Muna: an ancient medicinal plant from the Andes

DW (English)

Muna grows in South America's Andes mountains and has been used by Indigenous peoples for treating a range of health issues. Studies show that the plant has antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Transcript

00:00Once a landfill site, now a garden. The Lima residents who created it call it

00:05Praderas de Vida, the prairies of life.

00:08Fabiola Padave belongs to the community garden. Local people plant, harvest and

00:14process medicinal plants here, such as muña. Indigenous peoples have been using

00:19it for centuries.

00:20It has a characteristic odour, very strong and rich. It's a medicine.

00:26It's also an expectorant. It clears the bronchi. It helps digestion. It's an

00:31anti-inflammatory. Muña is used for many things.

00:42The plant is part of the mint family and grows in the Andes. And it's often dubbed

00:47Andean mint as a result. Everyone in Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia is familiar with

00:53muña. It's the most widespread species of Aminostacus genus.

01:02The Incas used muña. It gave the chasquis, the runners who were the empire's

01:07messengers, more energy. This is probably because it contained vitamins like B1

01:13and B6. Muña is also said to have antifungal and antibacterial properties.

01:21That's why the Incas didn't just drink it. They also put it in the potato stores.

01:26It helped food keep longer. Here in the garden, the leaves, stems and blossoms of

01:31the plant are used to create spices, food and tea. The essential oils in muña tea

01:37are said to alleviate digestive disorders and even to combat inflammation of the

01:42stomach lining caused by the Helicobacter pylori bacteria.

01:47If you know that you have Helicobacter pylori, always drink a cup on an empty

01:54stomach, preferably several times a day. Sometimes I get heartburn, I take it and

01:59it goes away. Does this tea really have medicinal properties? The National

02:07University of San Marcos in Lima is looking for scientific evidence.

02:11Pharmacist Hugo Milla has been researching muña for 30 years. He is

02:17particularly interested in the essential oils of the leaves.

02:23We have demonstrated that it is effective against bacteria and fungi. This is because it has been

02:30shown to contain some active ingredients that have such properties. But taken in

02:37very, very large quantities, it can also be toxic. You should only take it in

02:43controlled amounts. Many say take it for one week and then stop.

02:56Most of these studies have only been carried out in test tubes in the lab. There, muña

03:01inhibited the growth of harmful bacteria. That would, however, explain its effect on

03:05gastritis. In a small study, muña was just as effective as prescription drugs.

03:10Muña has been shown to support treatment with omeprazole. This is a medication used to treat

03:19gastritis. The treatment of Helicobacter pylori is usually very complicated and takes at least a

03:30month. However, that time can be cut if we also add muña essential oil. In other words,

03:39it supports the treatment. That's why muña also plays an important role in this complementary

03:47medicine centre in Lima. Doctors here have been working with ancient medicinal plants

03:52and alternative methods, such as acupuncture, for 25 years. Marta Villar is a doctor and

04:01researcher of traditional medicine, including muña. She's familiar with many studies on it

04:06and often prescribes it to patients. People use it for three main problems. Firstly,

04:13for respiratory diseases, then for digestive problems, but also for motion sickness and

04:19dizziness in high altitudes. The centre grows muña in its own garden. An outside company dries,

04:27processes and packages the products. Pharmacies such as the in-house natural pharmacy sell them

04:34to patients. There are also essences in the form of an oil, a tincture or a powder. Nevertheless,

04:41muña remains more of a home remedy than an official medicine. Marta Villar would like to

04:48see more attention paid to the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. When we look

04:56at our universities, not everyone understands this, and so our health professionals don't

05:01know it either. We still don't teach them what traditional medicine can do. There's

05:08no curriculum for it, and that's a challenge. The Praderas de Vida garden in Lima has another

05:16goal. Faviola Pardave and her fellow gardeners want to end the overexploitation of wild plants

05:22and help conserve them. Forestry engineer Paloma Duarte helped to develop the garden

05:29and often buys muña here for her manufactory. She knows many traditional uses.

05:35It's a plant that people like me who suffer from travel sickness always take. It really

05:47helps very well against dizziness. The ancient Andean people also believed that muña helps to

05:53ward off the guaira, the bad air. It's supposed to help people who have been traumatized by

05:59something. You don't necessarily ingest it for that. It's more of a holistic application. You

06:06let the smell work on you. The typical smell comes from the compound vinalool. This not

06:13only provides the aroma, it's also super good and super effective when it comes to the respiratory

06:19tract. Paloma Duarte makes tinctures, essential oils and solutions from muña plants grown in

06:27the garden. She's turned her passion into a business idea. It's her aim to preserve the

06:34knowledge of the indigenous peoples and pass it on to younger generations. She also wants

06:41to help the rediscovery of this valuable knowledge. What we have is knowledge and we don't want to

06:53lose all the knowledge we have acquired over hundreds of generations because it's almost like

06:58part of our evolution. To help keep it that way, the women founded the community garden and people

07:08in the neighborhood have already been inspired by Fabiola Pardavi and the other gardeners.

07:13Some neighbors have followed suit and they're also planting medicinal herbs at home. I hope

07:26that we will continue to grow because this garden really needs many hands. The gardeners

07:33at Prederas de Vida are determined to pass down their indigenous ancestors knowledge from generation

07:40to generation.

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