Croton Lechreli is a large tree that grows from 20–30 m high in the upper Amazon region of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Although tall, the trunk is usually less than 30 cm in diameter and is covered by smooth, mottled bark. It has large, heart-shaped, bright-green leaves and unique, greenish-white flowers on long stalks. Its Peruvian name, sangre de grado (same as sangre de drago) means “blood of the dragon” (in Spanish). When the trunk of the tree is cut or wounded, a dark red, sappy resin oozes out as if the tree is bleeding—earning this local name. The genus Croton is a large one, with 750 species of trees and shrubs distributed across the tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres. Crotons are rich in active alkaloids, and several species are well-known medicinal plants used as purgatives and tonics.
TRIBAL AND HERBAL MEDICINE USES
Sangre de drago's red sap or latex (and also its bark) has a long history of indigenous use in the rainforest and in South America. The earliest written reference dates its use to the 1600s, when Spanish naturalist and explorer P. Bernabé Cobo found that the curative power of the sap was widely known throughout the indigenous tribes of Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. For centuries, the sap has been painted on wounds to staunch bleeding, to accelerate healing, and to seal and protect injuries from infection. The sap dries quickly and forms a barrier, much like a "second skin." It is used externally by indigenous tribes and local people in Peru for wounds, fractures, and hemorrhoids, internally for intestinal and stomach ulcers, and as a douche for vaginal discharge. Other indigenous uses include treating intestinal fevers and inflamed or infected gums, in vaginal baths before and after childbirth, for hemorrhaging after childbirth, and for skin disorders.
Dragon's blood has received growing interest from the scientific community, and today it is easy to find in herbalists and many pharmacies in the form of a liquid extract and fresh latex.
It is used as an astringent, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial remedy and, to a lesser extent, digestive and aperitif.
In topical use , dragon's blood:
Helps disinfect wounds and fight herpes simplex .
It is also used as a vaginal antiseptic and on mouth sores . It can also help heal other damage to the oral mucosa, including after tooth extraction.
It relieves pain, reduces the inflammatory reaction and helps to form a scab and regenerates the skin quickly.
In internal use, dragon's blood is indicated for:
Protect and repair the gastrointestinal mucosa.
It effectively fights the action of the intestinal bacterium Helicobacter pylori , responsible for many gastroduodenal ulcers , by alkalizing the environment where they thrive and thus hindering their reproduction.
intestinal infections: in gastroenteritis, gastritis, ulcerative colitis, diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome.
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