Pasuchaca (Geranium ayavacense Willdex)

Presentation: 10gr tea filters in boxes of 30 filters each.
Quantity Available: 5MT/Year

Botanical Description:
The plant is inherent, acaulescent and wild. It grows spontaneously. It has a typical or pivoting root. Its leaves are basal pubescent and are attached by 21 mm-long petioles. They are alternate, palmate-parted in seven and dentate-lobed. The lobules are widely cuneate-vaulted. The three lobules in the middle are three-dentate and the four lateral lobules are bi-dentate, with pubescent concrescent stipules, and corolline measuring 13 mm in length.
It has umbel, peduncle and floral inflorescence, 10 mm long. The flower has perianth and is dichlamydeous, heterochlamydeous, hermaphrodite and actinomorphic. It has five verticils at its base.
Its fruit is schizocarpic, regma-type and it comes from a pluricarpellary gyneceum with many styles knitted among them, but when the fruit ripens, each one of them separates with the corresponding carpel.

Chemical composition:
This species contains the following substances: glycosides (cyanogenetic, anticyanic, anthraquinonic and saponic), gummas, mucilages, tannins, saponins, chlorophyll, fats, essences, waxes, resins, flavonoids, carotenoides and reducing sugars.

Action modes:
Pasuchaca is considered the vegetal species with the higher hypoglycemic effect, that is why it is recommended for treating certain types of diabetes. Its activity seems to be related to the effect produced by the guanidine-type oral hypoglycemic agents which, unlike the sulfuryl-type hypoglycemic agents, produce a decrease in the glucose levels in diabetic animals and in combination with insulin, they also act in serious juvenile diabetes. Likewise, it can interfere in the joining of insulin to the plasmatic proteins, producing a free and active hormone.
This plant widens the peripheral use of glucose or increases the reception of glucose by the muscle and inhibits the increased hepatic gluconeogenesis in diabetics. It also increases the reception of insulin in its receivers. Considering that insulin has no effect for the transport of glucose in certain cells, as those of the tubular epithelium of the kidney, we suppose that pasuchaca prevents the reabsorption of glucose through the tubular epithelium. If such were the case, glucose concentrations larger than those presented in the physiologic conditions of diabetics would be eliminated in urine.

Therapeutic indications:
The main medicinal properties attributed to pasuchaca are: antidiabetic, hypoglycemic and blood purifier. Likewise, it is considered a strong astringent, that is why it is usually used to fight against chronic diarrheas, infantile cholera, hemorrhages, throat inflammations and mouth ulcer.
In homeopathic medicine, it is recommended, besides the mentioned cases, for blennorrhagia, hemoptysis, menorrhagia, breast ulcer, stomach atony and laryngitis.

Clinical Studies:
Studies to measure the hypoglycemic effect of pasuchaca have been conducted at Instituto Nacional de Salud in rabbits with experimental diabetes treated with water extract of Geranium delsianum Knuth, administered one hour before each determination of glucose (dose of 10 g/kg BW). It was found that the decrease of glycemia starts in the first hour, it emphasizes in the fourth hour and is maintained in the seventh hour.
These studies revealed that the water extract produced an hypoglycemic effect when administered orally to diabetic rabbits (because of the alloxan). The effect with a single dose of 5 g/kg BW was shorter and a little lower than at doses of 10 g/kg BW, with which it reached the maximum hypoglycemic effect four hours after administering the extract. When administering the drug every two hours (one hour before each determination of glycemia), it was verified that hypoglycemia persists until the seventh hour and that it is more significant at the dose of 10 g/kg BW.

Acute Toxicity:
Acute toxicity studies have been conducted by orally administering the water extract through a metallic probe to mice that had fasted for fourteen hours. First, the approximate dose was estimated by careful examination (20, 30 and 100 g/kg BW) which determines the effect on a small number of animals. Then, a test was conducted in animals (10 mice per group) to observe the mortality of each dose employed for a seven-day period. Based on such results, the statistical calculations where done to determine the exact DL50.
The dose of 20 g/kg BW administered to the first group did not produce any deaths. In the second group, a dose of 30 g/kg BW produced 10% of deaths. The mortality percentage rises with the increase of the dose of 50 g/kg BW. The DL50 corresponds to 35 g/kg BW.
After each drug administration, and especially with the larger doses, a first excitation phase was observed with increase in the respiratory frequency for about twenty minutes. Then, there was a depression phase in which the spontaneous activity and the alarm reaction diminish, and the passivity increases. Afterwards, some mice experimented convulsions followed by a slow death. Intestinal distention was observed when they where dissected.