DOMINICAN MEDICINAL PLANTS: A GUIDE FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS Second Edition—Web Text Version Compiled and Edited By Jolene E. Yukes and Michael J. Balick, PhD Advisory Board and Collaborators Milagros Batista, MSW Rafael Lantigua, MD Hetty Cunningham, MD Elizabeth Lee-Rey, MD, MPH Linda Cushman, PhD Mary McCord, MD Johanny García, MD Dodi Meyer, MD Sezelle Haddon, MD Lewis Nelson, MD Benjamin Kligler, MD, MPH Hal Strelnick, MD Fredi Kronenberg, PhD Ina Vandebroek, PhD Institutional Collaborators The New York Botanical Garden, Institute of Economic Botany Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University Family Medicine and Hispanic Center of Excellence Alianza Dominicana Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons and Mailman School of Public Health, Center for Population and Family Health Columbia University Medical Center, Community Pediatrics, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian Columbia University, Associates in Internal Medicine Clinic and Charles B. Rangel Community Health Center New York University School of Medicine, Emergency Medicine New York Poison Control Center With generous support from The Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation, The United Hospital Fund, The New York Community Trust, Aetna Foundation and Cigna Foundation. © 2011 The New York Botanical Garden IMPORTANT NOTICE: This book is a work of reference and is not intended to medically prescribe or promote any product or substance, nor is it intended to replace medical care. Readers should consult with a qualified physician or health care provider before administering or undertaking any course of medical treatment. No endorsement of any product or substance is implied by its inclusion in this book. Even plants that are commonly consumed as food and reported to be generally recognized as safe may have adverse effects, including drug interactions and allergic reactions in some individuals. The authors, editors and publisher disclaim all warranties, expressed and implied, to the extent permitted by law, that the contents are in every respect accurate and complete, and they are not responsible for errors, omissions or any consequences from the application of this book’s contents. 2 Este libro está dedicado a la comunidad Dominicana de la Ciudad de Nueva York, y especialmente a las/los especialistas en plantas medicinales, dueñas/dueños y trabajadores de botánicas, curanderas/curanderos, espiritistas, santeras/santeros y otra gente que ha dado su sabiduría y tiempo con tanta generosidad para hacer posible esta publicación. This book is dedicated to the Dominican community of New York City and especially to the herbalists, healers, botánica proprietors and staff, espiritistas, santeras/santeros and others who have so generously given of their time and knowledge to make this publication possible. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed their time, support and expertise to the compilation and preparation of this reference manual. First we would like to express our profound gratitude to the Dominican community in New York City, particularly to those individuals who have shared with us their knowledge of herbal medicine and healing traditions from the Dominican Republic. Although they will remain anonymous for purposes of confidentiality, this publication would not have been possible without their collaboration. We extend our deep appreciation to the Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation for generously supporting not only the preparation and publication of this manual, but also for the integration of this guidebook into cultural competency training programs for health care providers in New York City. In addition, we gratefully acknowledge The United Hospital Fund and The New York Community Trust for their most generous support of the compilation of the first edition of this manual and the pilot-testing of a preliminary version of this publication. Researching, preparing and editing this volume has been a collaborative endeavor from the beginning, involving partnerships with the following organizations and institutions: The New York Botanical Garden, Institute of Economic Botany; Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, Family Medicine and Hispanic Center of Excellence; Alianza Dominicana; Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Associates in Internal Medicine Clinic and Mailman School of Public Health, Center for Population and Family Health; Columbia University Medical Center, Community Pediatrics; New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Charles B. Rangel Community Health Center and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital; New York University School of Medicine, Emergency Medicine; and the New York Poison Control Center. We extend our sincere appreciation to the many wonderful research assistants, interns and volunteers whose efforts have contributed to the making of this book: Yadira Arias, Levenia Durán, Jessica Fried, Saralinda Lugo Hart, Athalia Caro Keffield, Saneddy Quezada and Sam Stein. In particular, we wish to thank Frans Beltran, Dr. Algernon Churchill, Jillian De Gezelle and Rachel Corey-Pacheco who helped considerably with data analysis and MEDLINE literature research. The following design professionals contributed their talent, creativity and skills to the graphics and layout of this publication: Marilan Lund, Ben Munson and Doris Straus. Several clinicians and other medical experts have pilot-tested or reviewed portions of the contents of this manuscript and offered helpful feedback and suggestions. We wish to recognize and thank them for their insightful contributions: Matthew Anderson, MD; Mark Blumenthal; Hetty Cunningham, MD; Norm Farnsworth, PhD; Deborah Finkelstein, MD; Robin Flam, MD; Anna Flattau, MD; Johanny Garcia, MD; Melanie Gissen, MD; Sezelle Haddon, MD; Emily Jackson, MD; Pablo Joo, MD; Elaine Fleck, MD; Edward Kennelly, PhD; Nicole Kirchen, MD; Ben Kligler, MD; Kathleen Klink, MD; Fredi Kronenberg, PhD; Rafael Lantigua, MD; Roberta Lee, MD; Mary McCord, MD; Gretchen Mockler, MD; Melanie Rausche, MD; Pran Saha, MD; Lionel Robineau, MD; Vincent Silenzio, MD; Ellen Tattelman, MD; and Robert Wolkow, MD. Numerous individuals have granted us permission to use their photographs, illustrations or digitized images of plants for this publication, and we appreciate their willingness to share their artistic work so that this volume could be fully illustrated: Irina Adam, Francesca Anderson, Michael J. Balick, PhD, Bruce Hoffman, PhD, Edward Kennelly, PhD, Andreana Ososki, PhD, Ina Vandebroek, PhD, Keith Weller and Jolene Yukes. For more information on photographers and their photographs, please see: “Appendix C: Photo Credits.” The ethnobotanical information in this book is the culmination of more than ten years of ethnomedical research in the New York City area. As such, we wish to acknowledge the efforts of collaborators and co-investigators from the Urban Ethnobotany Project, a previous ethnomedical research initiative which paved the way for the present endeavor: Fredi Kronenberg, Marian Reiff, Andreana Ososki, Kimberly Johnson, Patricia Lohr, Maria Roble, Bonnie O’Connor, Adriane Fugh-Berman and 4 Gilda Pérez. We thank the Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research at Columbia University for their long-standing partnership and collaboration over many years. Finally, we gratefully acknowledge the Educational Foundation of America for their support for the ethnobotanical and medical anthropology research on Dominican traditional medicine in New York City upon which this book was initially developed. Additional information on Dominican medicinal plants and their uses has been added to this revised edition of the guidebook based on the preliminary results of the “Dominican Ethnomedicine in New York City” project funded by an R21 grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Principal Investigator: Michael J. Balick, PhD; Grant # R21-AT001889). We sincerely thank Dr. Ina Vandebroek, the director of that project, who has generously shared this information with us to enhance the scope and relevance of the ethnomedicial data in this publication. She wishes to extend her gratitude to the following research assistants, interns and volunteers who assisted her with this project: Yadira Arias, Frans Beltran, Tomas Diaz, Levenia Durán, Ashley Duval, Daniel Kulakowski, Greta Meyers, Saneddy Quezada, Claudia Remes, Kate Sokol, Samuel Stein and Margaret Terrero. At The New York Botanical Garden, Michael J. Balick is a MetLife Fellow, and we gratefully acknowledge the following foundations which have supported his work on this project: The MetLife Foundation, Edward P. Bass and the Philecology Trust, the Prospect Hill Foundation and the Freed Foundation. Finally, as the primary authors of this guidebook, we express our heartfelt gratitude and sincere appreciation to our family and friends for their support and encouragement throughout the process of writing and editing this publication. Jolene Yukes gives special thanks to Anthony Louis Piscitella for his patience, support and joyful companionship throughout the compilation of this manuscript. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1 Introduction and How to Use this Book Part 2 Quick Guide to Dominican Home Remedies Part 3 Medicinal Plant Monographs APPENDICES A. Key to Abbreviations and Symbols B. Glossary of Botanical Terms 6 PART 1 INTRODUCTION AND HOW TO USE THIS BOOK: BACKGROUND, METHODS AND EXPLANATION OF LAYOUT INTRODUCTION During ethnomedical interviews