The Story Of Xiaolan Met Dragon Blood In Costa Rica

Dragon’s blood (Daemonorops draco et spp.) is commonly known as sangre de drago or sangre de grado. The more potent Costa Rica species is natively called tarquay. In Chinese, it is called xue jie.
Sangre de drago, meaning “blood of the dragon” in Spanish, is named for its blood-red resin. It has a long history of use by indigenous tribes throughout the Amazon, especially in Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Its common use is to stop bleeding, heal wounds and treat intestinal problems, especially diarrhea and dysentery. It was first referenced by the Spanish explorer P. Bernabe Cobo in the 1600s. Studies conducted in the late 1970s proved its efficacy and it is found in several pharmaceutical products sold throughout South America. If you ever find yourself suffering from dysentery and diarrhea while
traveling in tropical countries, dragon’s blood can be a life-saving and possibly face-saving ally. In fact, dragon’s blood taken internally is one of the best remedies for Ulcerative colitis, IBS and Crohn’s disease.

Dragon’s Blood: Superior Wound Healer
Dragon’s blood contains taspine and a proanthocyanidin, both with powerful anti-inflammatory antibacterial and antiviral properties, making it one of our most potent botanical wound healers. Part of the palm family, various species grow in tropical areas throughout the world.

One of our afternoons at Ama Tierra was spent with Doña Zoraida, a respected native medicine woman, who taught us about many of the herbs and common remedies and preparations used by her people. She is one of the “grandmother” herbalist healers of the Quiterrise, which is one of the eight indigenous tribes in Costa Rica. Doña Zoraida did not speak English so that her informal teaching was facilitated by a translator.

Doña Zoraida sells her formulas and extracts at local farmers markets. One she showed and described as most precious was a liquid extract of dragon’s blood known locally as tarquay. It so happens that the preferred and most potent species of dragon’s blood is not the one commonly available commercially in the West, Daemonorops draco, but the more potent Costa Rican species, Croton lecheri. It is more expensive because the extraction of the resin results in the destruction of the tree. This blood-red exudate is highly regarded and used for healing wounds, skin conditions and trauma as well as dysentery and diarrhea. Subsequent research confirmed that the standardized dragon’s blood product SP-303 (Provir) used for diarrhea was effective at doses ranging from of 125 to 500 mg daily.
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Besides Amazonia and Costa Rica, dragon’s blood is native to India, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as China and Iran. It is dispensed as a powder or liquid extract and besides its immune-protective, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, it is used as an astringent, stopping cuts from bleeding. It is also given to women internally to treat excessive menstrual discharge and bleeding after childbirth. It is extremely effective for non-infectious diarrhea and diarrhea not caused by food poisoning (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and IBS). An elderly student herbalist living with a Peruvian indigenous tribe said it was a virtual panacea among all the people in the region. When externally applied it dries and creates its protective covering over a wound. With diarrhea and dysentery being a common disease in the jungle, it is no wonder that dragon’s blood would be the most commonly used remedy.
 
Dragon’s blood is regarded as the world’s most powerful antioxidant. Researchers took 100 grams of Croton draco exudate powder and tested it against the other plants known to have high antioxidant content.  Its Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) score was 2,897,110, making it the highest antioxidant food in the world. Its closest competitors are left in the dust as judged by their ORAC values:
 
Sumac bran – 312,400
Ground cloves – 290,283
Dried amla berries– 261,500
In other words, C. lecheri dragon’s blood tree sap taken internally is at least 800% more powerful than the three antioxidant runner-ups! Just a single drop of dragon’s blood is equivalent to 2 lbs of raw kale or three apples’ worth of antioxidants.