Alternative Medicine Jamaican Dogwood

Piscidia piscipula formerly known as Piscidia erythrina and commonly known as Jamaican dogwood or Florida fishpoison tree, is a tropical, deciduous, medium-sized tree endemic to the Caribbean, Texas, southern Florida and the Keys, and Latin America. Historic use of the herb details West Indies Natives using the extracts from the tree to sedate fish (Fetrow & Avila, 2000). The sedated fish became easy to catch by hand leading to the common name of fishpoison. In modern times, scientists have discovered use for the herb as a sedative and analgesic.

The historic use of Jamaican Dogwood has been to catch fish by hand by sedating them and other traditional uses. Because the herb has sedative and analgesic properties, people of the Caribbean used it for pain relief, aid for labor, menstruation pains, toothaches, migraines, insomnia, and asthma. They would consume it either as a tincture, as a dried product, or as an extract. Some side effects of those who took Jamaican dogwood, would be nausea, drowsiness or sedation, and/or stomach upset (Fetrow & Avila, 2000). Those experiencing overdose symptoms can experience sweating, tremors, and salivation.

The main use for the herb has been and still is, for pain relief of all kinds. From nerve pain to labor pains, the herb has received international use in recent times as an effective treatment for mild pain (Fetrow & Avila, 2000). In the last few years, women with menstrual pain in the form of endometriosis, have attempted to use Jamaican Dogwood extracts to relieve chronic pain associated with the problems caused by the uterine lining. Alternative medicine doctors have taken interest in the use of the herb for menstrual pain relief and began using it in their practice. "Sedatives are useful when there is the need to induce deep rest or sleep to obtain pain relief, and include California poppy, or a combination of cramp bark and Jamaican Dogwood" (Romm, 2016, p. 263).

Because Jamaican Dogwood has rarely been studied outside of homeopathic use (only used in animal studies), there is little to no scientific research made on the effects of the herbs on humans. This is especially true for the herbs potential interactions with conventional medications. The implications for Jamaican Dogwood regarding possible interactions is that it may increase the effects medications used for treatment of insomnia or anxiety. Otherwise, most of the information available on Jamaican Dogwood is anecdotal and not reliant on scientific studies on humans.

The only scientific study found pertaining to Jamaican Dogwood was one done on Hameonchus contortus larvae. "The anthelmintic effect of four TTP (Acacia pennatula, Lysiloma latisiliquum, Piscidia piscipula, Leucaena leucocephala) on Haemonchus contortus was measured using two in vitro assays" (Alonso-Diaz, Torres-Acosta, Sandoval-Castro, Aguilar-Caballero, & Hoste, 2008, p. 313). The results showed the herb had some effect on the larvae. "No effect was found for P. piscipula on H. contortus in the LMI test. However, all four plant extracts interfered with the process of L3 exsheathment which might be involved as a mechanism of action of tannins on H. contortus larvae" (Alonso-Diaz, Torres-Acosta, Sandoval-Castro, Aguilar-Caballero, & Hoste, 2008, p. 313).

In conclusion, Jamaican Dogwood has been used for years to treat and manage pain of all varieties. Recent use of the herb has been for menstrual pain like endometriosis, but in combination with other herbs like cramp bark. Regarding scientific studies, none have been performed on humans, and little have been done on animals. The only one that was found, used parasitic nematodes. Although not enough research has been performed, the herb has increased in popularity for its sedative and analgesic properties.

References

Alonso-Diaz, M., Torres-Acosta, J., Sandoval-Castro, C., Aguilar-Caballero, A., & Hoste, H. (2008). In vitro larval migration and kinetics of exsheathment of Haemonchus contortus larvae exposed to four tropical tanniniferous plant extracts. Veterinary Parasitology, 153(3-4), 313-319. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.01.042

Fetrow, C. W., & Avila, J. R. (2000). The complete guide to herbal medicines. New York: Pocket Books.

Romm, A. (2016). Botanical Medicine for Women's Health. Elsevier Health Sciences.