Lapacho or taheebo is herbal tea made from the inner bark of the pau d'arco tree Handroanthus impetiginosus. Lapacho is used in the herbal medicine of several South and Central American indigenous peoples to treat a number of ailments including infection, fever and stomach complaints, bladder problems. Its active ingredient, Scientists then discovered that Pau D’arco has two main compounds – lapachol and beta-lapachone – named after the traditional preparation, also attracted a lot of attention for its cancer-fighting, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging potential. 
The Pau D’arco tree (Tabebuia avellanedae) is a large evergreen tree with purple flowers, native to the Amazonian rainforest and South America. Traditional healers make tea from the inner bark of the tree, which is known as Taheebo or Lapacho. 

How It Works
As the main and most well-researched cancer-fighting component, beta-lapachone can affect numerous biological pathways to combat cancer. So far, we know that beta-lapachone may:

Block DNA-repair pathways that help tumors survive, make them more vulnerable to attacks (via NQO1) and ultimately trigger their death [3].
Block a crucial cancer protein in lymphomas, possibly helping protect against their spreading [4].
Boost the activity of various cancer-fighting genes and factors [5].
Its derivatives can target the mitochondria and increase reactive oxygen species in cancer cells, helping to degrade them [6].
Beta-lapachone could injure the so-called “heat shock proteins” (Hsp90), which further blocks a whole cancer pathway. Due to this activity, beta-lapachone could stop cancer cells from spreading, prevent them from making new blood vessels, and trigger their death in both cancer cells and mice with lung cancer [8, 9].

Beta-lapachone, however, has one major downside: it‘s not absorbed well from the gut and is active only for a short time. To overcome this, scientists came up with stable nanoparticles that contain both beta-lapachone and another cancer drug (paclitaxel). According to them, these particles could kill lung and pancreatic cancer and would be absorbed better [13].

Some cancer cells, like colon cancer, can also break down beta-lapachone (via phase II enzymes), rendering it inactive. Although cancer cells have less of these detox enzymes than normal cells, this may still explain why beta-lapachone might not be able to fight some cancers [14].

2) Weight Loss
Postmenopausal overweight mice given Taheebo extract lost weight and body fat. Taheebo also reduced triglycerides in fat cells. It seemed to prevent fat accumulation and weight gain, even though the mice were deprived of the protective effects of estrogen 
Mice fed a high-fat diet and Taheebo still lost weight and had reduced liver fat, cholesterol, insulin, and leptin. Taheebo activated fat-burning pathways in mice on the DNA level [16].
3) Pain and Inflammation
There are various anecdotal reports of Pau D’arco being used as an anti-inflammatory and painkiller, especially for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Taheebo extracts reduced both pain and overall inflammation by 30 – 50% in mice [17].

The extract could safely improve osteoarthritis in mice and lower inflammatory substances. In immune cells, it was able to reduce the chief driver of inflammation in the body, NF-kB [18].
Taheebo also reduced other inflammatory substances (like prostaglandin PGE2) in mice by blocking the main enzyme that contributes to inflammation (COX-2) in immune cells. In fact, this is the same pathway that common OTC anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs) target [19, 20].

Beta-lapachone reduced inflammation and protected brain cells. It acted as an oxidant to neutralize reactive oxygen species and blocked inflammation on a DNA level. It could also increase protective, anti-inflammatory cytokines like IL-10 [21].

4) Allergies and Th2 Dominance
As an added benefit to its anti-inflammatory effects, Pau D’arco may also reduce allergies.

The extract reduced symptoms of eczema in mice and protected their skin without any toxic effects. It reduced substances involved in inflammation and allergies, such as:

Histamine, IgE, IL4 (all Th2), and
IFN-gamma (Th1)
This points to its potential for balancing both the Th1 and Th2 response, although it seems to affect Th2-allergic symptoms more [22].

5) Brain Protection
Beta-lapachone improved symptoms in mice with Huntington’s disease. It could activate genes that help reverse many chronic diseases (SIRT1). It also protected the body’s energy powerhouse – mitochondria, which could support brain function even in healthy mice [23]

6) Bacterial and Yeast Infections
This is perhaps the most common traditional indication for Pau D’arco, but only cell studies shed some light on it. Since its compounds haven’t been tested in infected humans or even animals, the results are very preliminary.

Pau D’arco extracts could kill the bacteria that most commonly causes stomach ulcers, Helicobacter pylori, in test tubes. Its many active components worked as well as the standard antibiotics [24].

Taheebo stopped the growth and spreading of 10 different strains of gut bacteria in the lab. It was active even against bacteria that can cause serious symptoms in humans. Importantly, Taheebo did not harm bacteria that are part of the normal healthy gut flora, such as various Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains [2].

Together with antibiotics, beta-lapachone could combat hard-to-treat bacteria resistant to most antibiotics (MRSA) in test tubes [25].

Beta-lapachone also killed fungi that cause diseases like valley fever and lung infections known as “cave disease”. It could rupture the fungi walls and cause them to die off [26].

7) Antioxidant
Beta-lapachone increased phase II antioxidant enzymes (via AMPK) and antioxidant gene expression in brain cells. Beta-lapochone may boost our protective, detox pathways [27].
A volatile extract of Pau D’arco – made like an essential oil from this tree – had very strong antioxidant activity in cells, similar to well-known antioxidants like vitamin E [28].

8) Longevity Boost
Pau D’arco has some interesting anti-aging, life-extension potential.

In aged mice, beta-lapochene prevented the age-related decline of the muscles and brain. It increased energy use, the activity of energy metabolism genes, and protected the mitochondria [29].

Pau D’arco Supplements
Traditionally, Pau D’arco is prepared as a tea from the inner bark of the tree – Taheebo. Pau D’arco is now sold as tea, alone or in combination with other herbs. Many compare the taste of Taheebo to licorice or cinnamon, which are both also made from tree bark.

Neither Pau D’arco nor beta-lapachone, the active component, have been approved for clinical use due to the lack of clinical research. Regulations set manufacturing standards for them but don’t guarantee that they’re safe or effective. Speak with your doctor before supplementing.

Because this supplement and its active compounds have only been tested in animal and cell studies, there are no clinical trials supporting a specific dose or any form of supplementation. Users and manufacturers have established unofficial doses based on trial and error

Caution
Pau D’arco may affect blood clotting and vitamin K levels in the body. If you are on blood-thinning medications or have a bleeding disorder, consult your doctor first. You may want to be cautious with this supplement or avoid it altogether [1+].

About the Author
Carlos Tello  PhD (Molecular Biology)
Carlos received his PhD and MS from the Universidad de Sevilla.
Carlos spent 9 years in the laboratory investigating mineral transport in plants. He then started working as a freelancer, mainly in science writing, editing, and consulting. Carlos is passionate about learning the mechanisms behind biological processes and communicating science to both academic and non-academic audiences. 

references
https://supplements.selfdecode.com/blog/pau-darco-tree/

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18992801/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15713033/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26602448/
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26496175/
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25891355/
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26159482/
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19578798/