further well-powered trials. Chuchuhuasi is used for joint and back pain, but there is no good scientific evidence to support its use for any condition; more evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of chuchuhuasi.
The aim of the 2006 Bruni et al. study (University of Parma, Italy) was the assessment of antimutagenic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial efficacy of M. krukovii bark hydroalcoholic extract, which is traditionally used in Andean folk medicine and commercially sold as a natural remedy. The hydroalcoholic extract of Maytenus krukovii bark was investigated for its in vitro mutageno-protective activities by the Ames Salmonella/microsome assay; the extract showed an inhibitory effect in both TA98 and TA100 strains against the mutagenic activity of promutagen 2-aminoanthracene but was not protective against directly acting mutagens sodium azide and 2-nitrofluorene; when tested as a radical scavenger and antioxidant it produced a dose-dependent inhibition.
Evidence strength: In vitro only (Ames assay; cell-free radical scavenging). No human data exist for antimutagenic or antioxidant endpoints. These findings are hypothesis-generating rather than clinically actionable.
In the Bruni et al. 2006 study, the extract did not show significant antibacterial properties, and was weakly active against dermatophyte and phytopathogenic fungi, but inhibited the growth of phytopathogen Pythium ultimum. Separate investigations have examined antimicrobial activity in Peruvian medicinal barks including M. krukovii:
Evidence strength: All available evidence is in vitro. Antibacterial activity was limited or absent against standard tested organisms in the principal M. krukovii-specific study. Some activity was noted against specific fungal species. No clinical antimicrobial trials exist.
Some chemicals in chuchuhuasi might slow cancer growth. The most studied compounds for this endpoint are tingenone and pristimerin. Available preclinical data point to tingenone and pristimerin as representing an emerging class of potential anticancer chemicals.
Research has demonstrated that the plant-derived triterpenoid tingenin B is a potent anticancer agent due to its cytotoxic activity on cancer stem cells of breast cancer in vitro (Chemistry–Biology Interactions, 2016).
While mayteine and maytansine are found in chuchuhuasi, they do not occur in high enough amounts to really be therapeutic for cancer.
Evidence strength: All evidence is in vitro or in vivo in animal models. There are no human clinical oncology trials for M. krukovii whole bark extract. The pharmaceutical development of maytansinoid-ADC drugs (e.g., trastuzumab emtansine) is based on synthetic maytansinoids, not on chuchuhuasi-derived material.
Perez-Victoria et al. reported on "New natural sesquiterpenes as modulators of daunomycin resistance in a multidrug-resistant Leishmania tropica line" in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (1999). Related ethnopharmacological work has included chuchuhuasi in surveys of plants used for malaria and leishmaniasis treatment in Loreto, Peru. Antiprotozoal activity of medicinal plants used by Iquitos-Nauta road communities in Loreto (Peru) was examined in Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2018.
Evidence strength: In vitro only. No clinical antiparasitic trials exist for M. krukovii.
Research reports suggest analgesic action by intermediation of opioid receptors, antipyretic effects, anti-inflammatory, and gastroprotective actions. The gastroprotective activity has been studied more extensively in related Maytenus species (particularly M. ilicifolia) than in M. krukovii specifically. Many biological activities of the genus have been determined experimentally, including antiulcerogenic and analgesic actions, antiulcer effects, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity of Maytenus ilicifolia.
Evidence strength: Gastroprotective claims for M. krukovii specifically are based largely on extrapolation from related species and traditional use. No published human clinical trial for gastrointestinal outcomes is available in the identified literature.
One experimental study investigated the action of chuchuhuasi on blood pressure and cardiac frequency in conscious rats; ten male albino rats were administered orally with 1000 mg/kg of methanolic extract of chuchuhuasi, and basal blood pressure and cardiac frequency were registered at hours 1, 3, 4, and 24. The findings from this animal study (Salazar-Granara et al., 2008) were published in a Peruvian medical journal. No human cardiovascular trial has been identified.
Evidence strength: Single animal study. No human clinical data available.
In the 1960s, an American pharmaceutical company discovered potent immune-stimulating properties of a leaf extract and a bark extract of Maytenus, documenting that it increased phagocytosis in mice. Various studies have confirmed the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, gastro-protective, and immune-stimulating properties of the bark.
Evidence strength: Preclinical (in vitro and animal) only. No human immunological endpoints have been measured in clinical trials.
Based on the documented traditional use and the preclinical research literature, the following body systems and health areas are associated with M. krukovii:
No standardized, pharmacopeially recognized dosage has been established for Maytenus krukovii. The following dosages are reported in the cited sources only:
When taken by mouth, there is not enough reliable information to know if chuchuhuasi is safe or what the side effects might be. This assessment, reflecting the limited human safety data available, is consistent across multiple evidence reviews. The 4-week human RCT (Salazar-Granara) did monitor liver enzyme (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, creatinine clearance, hematocrit, prothrombin time, sedimentation rate, and WBC, providing some short-term safety data, but this single small trial cannot fully characterize the safety profile.
Drowsiness or sedation may occur; caution is advised when driving or operating heavy machinery, as chuchuhuasi may increase drowsiness and promote relaxation.
Individuals should avoid chuchuhuasi with known allergy or hypersensitivity to chuchuhuasi, its constituents, or members of the Celastraceae family.
Based on reports in scientific publications, laboratory experiments, or traditional use, chuchuhuasi may interact with antibiotics, anticancer agents, antifungals, anti-inflammatory agents, and antiprotozoals. It may also interact with antibacterials, anticancer herbs and supplements, antifungals, anti-inflammatory herbs, antioxidants, and antiparasitics.
An animal study examining pharmacological interactions with conventional anti-inflammatory drugs found that ethanolic extract from chuchuhuasi leaves demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity, and a pharmacological synergistic interaction was demonstrated between chuchuhuasi at 1000 mg/kg and prednisone at 3 mg/kg in animal models. This finding, based on animal data, suggests caution when combining with corticosteroids, though human data confirming this interaction are absent.
Rain-Tree's technical data report, citing Leslie Taylor's reference database, notes that no drug interactions have been formally reported in clinical settings. This discrepancy between the theoretical interaction concern (based on mechanistic overlap) and the clinical reports (none to date) reflects the overall scarcity of rigorous clinical pharmacokinetic data.
No human safety data during pregnancy or lactation have been identified in peer-reviewed sources. The absence of safety data for these populations is noted across available monographs.
Several different species may be referred to as "chuchuhuasi," which may cause a modicum of confusion. In addition to M. macrocarpa, other Maytenus species used as chuchuhuasi may include M. krukovii (M. chuchuhuasha) and M. laevis, and occasionally M. colasii; other associated species include M. ebenifolia, M. boaria, and M. guyanensis; typically, however, M. macrocarpa, M. krukovii, and M. laevis are the more widely accepted species. This taxonomic ambiguity means that products sold as "chuchuhuasi" may contain material from species with differing phytochemical profiles, a practical concern for reproducibility of effects and safety.
The FDA does not strictly regulate herbs and supplements; there is no guarantee of strength, purity, or safety of products, and effects may vary. No European Medicines Agency (EMA) or WHO monograph exists for Maytenus krukovii specifically, and it is not listed in any major international pharmacopeia as of the available literature.
Health conditions that Maytenus krukovii may help support.
Body systems that Maytenus krukovii may help support.
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