Uses of avocado leaf.

Botanical name: 
Persea americana

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Re: Avacado leaves
From: conradr.gpu.utcc.utoronto.ca (c. richter)
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 1994 13:43:11 GMT

>I was wondering if someone is familiar with the beneficial effects of avacado leaves (used as a tea). My uncle swears that two or more glassfuls a day of this tea have cured several of his ailments as well as those of his friends. I don't remember exactly what the health problems had been, but I think arthritis and tumors were among them. In any event, my uncle maintains that in each instance of one of these "miraculous" cures, the doctor initially treating the ailment could not explain the sudden cure.
>I have looked in several books on curative properties of plants, but have not found a single entry pertaining to avacado leaves. If anybody knows of documentation on the subject or has had personal experience relating to its curative properties please let me know.

In Latin America avocado leaves are used for both medicinal and culinary purposes. The leaves contains an essential oil profile not unlike anise, which may account for its culinary use.

In Chilean folk medicine the leaves are used for respiratory ailments, including cough, as a stomach tonic, and to regulate menstruation. The leaf is most used medicinally, although other parts are used also. It is also considered an emmenagogue.

According to Weniger and Robineau (1986), extracts of the fruit and leaf significantly stimulate rat uterus in vitro and the infusion spasmatic effects on pig small intestine and rat uterus. They also investigated a group of antitumor flavanoids called flavan-3,4-diol. These flavanoids injected into tumors appeared to reduce tumors partially in animals.

References:
Farga C, Lastra J, Hoffmann A 1988. Plantas medicinales de use comun en Chile. Tomo III. Ediciones Paesmi, Santiago.
Weniger B, Robineau L 1986. Informe TRAMIL II. Investigaciones cientificas y uso popular de plantas medicinales en el Caribe. ENDA-CARIBE, Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana.

Conrad Richter
Richters Herbs