Overview

Guarumo is a tree. The leaves and stem are used to make medicine.

People use guarumo for asthma, diabetes, heart failure, joint diseases, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

Guarumo appears to reduce blood sugar levels by slowing down the digestion of carbohydrates.

How does it work ?

Guarumo appears to reduce blood sugar levels by slowing down the digestion of carbohydrates.

Uses & Effectiveness

Insufficient Evidence for

  • Diabetes. Drinking guarumo tea before meals might lower blood sugar and improve blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. This includes people with diabetes who are already taking medicine for diabetes. But current research includes only small, low quality studies. Larger, higher quality studies that show benefit are needed before guarumo can be recommended for diabetes.
  • Asthma.
  • Bronchitis.
  • Cough.
  • Heart failure.
  • High blood pressure.
  • Liver disorders.
  • Pain.
  • Skin wounds, when applied to the skin.
  • Other conditions.

More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of guarumo for these uses.

Side Effects

When taken by mouth: Guarumo is POSSIBLY SAFE when taken by mouth as a tea. Tea prepared with guarumo leaf appears to be safe when taken by mouth daily for up to 32 weeks. Guarumo tea might cause some mild side effects, including excessive salivation, heartburn, and feeling tired. But these side effects appear to be uncommon.

When applied to the skin: There isn't enough reliable information to know if guarumo is safe or what the side effects might be.

Special Precautions and Warnings

When taken by mouth: Guarumo is POSSIBLY SAFE when taken by mouth as a tea. Tea prepared with guarumo leaf appears to be safe when taken by mouth daily for up to 32 weeks. Guarumo tea might cause some mild side effects, including excessive salivation, heartburn, and feeling tired. But these side effects appear to be uncommon.

When applied to the skin: There isn't enough reliable information to know if guarumo is safe or what the side effects might be.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn't enough reliable information to know if guarumo is safe to use when pregnant or breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.

Diabetes: Guarumo might lower blood sugar levels. People with diabetes should monitor their blood glucose levels closely. If you have diabetes, it's best to check with your healthcare provider before starting guarumo.

Low blood pressure: Guarumo might lower blood pressure. In theory, guarumo might lower pressure too much if taken by people who already have low blood pressure.

Surgery: Guarumo can slow down the central nervous system (CNS). Anesthesia and some other medications used during surgery have the same effect. There is concern that using guarumo along with these other medications might slow down the CNS too much and cause extreme sleepiness. Stop using guarumo at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.

Interactions

    Moderate Interaction

    Be cautious with this combination

  • Sedative medications (CNS depressants) interacts with Guarumo

    Guarumo might cause sleepiness and drowsiness. Medications that cause sleepiness are called sedatives. Taking guarumo along with sedative medications might cause serious side effects. Do not take guarumo if you are taking sedative medications.

    Some sedative medications include clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan), phenobarbital (Donnatal), zolpidem (Ambien), and others.

  • Medications for diabetes (Antidiabetes drugs) interacts with Guarumo

    Guarumo might lower blood sugar. Diabetes medications are also used to lower blood sugar. Taking guarumo along with diabetes medications might cause your blood sugar to go too low. Monitor your blood sugar closely. The dose of your diabetes medication might need to be changed.

    Some medications used for diabetes include glimepiride (Amaryl), glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase PresTab, Micronase), insulin, pioglitazone (Actos), rosiglitazone (Avandia), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), glipizide (Glucotrol), tolbutamide (Orinase), and others.

  • Medications for high blood pressure (Antihypertensive drugs) interacts with Guarumo

    Guarumo might lower blood pressure. Taking guarumo along with medications for high blood pressure might cause your blood pressure to go too low.

    Some medications for high blood pressure include captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), losartan (Cozaar), valsartan (Diovan), diltiazem (Cardizem), Amlodipine (Norvasc), hydrochlorothiazide (HydroDiuril), furosemide (Lasix), and many others.

Dosing

The appropriate dose of guarumo depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for guarumo. Keep in mind that natural products are not always necessarily safe and dosages can be important. Be sure to follow relevant directions on product labels and consult your pharmacist or physician or other healthcare professional before using.
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CONDITIONS OF USE AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This information is meant to supplement, not replace advice from your doctor or healthcare provider and is not meant to cover all possible uses, precautions, interactions or adverse effects. This information may not fit your specific health circumstances. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health care provider because of something you have read on WebMD. You should always speak with your doctor or health care professional before you start, stop, or change any prescribed part of your health care plan or treatment and to determine what course of therapy is right for you.

This copyrighted material is licensed from Therapeutic Research Center, LLC. Information from this source is evidence-based and objective, and without commercial influence. For professional medical information on natural medicines, see Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Professional Version.
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