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What Is Cha de Bugre?

Used in Japan and Haiti, and cherished for centuries by indigenous peoples of Brazil as a curative, the Cha de Bugre plant has numerous medicinal purposes. Seeds similar to red coffee beans and the leaves of this small tree produce tinctures, extracts and teas sold in health stores and pharmacies in its native Brazil. It is also recognized as a diuretic in weight loss regimes.

  1. The Plant

    • Reaching 26 to 40 feet in height, the Cha de Bugre tree has a trunk diameter of 12 to 16 inches. It is found in the Brazilian states of Goias, Acre, Bahia and Minas Gerais, and also grows in areas of both Paraguay and Argentina. Roasting its red beans for a coffee substitute gives the plant its popular name "cafe de moto" (coffee of the woods).

    Plant Properties

    • Containing mostly caffeine, the red beans of the Cha de Bugre plant provide stimulation. Other properties of the plant include potassium, allantoin (a moisturizing compound used for topical healing) and allantoic acid (an agent promoting healing of body tissue).

    Preparation and Use

    • Steeping or soaking leaves and beans from the Cha de Bugre plant is a common method for preparation. Uses of the beverage include wound healing, appetite suppressant, cough suppressant, diuretic and fever reducer. Traditionally, Brazil's indigenous natives reaped the benefits of the plant for eliminating cellulite and strengthening heart function. Other applications treat circulatory problems, arthritis, gout, kidney stones and renal insufficiency.

    Treatment

    • Whether employing the plant for weight loss or the other main functions of its properties, users may take 2 to 3 grams of the powdered leaf in tablets or capsules one to three times daily. As with traditional medicines, herbals require individual testing of the treatment for the desired results. Weight loss supplement instructions usually say to drink a cup of infused Cha de Bugre leaves two to three times a day, 30 minutes before meals.

    Ethnomedical Uses

    • The Department of Virology at Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University in Toyama, Japan, began studies in the 1990s of Cha de Bugre's effect on the herpes virus (type 1). Researchers in the study found that cordia salicifolia extract (Cha de Bugre) resulted in an inhibitory action on the virus.
      Treating obesity and stimulating digestion are other common uses of the plant.

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