Mechanistic and Clinical Assessment of Zangrado®, an Extract of the Amazonian Ethnomedicine Sangrede Grado, for the Treatment of Itch

Zangrado is an extract of sangre de grado or sangre de drago, a latex obtained from various Croton species from the jungles of the upper Amazon, primarily Peru and Ecuador. Zangrado has reduced proanthocyandin content, which allows it to be topically useful because the inherent ethnomedicine has a rich burgundy color that accounts for its reference to blood in its ethnic name. The ethnomedical uses for sangre de grado are diverse but include wound healing,. anti-itch, and analgesia. In addition, taken orally, it alleviates nausea and diarrhea and promotes the healing of gastrointestinal ulcers (l). We have been researching the scientific basis for these ethnomedical reports, and have noted that a suppression of sensory afferent nerves appears to underlie all of these actions (2,3).