Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Track Amor seco (tick clover, desmodium) with reminders and record whether it helped, in the app.
Amor seco is a low, sprawling legume whose seed pods stick to clothes and animal fur. Its botanical name is Desmodium adscendens. In Ghana it is known in Twi as koseakosee.
It grows across West Africa, and also in the Caribbean and South America. The parts above ground are dried and brewed as a tea. Healers used it for wheezing, coughs, cramps, loose stools and liver trouble.
Here is the honest verdict. Human evidence is very thin, and most findings come from animals and test tubes. Long traditional use does not prove that a remedy works, and it does not prove that it is safe.
No one has shown clearly how amor seco acts in the human body.
In animal airway tissue, extracts relaxed smooth muscle. That is the muscle that tightens around the airways in an asthma attack. Whether a cup of tea does this in a human lung is not known.
In test tubes, saponins from the plant blocked some of the signals that make that muscle contract. This is a lab finding only. It has not been matched by a proper trial in people.
In rodents given liver poisons, extracts lowered blood markers of liver damage. Cell studies suggest the flavonoids mop up some reactive molecules. These are early signals, not proof of a liver benefit in humans.
Amor seco is sold and used in a few simple forms.
- Dried aerial parts (leaves and stems) for a tea or decoction - Loose powder, sometimes in sachets - Capsules or tablets of dried, powdered plant - Liquid extracts and tinctures in alcohol or glycerine - Fresh plant poultices, used in some village practice
In West African markets it is most often sold loose and brewed at home. In Europe and North America it is sold mainly as capsules or a liquid extract, often marketed for the liver. Labels rarely state how much saponin or flavonoid the product holds.
Amor seco has a long record in West African home and herbal practice, and it is widely known in Ghana as koseakosee.
Healers brewed the leaves and stems for asthma, coughing and chest tightness. The same tea was given for stomach cramps, loose stools and painful periods. Washes and poultices were applied to sores, boils and aching joints.
The plant travelled with people across the Atlantic. In the Caribbean and the Amazon it picked up the name amor seco and similar uses. From the 1970s, French herbal practice took it up for the liver, especially after hepatitis.
None of this history tells you how well it works today.
Stop taking it and see a doctor if you notice any of the following.
- Yellow skin or yellow eyes (jaundice), or dark urine - Pain over the upper right side of your belly - Nausea or vomiting that will not settle - Rash, itching, or swelling of the lips, face or tongue - Unusual tiredness that is new since you started it
Get emergency help for breathlessness, wheezing that your inhaler does not ease, or chest tightness with blue lips. Do not wait for a herb to work during an asthma attack.
In the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, amor seco is sold as a food supplement or herbal tea. It is not approved as a medicine, and products may not claim to treat disease. In Ghana, herbal products are overseen by the national Food and Drugs Authority.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →
The published evidence for Amor seco (tick clover, desmodium) is weak or absent. That usually means no controlled trial has tested it, not that a trial found it ineffective — the two are different, and we grade only what has been published.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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