Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Copaíba as Anti-Inflammatory

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

SAO PAULO, Jul 29 2006 (IPS) - A study conducted by University of Sao Paulo's Ribeirao Preto science department has certified the anti-inflammatory properties of the copaíba plant (Copaifera officinalis). In testing on mice, this tree native to the tropical regions of Latin America and Western Africa presented anti-inflammation properties twice as strong as diclofenac sodium, a synthetic medication.

This was manifest because “with a lower dose, we achieved the same anti-inflammatory effect,” Mónica Freiman Ramos, head of the investigation, explained to Tierramérica. She believes that after conducting toxicology and clinical trials in humans, alongside the pharmaceutical industry, the availability of the product on the market may not be far away.

To date, copaíba has been used in scents and varnishes, but traditional medicine has used it to prevent scarring and as an anti-inflammatory.