chinchango

What is chinchango?

Chinchango is a shrub from the high Andes. Botanists call it Hypericum laricifolium. It is a close cousin of common St. John's wort.

Its leaves are thin and needle-like, and its flowers are bright yellow. Healers use the flowering tops, fresh or dried. Most of the plant's folk use is as a tea or a skin wash.

You will find it sold loose in markets in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia. Outside the Andes it is hard to buy. A few online sellers now market it as an "Andean mood herb".

Here is the honest verdict. Almost no human trials have tested chinchango for anything. Traditional use is not proof that it works, and it is not proof that it is safe.

One more point matters before you read on. Plants in this group can carry compounds that change how your medicines work. Nobody has measured that risk for chinchango, so this page treats it as real until shown otherwise.

How does chinchango work?

No one has shown how chinchango works in a person. Everything below comes from the lab.

In test-tube studies, extracts of Hypericum laricifolium slow the growth of some bacteria and fungi. Whether that happens on human skin or in the gut has not been shown.

In cell studies, the plant's flavonoids (plant pigments) mop up free radicals, the unstable molecules that damage cells. This is a very common lab finding for plant extracts. It does not tell you that drinking a tea will help you.

Common St. John's wort lifts mild low mood in people, and that effect is tied to hypericin and hyperforin. Those same compounds speed up liver enzymes that break down many drugs.

Chinchango belongs to the same plant group. Chemical surveys suggest it may carry related compounds, in amounts that vary by plant and place. Whether it is enough to shift mood, or to shift your medicines, is simply not known.

So treat each mechanism here as a clue, not a result. None has been tested in people.

What forms does chinchango come in?

Chinchango is used mostly in simple, homemade forms.

Common forms include:

Dried flowering tops, sold loose or in bundles, brewed as a tea.

Fresh tops, crushed for a poultice on the skin.

A wash or bath made from the strained tea.

An alcohol tincture, usually made by local herbalists.

Capsules and standardised extracts are rare. Where they exist, the label seldom names a measured marker compound. Some products sold online as "Andean St. John's wort" are in fact common St. John's wort, so read the botanical name.

Where it comes from:

Chinchango has a long place in Andean home medicine. Healers in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia used the flowering tops for generations.

Recorded folk uses included washes for wounds and skin sores. The tea was taken for coughs, stomach cramps and kidney complaints. Some communities used it for nerves, grief or low spirits.

It also appears in cleansing and ritual baths in parts of the Andes, where plant use and ceremony overlap.

This history tells you the plant was valued and widely known. It does not tell you what it does in the body, and it was not gathered under modern safety rules.

What does chinchango help with?

• Wounds, grazes and skin sores: This is the oldest folk use. Healers washed broken skin with the cooled tea. In test-tube studies, extracts slow some bacteria and fungi. No trial has checked whether treated wounds heal faster in people. A deep, dirty or spreading wound needs medical care, not a plant wash.
• Low mood and nerves: Sellers lean on the St. John's wort link here. Common St. John's wort does help mild to moderate low mood in trials. That evidence belongs to a different species. No trial has tested chinchango for mood in people. Low mood that lasts, or any thought of self-harm, needs a doctor's help now.
• Coughs, colds and chest complaints: Warm herbal teas can soothe a sore throat, and chinchango was used this way. Much of that comfort comes from warm fluid, which any tea gives. No study shows that chinchango shortens a cold or eases a cough.
• Stomach cramps and upset: Folk use included the tea for cramps and loose stools. Related Hypericum species relax gut muscle in animal tissue studies. That work has not been repeated in people with this plant. Bleeding, black stools or pain that keeps growing are reasons to see a doctor.
• Kidney and urinary complaints: Andean healers used it for "kidney heat" and for pain on passing urine. There is no human evidence behind this use. A urine infection can move to the kidneys and become serious. Fever, back pain or blood in the urine need medical care, not tea.
• Aching joints and muscles: Poultices and baths were used for sore joints and stiff muscles. Lab studies show that the plant's flavonoids damp some signals linked to swelling. Cell findings are not proof of pain relief. No trial has measured joint pain in people using chinchango.

What are the side effects of chinchango?

• Upset stomach, queasiness or loose stools
• Skin that burns or reddens more easily in the sun
• Rash or itching, on skin or after drinking
• Headache
• Dizziness or tiredness
• Restless sleep
• Changes in how your other medicines work

Good to know:

No one has counted how often side effects happen, because the studies have not been done.

The effects listed come from folk reports and from what is known about related Hypericum plants. Mild stomach upset and sun-sensitive skin are the most likely.

The bigger worry is not the plant alone. It is what it may do to prescription medicines you already take. Read the interactions section before you try it.

How much chinchango should you take?

• Recommended daily: No safe or useful daily amount has been set for chinchango. Human studies do not exist, so there is nothing to base one on. Most of it is sold loose, with no label at all. Where a label does appear, it usually follows general tea-herb practice: about 1 to 2 grams of dried flowering tops per cup. That is a label figure, not a plan for you. Strength varies a lot between plants and batches. That makes any fixed number misleading. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using it, especially if you take any daily medicine.
• Best time of day: Timing has not been studied, so there is no best time. Traditionally the tea was drunk warm, often in the evening. If it ever makes you restless or keeps you awake, that is a reason to stop and reconsider.
• With or without food: There is no evidence either way. Many people take bitter herbal teas with or after food to settle the stomach. If it gives you queasiness on an empty stomach, food may help.
• Time to effect: Honestly, nobody knows. There is no trial that tracks how fast anything changes. For skin washes, folk use suggests comfort within minutes. For anything taken by mouth, any change may take days. It may also do nothing at all, and you should plan for that outcome.
• How long to take it: How long it is safe to use is unknown. No study has followed people taking it over time. Traditional use was short and occasional, usually for days during an illness. Long daily use raises the chance of drug interactions and sun-sensitive skin. If you are thinking of using it for weeks or months, ask a clinician first.