Cordia is a tropical, small, flowering, shrubby tree. It grows about 6 feet tall with lance-shaped elongated leaves which are 2-4 inches long. It produces small white flowers about 5 mm across which develop sequentially along erect spikes at the tips of the stems. The flowers are are followed by red fleshy fruits about 5 mm across with a single stony seed inside. Cordia trees can be found throughout South America in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay, including many areas of the Amazon basin. It's range extends north into Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and most of the Caribbean.

TRIBAL AND HERBAL MEDICINE USES

In the Brazilian Amazon indigenous Indian tribes prepare cordia leaves in an infusion to treat infections of all kinds, rheumatism and arthritis. Cordia is quite prevalent along the southeastern coast of Brazil and has long held a place in herbal medicine there as an effective anti-inflammatory. It is taken internally as well as applied topically for numerous types of inflammatory conditions.

PLANT CHEMICALS

Cordia leaves contain a chemical called artemetin which has been documented with signigicant anti-inflammatory actions. Cordia also contains a group of chemicals called naphthoquinones which have demonstrated antifungal activities against Cladosporium cucumerinum, Candida albicans and toxic properties against larvae of the yellow fever-transmitting mosquito. Other plant chemicals in cordia include: artemin, cordialin A and B, cordiaquinones J and K, 5-6'-dihydroxy-3-3'-4-6-7-flavone, entamethoxy, amd pentamethoxy.

BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES AND CLINICAL RESEARCH

Several laboratory studies with animals conducted in Brazil have confirmed that cordia has potent anti-inflammatory actions as well as anti-ulcer and gastroprotective actions at very low dosages. The effective anti-inflammatory dosage determined for rats and mice was as little as 1.24 mg per kg of a crude leaf extract. Other Brazilian reseachers reported a pain relieving effect in mice. Researchers in Mexico validated cordia's long standing use for various infections when they reported in 2003 that the leaves evidenced in vitro antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including 14 bacterial strains causing the most common gastrointestinal diseases.