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Curious about the Amazon, which represents about half of the Earth's remaining rainforest? The mighty Amazon River measures at least 4,000 miles...the distance from New York City to Rome — and is the world's largest. Its westernmost source is high in the Andes Mountains, within 100 miles of the Pacific Ocean, and it empties into the Atlantic on the northeastern coast of Brazil. It is the world's single largest reserve of biological resources, yet, its most valuable plant offerings remain a mystery to most.

Below, Joe Wall from Regent Seven Seas Cruises takes a closer look at these rainforest plants, starting with popular foods and then varieties used for medicinal purposes.

If exploring the Amazon isn't on your dance card, Regent is offering their First Class Air promotion with FREE First Class Air on select 2024 voyages to explore fascinating destinations across Alaska, the Caribbean, or Canada and New England. Please remember that booking through our team assures you extra insights, expert advice, and special amenities.

FRUITS OF THE FOREST

More than 3,000 edible fruits are found in the Amazon Rainforest, home to the most diverse flora in the world. Many are familiar — avocado, fig, mango, lemon, oranges, pineapple, grapes, coconuts — but only a fraction of the rainforest’s fruits are known and shared widely. In a 2019 review published in Food Research International, Brazilian researchers pored through a dictionary of Brazilian plants written in 1926 by a Portuguese botanist named Manoel Pio Corrêa. Their conclusion? The rainforest’s remarkably diverse assortment of edible plants is an untapped food source. Researchers reported that regional commercial production of native fruits remained “scarce,” and that the main barrier to increased production was a “lack of studies that confirm their benefits as food.” Meanwhile, a pair of rainforest fruits very much appreciated as food — cupuaçu and açaí — are widely available and enjoyed throughout South America and the world.

Cupuaçu

Cupuaçu (pronounced coo-poo-asoo) is naturally cultivated in the jungles of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru and in the north of Brazil. A rainforest tree related to cacao, its brown fruit is oblong and fuzzy with a creamy, aromatic pulp. Brazilians eat it raw or incorporate it into sweets like juices, jellies, ice creams, shakes and mousses. Amazonian tribes have incorporated cupuaçu into their diets for centuries, but you’ll now find it crafted into a tangy ice cream, saison-style beer, and high-end candy bar.

Açaí

Açaí (pronounced ‘ah-sigh-ee’) is a small, round, and black-purple berry harvested from palm trees of the same name. Recently proclaimed a ‘superfood’ by some, the berries have been a staple within Amazonian communities for generations, as have the fronds and oil of the trees. The berries are rich in protein, minerals, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory elements, making them a popular ingredient in juices, smoothies, drinks, powders, tablets, and capsules. Like cupuaçu, açaí has become a common ice cream flavor in South America.

AMAZONIAN NATUROPATHY

As with edible fruits, much of the potentially curative properties of Amazonian plants have yet to be discovered. What’s known is that many of the region’s more than 150,000 species of plants are rich in beneficial nutrients; contain antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties; and have been expertly recommended and applied by the Amazon’s indigenous people for centuries.

Here are a few natural resources hailed for their therapeutic qualities — the roots of Uña de Gato, the leaves of the Matico, and the Cordoncillo leaf — plus an Amazonian wild card, the brewed concoction known as Ayahuasca.

Uña de Gato

South Americans use Uña de Gato’s roots as a ‘cure-all’ for everything from rheumatism pain to toothaches, deep injuries to ulcers. Several varietals serve different healing purposes in North America and Europe, and a different type is common in Asian medicine. It’s also a popular herbal supplement, and scientists have discovered it may help regulate the immune system, have anti-inflammatory properties, and possibly fight viruses and bacteria.

Matico

The colorful flowers of the Matico plant are eye-catching, but its leaves hold the magic that Amazonians have long boiled in a tea and are used to treat muscle pain, sore throats, and other common ailments. Researchers have confirmed this common practice, finding Matico has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, and can help to quickly heal scars or wounds.

Cordoncillo

Chewing on the Cordoncillo leaf produces a slightly numbing effect comparable to Novocain. It has a variety of traditional uses, including disinfecting wounds, treating respiratory illnesses, stopping blood hemorrhages, and treating gallstones. Since the 1800s, the plant has become known globally as a hemostatic (to control/stop bleeding) and as an astringent for cuts.

Ayahuasca 

Ayahuasca (pronounced ‘aa-yuh-waa-skuh’) means “vine of the soul” or “vine of the dead” and has recently gained notoriety as a psychedelic drug sought out by travelers for a bohemian ‘trip’. For centuries, Amazonian indigenous people have macerated and boiled the plant to use in sacred, ritual practice. Today, shamans use it to connect people with the spiritual realm or their ancestors and for other medicinal purposes.