Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Anamú is a strong-smelling plant used in Latin American and Caribbean folk medicine. Its botanical name is Petiveria alliacea. Many people know it as guinea hen weed or zorrillo.
The root and leaves are dried for tea, or sold as tinctures and capsules. Healers used it for pain, swelling, colds and "cleansing" the body. Traditional use is not proof that it works, and it is not proof that it is safe.
Here is the honest verdict on the evidence. There are no good human trials behind any of its claimed uses. Almost everything known comes from lab dishes and animals, so no health benefit is established in people.
No mechanism for anamú has been confirmed in people. What follows comes from lab and animal work only.
In cell studies, sulfur compounds from the plant appear to slow the growth of some cancer cell lines. This has not been shown to help anyone with cancer.
In test tubes, extracts seem to slow the growth of some bacteria and fungi. Whether that happens inside the body is unknown.
In animals, extracts have been reported to lower blood sugar and to calm swelling. These findings are the main reason for the drug cautions on this page. They are not proof of a benefit for you.
Dried root and leaf, loose or in tea bags, is the most common form.
Capsules and tablets of powdered root or leaf are sold online and in herb shops.
Liquid tinctures and alcohol extracts are also widely sold.
Some traditional users crushed fresh leaves for a poultice on the skin. Skin contact can irritate, and the smell clings to clothes and hands.
Products are rarely tested for strength or purity. Labels often do not say which plant part is inside.
Anamú has a long standing in folk medicine across the Caribbean, Central America, Brazil and the Amazon. Written records of its use go back to the colonial era.
Traditional healers used the root and leaf for fevers, pain, coughs and skin trouble. It also had a place in spiritual cleansing and in warding off bad luck.
Some traditions used it to bring on menstruation or end a pregnancy. That use is the root of the strict pregnancy warning on this page.
This history tells you people trusted the plant. It does not tell you the plant worked, and it says nothing about safe doses.
Stop taking anamú and get medical help the same day if any of these happen.
Go to an emergency department for heavy bleeding, black or tarry stools, or blood in your vomit.
Get urgent help for shaking, sweating, confusion or fainting, which can mean low blood sugar.
Seek care the same day for severe stomach pain, yellowing of your skin or eyes, or a spreading rash.
If you are pregnant and have taken it, contact your midwife or doctor now, especially with cramping or bleeding.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist that you took anamú, and bring the bottle.
In the United States anamú is sold as a dietary supplement. It is not approved to treat or prevent any disease there.
In the United Kingdom and the European Union it is not an authorised medicine. It is sold mainly through herb shops and online. Quality and strength are not checked the way medicines are.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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