Suma is a large, rambling, shrubby ground vine with an intricate, deep, and extensive root system.  It is indigenous to the Amazon basis and other tropical parts of (southern) Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.  Since its first botanical recording in 1826, it has been referred to by several botanical names, including Pfaffia paniculata, Hebanthe paniculata, and Gomphrena paniculata.  The genus Pfaffia is well known in Central and South America, with over 50 species growing in the warmer tropical regions.

TRIBAL AND HERBAL MEDICINE USES

In South America, suma is known as para toda (which means "for all things) and as Brazilian ginseng, since it is widely used as an adaptogen with many applications (much as "regular" ginseng).  The indigenous peoples of the Amazon region who named it para toda have used suma root for generations for a wide variety of health purposes, including as a general tonic; as an energy, rejuvenating, and sexual tonic; and as a general cure-all for many types of illnesses.  Suma has been used as an aphrodisiac, a calming agent, and to treat ulcers for at least 300 years.  It is an important herbal remedy in the folk medicine of several rainforest Indian tribes today.

In herbal medicine throughout the world today, suma is considered a tonic and an adaptogen.  The herbal definition of an adaptogen is a plant that increases the body'sresistance to adverse influences by a wide range of physical, chemical, and biochemical factors and has a normalizing or restorative effect on the body as a whole.  In modern Brazilian herbal medicine practices, suma root is employed as a cellular oxygenator and taken to stimulate appetite and circulation, increase estrogen production, balance blood sugar levels, enhance the immune system, strengthen the muscular system, and enhance memory.

In North American herbal medicine, suma root is used as an adaptogenic and regenerative tonic regulating many systems of the body; as an immunostimulant; to treat exhaustion and chronic fatigue, impotence, arthritis, anemia, diabetes, cancer, tumors, mononucleosis, high blood pressure, PMS, menopause, and hormonal disorders, and many types of stress.  In herbal medicine in Ecuador today, suma is considered a tonic and "normalizer" for the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system, the reproductive system, and the digestive system; it is used to treat hormonal disorders, sexual dysfunction and sterility, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, circulatory and digestive disorders, rheumatism, and brhonchitis.  Thomas Bartram, in his book Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, reports that suma is used in Europe to restore nerve and glandular functions, to balance the endocrine system, to strengthen the immune system, for infertility, menopausal, and menstrual symptoms, to minimize the side effects of birth control medications, for high cholesterol, to neutralize toxins, and as a general restorative tonic after illness.

PLANT CHEMICALS

Nutionionally, suma root contains 19 different amino acids, a large number of electrolytes, trace minerals, iron, magnesium, zinc, vitamins A, B1, B2, E, K, and pantothenic acid.  Its high germanium content probably accounts for its properties as an oxygenator at the cellular level; its high iron content may account for its traditional use for anemia.  The root also contains novel phytochemicals including saponins, pfaffic acids, glycosides, and nortriterpenes.

Suma has also been called "the Russian secret," as it has been taken by Russian Olympic athletes for many years and has been reported to increase muscle-building and endurance without side effects associated with steroids.  This action is attributed to an anabolic-type phytochemical called beta-ecdysterone and three novel ecdysteroid glycosides that are found in high amounts in suma.  Suma is such a rich source of beta-ecdysterone that it is the subject of a Japanes patent for the extraction methods employed to obtain it form suma root (approximately 2.5 g of beta-ecdysterone can be extracted from 400 g of powdered suma root - or .63%).  These same Japanese researchers filed a U.S. patent in 1998 for a proprietary extract of suma (which extracted the ecdysterone and beta-ecdysterone); it claimed (through various in vivo and in vitro studies) that their compound maintained health, enhanced the immune system, and had a tonic and an anti-allergenic effect.  A French company also filed a U.S. patent on the topical use of these ecdysterone chemicals, claiming that their suma ecdysterone extract strengthened the water barrier function of the skin, increased skin keratinocyte differentiation (which would be helpful for psoriasis), gave the skin a smoother, softer appearance and, also, improved hair appearance.

Suma root has a very high saponin content ( up to 11%).  In phytochemistry, plant saponins are well known to have a wide spectrum of activities including lowering blood cholesterol, inhibiting cancer cell growth, and acting as antifungal and antibacterial agents.  They are also known as natural detergent and foaming agents.  Phytochemists report that saponins can act by binding with bile acids and cholesterol.  It is thought that these chemicals "clean" or purge these fatty compounds from the body (thus lowering blood cholesterol levels).  One of the most famous plant saponins is digitalis, derived from the common foxglove garden plant, which has been used as a heart drug for over 100 years. 

 Suma's main plant chemicals are: allantoin, beta-ecdysterone, beta-sitosterol, daucosterol, germanium, iron, magnesium, nortriterpenoids, pantothenic acid, pfaffic acids, pfaffosides A-F, polypodine B, saponins, silica, stigmasteron, stigmasterol-3-o-beta-d-glucoside, vitamins A, B1, B2, E, K, and zinc.

This special extract of Suma root is in an organic grain alcohol base.  No water or glycerin is added giving you the highest concentrate available.  Developed by Dr. Max Barlow, this pure extract is unbeatable.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is intended for education and information purposes only.  This information is not intended to diagnose, prescribe, or replace proper medical care.  The plant described above in not intended to treat, cure, diagnose, or prevent any disease.