Epazote

Dysphania ambrosioides

Other Names: Dysphania ambrosioides, Aceite de Paico, Aceite de Quenopodio, Ansérine, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Chenopodium anthelminticum, Epazote, Épazote, Fausse Ambroisie, Huile d’Ansérine, Huile de Chénopode, Jesuit Tea, Mexican Tea, payqu (paico) Thé du Mexique.
is an annual or short-lived perennial herb native to Central America, South America, and southern Mexico. This herb is used extensively in Caribbean and Mexican cooking and it gets its name from the Aztec (Nahuatl) epazotl. Also known as Mexican tea or pigweed, this is regarded as garden weed. Even in Mexican cuisine, epazote is used in bean recipes. It has a pungent flavor with a smell like gasoline. The stem, leaves, and fruits of the herb are used in medicines and in food.

Special Precautions of Epazote

• Raw leaves and seeds should only be eaten in small amounts as the essential oil is toxic. Humans have died from overdoses of essential oils (attributed to the ascaridole content). Symptoms include severe gastroenteritis with pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Because of its toxicity, this treatment should be under medical supervision and not with pregnant women.
• The plant can cause dermatitis and other allergic reactions
• Chenopodium oil can explode if heated or mixed with acids.
• Pregnancy and breast-feeding: It’s UNSAFE for anyone, especially pregnant or breast-feeding women, to take chenopodium oil.
• Because of its toxicity, any treatment should be under medical supervision and not with pregnant women.
• Medications that increase sensitivity to sunlight (Photosensitizing drugs) interacts with Chenopodium Oil
• Don't confuse with Cina, which is also called Wormseed.

Benefits and uses of Epazote are

• Indigenous groups have used epazote to cure intestinal parasites, especially tapeworms, hookworms, roundworms, fungi and certain bacteria. It has recently been investigated for its ability to fight H. Pylori which is a common and tricky to fight bacterial infection that many people get. Wormseed has also been investigated as a natural alternative to chemical bug sprays, food preservatives, and as a supplement to help prevent intestinal infections in livestock. The oil of epazote is used to expel wormseed or intestinal hookworms.
• Rich in anti-gas agents, epazote can have carminative benefits when cooked with beans
• Epazote is also good for treating menstruation problems, asthma and nervous disorders
• While epazote can be poisonous if taken in large doses, if used in moderation, then this herb can relieve flatulence
• It can also cure asthma and malaria
• Epazote is used as an expectorant
• It also works against cough (anti-asthmatic).
• Externally as an envelope, it is used for haemorrhoids, insect bites or snakebites and for wound healing.
• It has an analgesic effect and against fungal infections (antifungal).
• Its seeds or the essential oil derived from it have been used in folk medicine for centuries as a vermifuge and also effective against dysentery amoebic dysentery. Because of its toxicity, this treatment should be under medical supervision and not with pregnant women.
• The essential oil from the plant is also used in cosmetic products.
• The plant is insecticidal and is used as a repellent against mosquitoes, as an additive in the fertilizer against insect larvae and against lice and bed bugs. It also serves as a dyeing plant, achieving gold-green shades.
• It is also believed that the first birth control pills were made with epazote