Peumus boldus / Boldo / Monimiaceae (Monimia family)

Information

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Other Names

Peumus boldus, Boldea fragrans, Peumus fragrans, Boldo, Boldu, Boldus, Boldoa, Boldina, Baldina, Molina.

Scent

Aromatic, reminiscent to Camphor and cinnamic acid. It has a warm, spicy and slightly bitter flavour. A deliciously fragrant (but very toxic) essential oil is obtained from the leaves.

Contents

Boldo has many biologically active chemicals. At least 17 alkaloids have been documented thus far, several of which are believed to be Boldo's main active constituents. Much of the biological activity of the plant has been attributed to a single alkaloid called boldine. In addition to boldine, boldo contains ascaridole, benzaldehyde, boldoglucin, bornyl-acetate, 1,8-cineol, coclaurine, coumarin, cuminaldehyde, 2-decanone, 6(a)-7 dehydroboldine, diethylphthalate, eugenol, farnesol, fenchone, gamma terpinene, 2-heptaone, isoboldine, kaempferols, laurolitsine, laurotetainine, norboldine, norisocorydine, pachycarpine, P-cymene, P-cymol, pro-nuciferine, 2-octanone, reticuline, rhamnosides, sabinene, sinoacutine, terpinoline, thymol, trans verbenol, 2-tridecanone, and 2-undecanone.(1)

Historical

Indigenous uses of Boldo have been widely documented. Legend has it that the medicinal uses of the plant were discovered by chance: a Chilean shepherd noticed that his sheep were healthier, and had fewer liver problems, when they grazed on native Boldo plants growing in his fields. For many years the fruit has been eaten as a spice, the wood has been used for charcoal, and the bark has been used in tanning hides. A deliciously fragrant essential oil is obtained from the leaves. The dried and powdered leaves are scattered amongst clothes to sweeten them and repel insects. The small fruits are dried and used as beads in necklaces. When warmed by the body or the sun they release the scent of cinnamon.(1)(2)
The leaves are used for culinary purposes in a similar manner to bay leaves, and also used as an herbal tea, primarily in Chile and Argentina but also in other bordering countries.(3)(4)
According to monographs(6) Boldo contributes to digestive comfort and supports liver and biliary function.

Plant Description

Peumus boldus is an evergreen, fragrant shrub, from 15 to 20 feet high. It is native to the mountainous regions of Chili and introduced to Europe and North Africa. The leaves are opposite, coriaceous, and on leaf-stalks about 1/4 inch in length. The flowers are in loose, terminal, dioecious cymes of about 12 flowers each, on slender, pubescent pedicles. The petals are generally 7, strap-shape, and about 1/2 inch long, of a light-yellow color, and somewhat twisted. The male flower has numerous recurved stamens, with slender filaments, which are hairy at the base. The fruit is a small orange-green, 1-seeded drupe, which is aromatic and edible.(5)

Legal Remarks

This product is illegal or somehow problematic to send to the following countries. Click on the country link for further information.

• Finland
• Norway

References

(1) Boldo, Raintree Plant Database
(2) Peumus boldus - Molina. Plants For A Future
(3) Boldo, Wikipedia
(4) Boldo leaves, Gernot Katzer's Spice Page
(5) Boldus.--Boldo. King's American Dispensatory, by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D., 1898
(6) Document: NL E4-0-C-REF, Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport