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Suma (Pfaffia paniculata)
Suma is a wild, shrubby vine that grows in the rainforests of the Amazon River basin and other parts of Brazil, Paraguay, and neighboring countries. It is in the same plant family as amaranth, the plant whose nutritious edible seed was a major food crop in ancient civilizations of Central and South America. Suma is also known as pfaffia but it is perhaps best known as "Brazilian ginseng." Like the true ginsengs the medicinal part of suma is its root, and suma and the ginsengs are often used for similar purposes, such as to promote resistance to stress and increase overall well-being. The similarity ends there, however, because suma is not botanically related to the Panax ginsengs and suma's chemical constituents are quite distinct as well. Suma is slowly gaining recognition outside of South America for its energizing, strengthening, and fatigue-fighting properties, as well as its potential hormonal effects.

Traditional uses
For centuries, tribes native to the area around the Amazon River and the Mato Grosso in Brazil have used suma almost as a panacea, referring to it as para toda, "for all things." Tribal healers have recommended suma to rejuvenate the sick and tired and to energize the elderly. Suma has a reputation as an aphrodisiac that can help treat sexual dysfunctions as well as impotence and infertility. Suma remains an important herbal remedy in a number of tribes' healing practices today and is used as a remedy for diabetes, rheumatism, bronchitis, ulcers, hormonal disorders, menstrual discomforts, and other conditions.

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• exhaustion
• high blood pressure

Recent findings
As of mid-1999 the sole Medline reference to suma is to a 1991 report on a worker in Brazil who developed symptoms of asthma after exposure to suma powder while making suma capsules. A few scientists in Japan have isolated and identified chemical constituents of suma. Apparently, however, only a few studies have administered suma to humans or animals. One of these was described in a patent application:

In a U.S. patent filed in 1995 for use of suma in the treatment of the symptoms of sickle cell disease, a Brazilian researcher described in vitro blood tests and a thirty-person clinical trial. Both investigations suggested that suma could help treat this common blood disease and enhance the quality of life of those who suffer from it. Suma inhibited sickling of the blood cells, reduced the symptoms of the disease, and increased the mental and physical activity of patients.

Do scientists know how it works?
Suma contains a number of unusual compounds with potential therapeutic effects, including phytosterols (plant-based hormones) and saponins. The principal phytosterol is thought to be beta-ecdysterone. It may be responsible for suma's apparent muscle-building and hormone-balancing effects. Research suggests that beta-ecdysterone may also have pain-relieving and blood-sugar-balancing effects. Other plant hormones in suma, such as sitosterol and stigmasterol, may encourage estrogen production and help relieve menopausal symptoms. Suma also contains a number of novel ecdysteroid glycosides with potential beneficial effects on skin and hair. The saponins, which include pfaffosides as well as pfaffic acids and their derivatives, may have cancer-fighting properties. Suma is also rich in the trace element germanium and various other nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

Types of products
Suma is available in tablets, capsules, concentrated drops, and liquid extracts. It is an ingredient in some creams as well as in formulas for:

• energy, stress, and immunity

Safety
The herb has traditionally been used as a food and is thought to be relatively safe as an herb. The Brazilian researcher who filed a U.S. patent application on suma conducted a thirty-day toxicity experiment on rats that failed to reveal any signs of toxicity from use of suma. The authors of a 1984 Japanese patent application also noted that large daily doses (1,000 to 1,500 mg per day) of suma resulted in no side effects in human subjects.

References

• Anuario Naturista, 1992. Los Productos Naturales, 5th Ed., Mundo Naturista, Quito, Ecuador
• Bartram, Thomas., Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, 1995. Ed Grace Publishers, Dorset England
• de Araujo, J.T., "Brazilian ginseng derivatives for treatment of sickle cell symptomatology," U.S. Patent 5,449,516, Sept. 12, 1995
• De Oliveira, F.G., et.al., Contribution to the pharmacognostic study of Brazilian ginseng Pfaffia paniculata, An. Farm. Chim. 20(1-2)m 361-277 (1980), 261.
• De Oliveira, Fernando., 1986. "Pfaffia paniculata (Martius) Kuntze - Brazilian ginseng." Rev. Bras. Farmacog. 1(1) 86-92.
• Hobbs, Christoper, 1996. "Adaptogens - Herbal Gems to Help Us Adapt." Let's Live Magazine.
• Meybeck , et al., Hydrated lipidic lamellar phases or liposomes based on ecdysteroids U.S Patent 5,198,225 March 30, 1993.
• Meybeck , et al., Use of an ecdysteroid for the preparation of cosmetic or dermatological compositions intended, in particular, for strengthening the water barrier function of the skin or for the preparation of a skin cell culture medium, as well as to the compositions U.S. Patent 5,609,873 March 11, 1997.
• Nishimoto, N., et al, "Constituents of 'Brazil ginseng' and some Pfaffia species, Tennen Yuki Kagobutsu Toronkai Keon Yoshishu (1988), 10:17-24.
• Nishimoto, N., et al., "Three ecdysteroid glycosides from Pfaffia," Phytochemistry (1988), 27(6):1665-68.
• Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., "Pfaffic acid and its derivatives, Japanese Patent Number 84 10,548, Jan. 20, 1984.
• Schultes, R.E., and Raffauf, 1990. The Healing Forest. Medicinal and Toxic Plants of the Northwest Amazonia, R.F. Dioscorides Press, 1990.
• Subiza, J., et al., "Occupational asthma caused by Brazil ginseng dust," J Allergy Clin Immunol (1991), 88(5):731-36.
• Takemoto, T., et al., "Pfaffic acid, a novel nortriterpene from Pfaffia paniculata Kuntze.," Tetrahedron Lett (1983), 24(10):1057-60.