Organ Specific Guide - Raintree Nutrition, Inc

AMAZON KIDNEY SUPPORT
Description: A synergistic formula of powerful rainforest plants traditionally used in South America for
kidney stones.
Traditional uses by organ or system: Kidneys/Urinary Tract: For kidney stones and gout.
Ingredients: A proprietary blend of chanca piedra (Phyllanthus niruri), boldo (Peumus boldus), erva tostão
(Boerhaavia diffusa), cipó cabeludo (Mikania hirsutissima), and abuta (Cissampelos pareira).
Suggested Use: Take 2 capsules 3 times daily.
Contraindications: Not to be used during pregnancy or while breast-feeding.
Drug Interactions: May potentiate diabetic, heart, anticoagulant and diuretic medications.
Other Practitioner Observations and Possible Precautions:
• Several plants in this formula have been documented to reduce blood pressure and/or have a mild
cardiac depressant effect in animal studies. Individuals with low blood pressure should be monitored for
this possible effect.
• Several plants in this formula contain coumarin which thins the blood. Those individuals with blood
disorders, such as hemophilia, should be monitored closely for this possible effect.
• Several plants in this formula have diuretic activity. Chronic long-term use of any diuretic can cause
electrolyte and mineral imbalances which should be monitored.
Synopsis of research: (Please the online Tropical Plant Database for all cited research.)
• Chanca piedra has been documented in human and animal studies to have the ability to block the
formation of calcium oxalate crystals as well as provide a direct antilithic action. Three new studies were
published in 2006 on chanca piedra's beneficial uses for kidney stones and gout. In a long-term randomized
study with 150 human patients with a history of kidney stones, researchers confirmed the plant's
ability to prevent reoccuring stone formations in humans and reported: "Regular self-administration of
P. niruri [chanca piedra] after extra-corporeal shock wave lithotripsy for renal stones results in an
increased stone-free rate that appears statistically significant for lower caliceal location." A 2006 animal
study confirmed the plant's use for gout reporting that it: "significantly reversed the plasma uric acid level
of hyperuricemic animals to its normal level in a dose-dependent manner, comparable to that of allopurinol,
benzbromarone and probenecid which are used clinically for the treatment of hyperuricemia and
gout." Another 2006 study with rats indicated that chanca piedra:"may have a therapeutic potential, since
it was able to modify the shape and texture of calculi to a smoother and probably more fragile form,
which could contribute to elimination and/or dissolution of calculi." In an earlier 2002 rat study, researchers
reported that chanca piedra strongly inhibited the growth and number of stones formed over a control
group. In 2003, scientists again confirmed in vitro that chanca piedra could help prevent the formation
of kidney stones. Previously (in the mid-1980s), the antispasmodic activity of chanca piedra was reported.
This led researchers to surmise that "smooth muscle relaxation within the urinary or biliary tract
probably facilitates the expulsion of kidney or bladder calculi." Researchers had already reported chanca
piedra's antispasmodic properties and smooth muscle relaxant properties (including a uterine relaxant
effect) in several earlier studies.
• Boldo, and/or its main chemical boldine, has shown in various studies over the years to possess diuretic,
febrifuge, and anti-inflammatory properties as well as the ability to reduce excess uric acid.
• Erva tostão is traditionally used in Brazilian herbal medicine as a diuretic, for urinary tract disorders, renal
disorders, kidney stones, cystitis, and nephritis.
• Cipó cabeludo is widely used in traditional herbal medicine systems in Brazil as a powerful diuretic. Its
main documented uses there are for kidney stones, to help lower uric acid levels, and for gout, urinary
tract infections, cystitis, and urethritis.
• Abuta and many of its main active constituents have been documented by scientists to have significant
antispasmodic, muscle relaxant and analgesic properties. It is traditionally used in Peruvian herbal
medicine systems for kidney stones.