Since ancient times, rhatany extract has been used in Peru to clean teeth and gums. In the 19th century, the ladies of Lima, Peru’s capital city, used it to whiten their teeth for festivals and celebrations.
Scientific Facts
- Scientific Name: Krameria triandra Ruiz-Pav.
- Other Names: Peruvian rhatany.
- French: Ratanhia du Pérou.
- Spanish: Ratania, krameria.
- Environment: Dry soils of the Andean mountains of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.
- Description: This is a shrub of the Leguminosae family, growing up to 50 cm high. Its young branches are covered with a layer of fine hair. It has red flowers and a windy ochre or reddish root one to three cm in diameter.
- Parts of the plant used medicinally: The root, especially its bark.
Healing Properties
The root contains catechic tannins, phlobaphene, krameric acid (an alkaloid), starch, mucilage, sugars, gum, and wax. Its most crucial active ingredient is tannin, which is not bitter like the oak tree. Its solid astringent and anti-inflammatory action makes this plant recommended for gastroenteritis and colitis, even in children.
Used externally, it renders good results in the following conditions:
- Oral pharyngeal afflictions. Stomatitis (mouth inflammation), pyorrhea, gingivitis, sore throat, and pharyngitis are applied in gargles and rinses.
- Hemorrhoids and anal fissures in sitz baths.
- Leukorrhea (vaginal flow) and vaginitis in vaginal irrigations.
- Chilblains, in compresses, soaked in a bark decoction.
How to use Rhatany
- Root powder: A heaped spoonful three times a day.
- Decoction of 20 grams of bark per liter of water. Drink three cups daily.
- Rhatany extract: Take from 10 to 20 drops three times a day.
- Decoction with 30 to 40 grams of bark per liter of water. This decoction is used for gargles, sitz baths, vaginal irrigations, and compresses.
DISCLAIMER: All content on this website is presented solely for educational and informational objectives. Do not rely on the information provided as a replacement for advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified medical expert. If you are pregnant, nursing, or have any preexisting medical concerns, talk to your doctor before using any herbal or natural medicines.
REFERENCES
- George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. “Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants.” George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Ed. Francesc X. Gelabert. Vols. 1 San Fernando de Henares: Editorial Safeliz, 2000. 196. Print. [rhatany extract]
- National Institutes of Health: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22852729/