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| Kambo | |
|---|---|
| |
 A kambo ceremony: the frog secretion is being applied to the burnt skin. | |
| Alternative therapy | |
| Claims | It is claimed that kambo will help with a number of issues including, depression, anxiety, addiction, fertility, fever, mental clarity, negative energy and the cleansing of the body |
| NCCIH Classification | None |
Kambo, also known assapo (fromPortuguese:sapo,lit. 'toad') orvacina-do-sapo, is substance derived from the natural secretions of anamphibian belonging to thePhyllomedusa family. Commonly the dried skin secretions of thegiant leaf frog, known as thekambô in Portuguese, a species of frog, are used for ritualistic purposes with a strong religious and spiritual components. Less commonly it is used as a transdermal medicine, however, evidence for its effectiveness is limited.
Kambo is usually used in a group setting, called akambo circle orkambo ceremony. The effects on humans usually includetachycardia,nausea,vomiting, anddiarrhea. A meta-review of 50 studies in which 11 cases of acute intoxication were examined found that extreme cases have includedpsychosis (occasionally severe),SIADH, kidney damage (including acute renal failure),pancreas damage,liver damage includingtoxic hepatitis,dermatomyositis,esophageal rupture, and seizures, in some cases leading to death[1][2][3], although such incidents are limited in number and some evidence suggests precipitation by medical contraindications.[4]
Kambo, which originated as afolk medicine practice among someindigenous peoples in theAmazon basin, is also administered as acomplementary medicine andalternative medicine treatment in the West, often as apseudoscientific cleanse ordetox. The ceremony involves burning an arm or leg and applying the kambo secretion directly to the burn. Promoters claim that kambo helps with several illnesses or injuries. There is noscientific evidence that it is an effective treatment[5][6][7][a] and causal evidence is limited.[citation needed]
It seems to be particularly dangerous to take kambo with large quantities of water. Doing that is associated withSIADH and severe electrolyte imbalances: changes in plasma and urine osmolarity,hypokalemia,hypomagnesemia andhypophosphatemia.Naloxone is under study as a possible antidote; hospital treatment also includes medicines to protect organs from damage and restore electrolyte function.[1]
"Kambô" is a common name ofPhyllomedusa bicolor, anAmazonian tree frog, also known as the blue-and-yellow frog, bicolored tree-frog, giant monkey frog, giant leaf frog, or waxy-monkey tree frog. "Sapo" means "toad" in Spanish and Portuguese.[2] The frog is an anuran amphibian that inhabits the Amazon andOrinoco basins inSouth America.[11]
Natives who practice kambo arePanoan-speaking indigenous groups in the southeastAmazon rainforest, such as theMatsés,Marubo,Amahuaca,Kashinawa,Katukina,Yawanawá, andKaxinawá.[3][12][5] There areethnographic studies on the use of kambo in traditionalNoke Kuin medicine in the region of the state ofAcre, in theBrazilian Amazon.[13]
Since the mid-20th century, kambo has also been practiced in urban regions ofBrazil.[14][12] In 2004, Brazil banned the sale and marketing of kambo.[15] Import is illegal inChile.[16] Outside of South America, it first became known as analternative therapy in the late 2010s.[17]
In 2021, theTherapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia banned the use of kambo in Australia and classified it as a schedule-10poison. It is listed in the category for "substances of such danger to health as to warrant prohibition of sale, supply and use".[6][a]
To collect the secretions from the frog's body, first, the frog has to be caught. A practitioner will tie the frog to four sticks placed in the ground with its limbs stretched. This causes the frog to become stressed enough to activate its defense mechanism and secrete a substance containing peptides from its skin.[18] After these secretions are obtained, the frog is released back into the wild. The secretions are then left to dry.[18] Small burns are created on the skin, and a small dose of the frog secretions is applied to the open wounds.[18] In native practice, the secretions are removed from the wounds after 15 to 20 minutes, ending the acute symptoms.[5]
Traditional practitioners claim that it aidsfertility, cleanses the body and soul, increases strength, and brings good luck to hunts, though there is no scientific evidence for these claims.[14][19] It is used by natives to who attempt to expel "panema" (bad spirit) and toinduce abortions.[5] The secretions are also commonly used in people who suffer from laziness, a condition perceived as unfavorable by the Noke Kuin as the person stops participating socially.[20]
Joaquim Luz, a Yamanawa leader, criticized internet sales and kambo's use without the preparation or permission of indigenous peoples, saying that such users are at risk, even of death.[15] Other native groups have also expressed concerns.[14][12]
Outside South America, a kambo ceremony can involve just two people: the practitioner and the participant, or many participants at once, which is known as a kambo circle. Participants are encouraged to bring plenty of water, a towel, and a bucket.[17] There are usuallyyoga mats on the floor and the ceremony room, which is often the practitioner's living room, is heavilyincensed.[17]
During the ceremony, the participant's skin is deliberately burnt multiple times, usually on the upper arm or leg, by the practitioner using asmoldering stick or vine.[18] The practitioner uses saliva or water to reconstitute the secretions and place it on top of the burnt skin.[18] Participants may be encouraged to shout"Viva" whenever one of them vomits into their bucket.[21] Short-term effects include violent nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,edema (swelling) of the face, headaches, andtachycardia. The secretions seem to bevasoactive (affecting the circulation), explaining why they are absorbed rapidly.[5]
Intoxication may occur immediately or within hours.[1]
Non-indigenous users and practitioners of kambo claim that the alternative medicine helps with a wide variety of issues and conditions. These claims include treatingaddiction,depression, andchronic pain,[17][21][22] reducingfevers,[17] increasing fertility,[17] boosting energy and physical strength,[19][21] and improving mental clarity.[21] It is also claimed that kambo removesnegative energy.[17][19] There is currently noscientific evidence to support positive health effect claims.[5][6][a].
There is no solid medical evidence on how the frog toxins work, whether they are useful for treating anything, and whether they can be used safely: noclinical trials have tested them on humans, as of November 2019[update].[5] Reports of adverse effects are numerous, including for use with experienced guidance.[5]
Kym Jenkins of theRoyal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, in aSydney Morning Herald article, said "people with mental illness are a more vulnerable group anyway for a variety of reasons. If you're feeling very anxious or very depressed, you're automatically more vulnerable, and you could be more susceptible to people advertising or marketing a quick fix. I do have concerns that people can be preyed upon when they are more vulnerable."[23]
TheAustralian Medical Association (AMA) supports the TGA's ban on the sale, supply, and use of kambo, saying it considers kambo to be a "significant health risk".[6][a]
In non-indigenous use, the frog secretion is described and marketed as a "detox" treatment, cleanse,[18][24] purge,[17] and as a "vaccine" that is "good for everything".[25] Kambo has been marketed both as a "scientific" remedy, emphasizing the biochemistry, and as a "spiritual" remedy, emphasizing its Indigenous origins.[12] Purging (deliberate vomiting) has been a popular treatment since the 1800s.[18] "Detox" has been described byEdzard Ernst, emeritus professor of complementary medicine, as a term forconventional medical treatments for addiction, which has been "hijacked by entrepreneurs, quacks, and charlatans to sell a bogus treatment."[26]
In Brazil, given the growth in the consumption of kambo in urban centers, there has been criticism by indigenous people, academics and communicators regarding thecultural appropriation of indigenous knowledge, the process of extracting the secretion of thePhyllomedusa bicolor frog, the form of transmission of wisdom, and the price charged by the ritual and the mystification of the origin of the frog.[12]
There is also concern aboutpharmacologicalpatents on the peptides identified in kambo (seebiopiracy), the commercialization of the kambo outside its place of origin, and the unknown impact on frog populations, since many more are now removed from their naturalhabitats.[25]
In light of the chemical complexity of the frog toxins, and their complex and potentially fatal effects, the authors of a 2022 review on the diagnosis and treatment of kambo cases said they urged "strict surveillance of the websites that encourage the use of this substance and [we] urge greater control of e-commerce or illicit trafficking of animals and secretions, including through the dark web".[1]
The effect of the increased use of kambo rituals, and trafficking of the frogs and their secretions, may have an effect on the population ofPhyllomedusa bicolor in its natural habitats: the forests ofBolivia,Peru,Brazil,the Guianas,Colombia, andVenezuela.[14]Phyllomedusa bicolor is not considered anendangered species by theIUCN.[27] BesidesPhyllomedusa (species?), other threatened endemic frog species of South America'sneotropical regions have been poached and smuggled on theblack market.
Smuggling amphibians such asPhyllomedusa bicolor can spread parasites.[28]Zoos keep frogs for conservation purposes, and there are many parasites present in these animals that naturally occur only in the native habitats.[28] It is recommended for importedamphibians to go through aquarantine process to verify they are not spreading parasites that could damage otherecosystems.[28]Parasite infection rates in frogs is 51%, while insalamanders it is 13%.[28] Individuals who want to have them as pets are obligated and encouraged to get them examined to detectgastrointestinal parasites that could potentially be harmful.[28]Neocosmocercella fisherae is the firstnematode species found parasitisingPhyllomedusa bicolor from the Brazilian Amazon region.[29]
A 40-year-old businessman was charged in Brazil in 2008 with the illegal exercise of medicine andfelony murder after administering kambo toxins to a business colleague who died; the deceased's son, who said his father had pressured him into participating, suffered more minor effects.[30][14] In Chile, in 2009, Daniel Lara Aguilar, who suffered from chroniclumbar disc disease, died immediately after taking kambo administered by a local shaman in a mass healing ceremony; the autopsy was inconclusive due to pre-existing conditions.[15][31] Medical literature reported a 2018 case in Italy of a man with obesity andventricular hypertrophy, who, according to autopsy reports, died ofcardiac arrhythmia while under the effects of kambo use.[32][14] In March 2019, kambo practitioner Natasha Lechner suffered a cardiac arrest and died while receiving kambo.[17][33][7] In April 2019, a homicide investigation was opened into the death by "severecerebral edema" of a young person who had taken kambo toxins in Chile; the import of the frog and its secretions is illegal in Chile.[16][34] In October 2021, Australian man Jarred Antonovich died at a festival in New South Wales from a perforatedesophagus suspected to be caused by excessive vomiting after being administered kambo andN,N-dimethyltriptamine. After a car accident in 1997 from which he had to learn to walk and talk again, he was left with lasting impediments, the inquest heard, which may have contributed to the esophageal rupture.[35]
The frog secretes a range of small chemical compounds of a type calledpeptides, which have several different effects.[36] Peptides found in the frog secretions include the opioid peptidesdermorphin anddeltorphin, thevasodilatorsauvagine, anddermaseptin, which exhibitsantimicrobial propertiesin vitro.[5] Various other substances such as phyllomedusin, phyllokinin,caerulein, and adrenoregulin are also present.[36] There is active medical research into the peptides found in the skin secretions ofPhyllomedusa bicolor, focusing on discovering their biological effects. There have been some preclinical trials in mice and rats, but nophase-1 tests orclinical trials of safety in humans, as of November 2019[update].[5]
Most of the kambo-related bioactive peptides so far characterized have displayed potential applications in medicine, such as phyllocaeruleins with hypotensive properties, tachykinins and phyllokinins as vasodilators, dermorphins and deltorphins with opiate-like properties, and adenoregulins with antibiotic properties.[37]
In a clinical trial of a randomized, placebo-controlled study in postoperative pain, dermorphin administered via the intrathecal route was "impressively superior" over the placebo and the reference compound morphine."[38] Due to the numerous biological activities of these substances and the similarities with the amino acid sequences related to mammalian neuropeptides and hormones, many have aroused the interest from a medical and pharmacological perspective, such as in the production of new drugs.[37]
The analysis of titles, abstracts and full texts led to the final selection of 11 cases of acute intoxication.
'robust data on pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety in humans are currently lacking'(this is not a reliable medical source; see talk tab)
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