# Ipecacuanha (Carapichea ipecacuanha)

*Ipecac*

**Known today as.** The root of *Carapichea ipecacuanha* of Brazil.

Kind: Plant  
Toxic: yes

> **Caution.** Toxic to the heart in repeated doses.

## What was it used for?

A vomit, and in small doses against the bloody flux.

## What does modern science say?

Its emetine does cause vomiting and acts against amoebic dysentery. Syrup of ipecac is no longer advised for poisoning.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **emetine**: 
- **cephaeline**: 

**Mechanism.** Emetine irritates the stomach and acts on the vomiting centre; it also inhibits protein synthesis, which made it the first drug against amoebic dysentery and makes it a poison to the heart.

**Dose.** Syrup of ipecac in bottles of 30 ml was in every American home from 1965; chronic use by bulimic patients has caused fatal cardiomyopathy, as in the singer Karen Carpenter in 1983.

**Standing.** The American Academy of Pediatrics withdrew its advice to keep ipecac at home in 2003, and the FDA considered removing it from sale; emetine is no longer used for amoebiasis.

## What lore surrounds it?

The name is Portuguese-adapted Tupi, *i-pe-kaa-guéne*, “roadside sick-making plant,” from its long use among the peoples of Brazil before a Portuguese friar recorded it as a remedy for dysentery late in the sixteenth century. It stayed obscure in Europe until 1672, when a traveler named Legros brought the root to Paris; the merchant Garnier later bought a large stock and interested the physician Helvétius, whose patent cure so impressed Louis XIV that the crown bought the formula for 1,000 louis d’or and published it in 1688. Its botanical identity stayed disputed for another century, until a Portuguese naval physician brought authentic specimens to Lisbon in 1800.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Louis XIV.** Paid a physician, Helvétius, for his secret remedy for the flux after it cured the Dauphin, and made it public: the remedy was ipecacuanha.

## Sources

- Grieve, M. (1931). *A Modern Herbal*.
- Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal, “Ipecacuanha.”
- American Academy of Pediatrics (2003). “Poison treatment in the home.” *Pediatrics* 112.
- Schiff, R. J., et al. (1986). “Death due to chronic syrup of ipecac use in a patient with bulimia.” *Pediatrics* 78.

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*Ipecacuanha.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/ipecacuanha

Historical description, not medical advice.