West Indian snowberry (Chiococca alba).Plant Part Used: Root, leaf, flower, aerial parts.Dominican Medicinal Uses: Root: ingredient in alcohol-based herbal mixtures or strong infusions for genitourinary or sexually transmitted infections, reproductive disorders, respiratory tract infection, cleansing the body internally. Whole plant used as an astringent, diuretic, emetic, emollient.Safety: Aqueous root extract given at moderate dosages did not show toxic effects although ethanolic root extract showed signs of toxicity in animal studies.Laboratory & Preclinical Data: In vivo: anti-inflammatory.In vitro: antibacterial.* See entry for Timacle in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.
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