Dysphania ambrosioides

Dysphania ambrosioides, popularly called epazote, apazote or paico, is a perennial aromatic plant, which is used as a condiment and as a medicinal plant in Mexico and many other Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, as well as in the southern United States. In Mexico it is also called acahualillo or milpa tea.

This plant is native to America, and was already known and used by the Aztecs in the territory of present-day Mexico, under the Nahuatl name of epazotl, from which comes the current name used in that country. It grows on sandy soils and grows larger on the banks of rivers and lakes. Epazote comes from the Nahuatl “epatl”, fetid herb, and “tzotl”, sweet, which refers to the strong and sweet smell that this herb has.

Description

It is an aromatic annual or perennial plant with a short life, with branches with rather irregular development. Pubescent stem, simple or branched, usually prostrate, with a strong odor, from about 40 cm to 1 m tall; the leaves are oblong-lanceolate and closed, 3-10 cm long and 1-5 cm wide, gradually reduced towards the upper part, subentire or sinuate-dentate; inflorescences with numerous small green flowers arising from a branched panicle at the apex of the stem, with or without intervening leaves; perianth 1 mm long, glandular, enveloping the fruit, pericarp thin, easily detached, glandular; horizontal or vertical seed, about 0.7 mm in diameter, with an obtuse, black, shiny and smooth margin.

Distribution and habitat

It is believed that it was introduced to Europe in 1577 by Francisco Hernández de Toledo, who was also a physician to King Philip II. From him comes the first mention that is known in the Old World about the "epazotl" and where the medicinal virtues that the natives of Mexico already gave it, who used it as an anthelmintic, are also cited for the first time..

Widely distributed in the Valley of Mexico, although it is not very common as an arvense and ruderal weed. And in Mexico it is known in Aguascalientes, Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Federal District, Durango, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, State of Mexico, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán.

It is a common backyard plant in rural areas and is well adapted to warm, semi-warm, dry and temperate climates. It grows associated with tropical deciduous, subdeciduous, evergreen, subevergreen, xeric scrub, cloud forests, mountain oak, and mixed pine forests. It is practically found throughout Mexico both wild and cultivated, due to its large seed production and its adaptability to different types of soils and climates, it is not considered a plant under any protection category of standard 059 of the Ministry of the Environment. and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) of Mexico. In the Valley of Mexico it is known up to 3 000 m s. no. m.. It grows in soils rich in organic matter, nitrogen and sufficient moisture. Naturalized in warm and temperate regions of the Old World.

In Colombia it is distributed between 50 and 3 600 m s. no. m. in the biogeographic regions of Amazonia, Andes, Caribbean Plain, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Valle del Cauca, Valle del Magdalena, with records reported for the departments of Amazonas, Antioquia, Atlántico, Boyacá, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Huila, Magdalena, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Santander and Valle del Cauca.

Taxonomy

Dysphania ambrosioides was described by (L.) Mosyakin and Clemants and published in Ukrajins'kyj Botaničnyj Žurnal 59(4): 382. 2002.

Etymology

The word epazote is derived from Nahuatl. It is a compound word of epatl which means stink and tzotl, sweat,"tears".

It is also called paico in Chile and Peru (from Quechua payqu).

History

It is believed that it was introduced to Europe in 1577 by Francisco Hernández de Toledo, who was also a physician to King Philip II. From him comes the first mention that is known in the Old World about epazotl, and where the medicinal virtues already given to it by the natives of Mexico, who used it as an anthelmintic, are also mentioned for the first time; that is, as an aid to eliminate intestinal parasites. It is also used as an antispasmodic.

Cultural Significance

Cooking uses

In Mexican gastronomy it is used in many dishes, such as elotes and esquites, black beans, huitlacoche, chileatole, certain varieties of quesadillas, some types of tamales, escamoles, in some seafood soups such as crab chilpachole, within a wide variety of broths, soups, stews, sauces and some moles of traditional Mexican cuisine in which this condiment is irreplaceable.

Medicinal uses

Properties

Active ingredients:

• Essential oil (0.8-1%), also called Kerod oil:
• ascaridol (60-80%), this compound is toxic and not very pleasant. The content of ascaridol is presumed to be lower in Mexico's epazote than in Europe and Asia.
• Terpenic hydrocarbons (20%): alpha-terpinene, lemon, p-cimene; saponosides.

It is commonly believed that it prevents flatulence caused by the consumption of beans, which is why it is used to flavor beans. It is also used in the treatment of amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, malaria, chorea, hysteria, colds and asthma.

As an anthelmintic, especially effective against ascaris and hookworms, less so against pinworms. Emmenagogue, antispasmodic. Indicated for intestinal parasites: ascariasis, hookworm.

It is contraindicated in pregnancy and renal failure. The essential oil can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, bloody vomit, trembling feet and hands. At high doses, the essential oil can cause irritation of the renal parenchyma and even death due to paralysis of the bulbar respiratory centers. It is recommended not to prescribe the essential oil internally. In the Canary Islands, where it is known as pasote, it is used as a medicinal plant, in infusion, for digestive problems.^{[citation required ]}

Toxicity

The essential oil of this plant, extracted from the leaves and immature seeds, contains peroxygenated monoterpenes, such as ascaridol (from 10% to 70% depending on the origin) and phenylpropanoids such as safrole. Overdose can cause death. Some of the symptoms are acute gastroenteritis with pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

Common names

• In Peru it is known as a paico. Also in Colombia it is known almost always as paico, as well as with the names of ambrosia, sacred grass (La Guajira), epasota, pasota, pazota (Arauca and Casanare), yerbasanta (Atlantic, Bolívar, Chocó, Córdoba, La Guajira, Magdalena, Sucre). In Venezuela it is known by several names according to the region: Hormiguera, Pasote, Pasota, Pazote and in Paraguay and northeastern Argentina as ka'ar.

Gallery

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  Illustration in Francisco Manuel Blanco, Flora de Philippines, Gran edición, 1880-1883[1].

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  Detail of the leaves.

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  Dysphania ambrosioides: fruits and seeds.

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  Brief description of the Teloxys ambrosioides in the botanical garden of UNAM, Mexico.