Lignum Vitae

Guaiacum officinale

COMMON NAMES

• Guaiac
• Guaiacum
• Guajacum
• Lignum Vitae

This slow-growing evergreen tree (lignum vitae), which can reach to 60 feet in height, usually has a twisted trunk. Lignum vitae bears opposite, oval, compound leaves and produces blue star-shaped flowers. Its laxative greenish-brown heart-wood should not be confused with other hardwoods of Australasia that also have the name "lignum vitae."

Early in the 16th century, an explorer in the Caribbean heard about the guaiac, a tree that, according to local inhabitants, contained a medication that could cure most ailments. As it turned out, the tree, known today as lignum vitae ("wood of life"), is remarkable on several counts, all having to do with the hardness of the wood and its rich supply of fats and resins.

The wood, the hardest in commercial use, is so loaded with these fats and resins that objects made from it are self-lubricating and nearly impervious to water. Until the advent of high quality plastics, lignum vitae was the material of choice for such items as pulley sheaves, machine bushings, and propeller shafts for steamships. It has also been used to make axles, bowling balls, chisel handles, mallets, and other objects that must absorb great stress.

The acrid-tasting, brownish resin contained in the heartwood has both medicinal and no medicinal applications. One highly dramatic non-medicinal use is based on the fact that, combined with an alcohol solution, the resin turns blue when it comes into contact with bloodstains. Hence it serves police and other investigators in finding bloodstains that might go undetected.

The wood was originally taken to Europe as a much-needed cure for gout and syphilis. The treatment for syphilis achieved great if misplaced acclaim during the 16th century. It involved giving massive doses of the resingonen by boiling the wood-to patients who were wrapped in tight, head-to-toe plasters and confined to very hot rooms for a month. During this time they received little food, but in addition to the resin, they were fed large doses of mercury. Many died from this treatment; few, if any, were cured of syphilis.

In recent times, scientists have found that two of the resin's most active ingredients, guaiaretic and guaiaconic acids, are effective anti-inflammatory agents, local stimulants, and laxatives. Because of the anti-inflammatory property, the substances are used in pharmaceutical preparations for sore throats and for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout.

The lignum vitae grows on relatively arid land in northern South America, the West Indies, and the Florida keys. An evergreen that can reach 30 feet in height (but seldom grows more than half that), it is recognizable by its furrowed greenish-brown bark. Its leaves are divided into two or three pairs of pale green leaflets 4 to 6 inches long, and its small blue flowers grow in fragrant terminal clusters.

PARTS USED

Wood, bark, resin.

USES

The trees name, lignum vitae, meaning "wood of life", probably derives from the tree's medicinal properties. Christopher Columbus found lignum vitae, or guaiacum, upon his arrival to the New World. Europeans perceived lignum vitae as a miracle cure for syphilis and hung pieces of the trees bark in churches as objects of devotion. The trees wood is so rich with fat and resins that objects made from it are self-lubricating and nearly impervious to water.

Native Americans used lignum vitae to treat tropical diseases. From the mid- to late 16th century in Europe, the bark became popular as a treatment for syphilis. It is a traditional British treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and gout. In folk medicine, people used guaiac resin to treat respiratory problems and skin disorders. A derivative has been used in cough medicines. Lignum vitae also has served as an anti-inflammatory, a local anesthetic, and a help for herpes. Lignum vitae is subject to legal restrictions in some countries.

Used in Europe, especially in Britain, as a remedy for arthritic and rheumatic conditions, lignum vitae has anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce joint pain and swelling. Lignum vitae is also diuretic, laxative, and sweat-inducing, and speeds the elimination of toxins, which makes it valuable for treating gout. Tincture of lignum vitae is used as a friction rub on rheumatic areas. Cotton balls moistened with the resin may be applied to aching teeth. A decoction of the wood chips acts as a local anesthetic, and is used to treat rheumatic joints and herpes blisters.
Other medical uses - Osteoarthritis

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Lignum vitae is indigenous to South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and southern Florida. Preferring moist soil and partial sun, the tree is cultivated as an ornamental in Florida and California.

CONSTITUENTS

Lignum vitae contains lignans (such as furoguaiacidin and guaiacin), 18-25% resin, vanillin, and terpenes.

USUAL DOSAGE

Decoction: put 1 teaspoonful of the wood chips in a cup of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day.

COLLECTION AND HARVESTING

The resin of the wood exudes naturally and is often collected and used as such, otherwise the heartwood itself is cut into small chips. The tree is found in South America and the Caribbean.

COMBINATIONS

Lignum vitae may be used together with bogbean, meadowsweet or celery seed.

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