Horopito: New Zealand’s Herbal Hero
Chloe Chivers is a qualified Naturopath working as an in-house health advisor for Kolorex. She also runs her own practise and specialises in women’s health.
Here she talks about why she loves using Horopito in her practise and that it deserves more recognition for its antifungal benefits.
Horopito may be one of New Zealand’s most underrated herbs. Known as the pepper tree, this pink-tinged medicinal plant packs a fiery punch - not just to the tongue, but to yeasts and fungal infections.
Although the subject of many scientific studies, Horopito doesn’t always get its fair share of publicity.
Let’s take a look at why this powerful little plant should feature in every naturopath’s clinic.
What is Horopito?
Horopito is a native shrub that grows on the edge of forests, particularly rainforests. It is a member of the primitive Winteraceae family, which evolved more than 65 million years ago. As one of only three species within the Pseudowintera genus, Horopito’s survival is attributed to the powerful antioxidant content of its red-tinged leaves and its fiery hot taste.
The redness of the leaves represents their concentrations of active constituents. The redder the leaves, the greater the protection against damaging ultraviolet radiation. The peppery taste is thanks to its key active constituent, polygodial, which also serves to ward off animals and other predators.
Maori may have been the first to use Horopito as part of rongoā, traditional Mãori medicine. Horopito was referred to as “the Maori painkiller”, and the steeped leaves were used as a poultice or topical treatment for skin conditions such as ringworm, rashes, or on cuts and burns. When European colonists brought their foreign diseases to Aotearoa, Horopito served as a treatment for STDs or paipai. (The same colonists used it to treat their diarrhoea.)
Decoctions of the plant served as a tonic for stomach aches, and chewing the leaves was found to be an excellent treatment for toothache. Women also rubbed the leaves on their breasts when weaning their babies.
It’s only in the last couple of decades that scientists have investigated why these remedies worked so well. This led to the discovery of Horopito’s impressive powers as an antifungal and antibacterial medicine.
Horopito and current research
A team of researchers at the University of Canterbury were the first to isolate and identify Horopito polygodial content. This potent antifungal and anti-microbial compound has since drawn international attention and its uses have expanded well beyond those of early Maori medicine.
Horopito also harbours a range of other beneficial constituents including volatile oils, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and tannins. Like any other plant, the quality and phytochemistry of Horopito leaves and extracts is largely dependent on how the plant is grown, harvested, and processed.
Benefits of Horopito
Today, Horopito is used to treat a range of fungal concerns, from vaginal candidiasis to fungal skin complaints like Jock Itch and Athletes Foot (Tinea Pedis). Along with its renowned anti-fungal properties, Horopito has demonstrated activity as an anti-candida, antibiotic, antimicrobial, and analgesic.
Vaginal candidiasis
Horopito’s biggest claim to fame is its efficacy in treating vaginal candidiasis.
Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) is one of the most prevalent fungal infections in humans, often caused by gut dysbiosis and resistance to antifungal drugs.(1) Several clinical trials have shown Horopito to be as effective as the anti-fungal pharmaceutical drug Itraconazole in treating recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVV).(2) Although Horopito takes longer to act, it is less likely to result in resistance. This has a significant advantage over using pharmaceutical drugs as it reduces the likelihood of relapse and therefore serves as a better preventive. It also tends to cause fewer side effects than antifungal drugs.
Yeast overgrowth
Further evidence from clinical trials has found Horopito to be effective in treating candida overgrowth in both the gastrointestinal tract and the urinary tract.
Polygodial works by damaging the permeability barrier of the yeast cell and causing it to leak. This effectively destroys the cell. (3)
A small trial also found that women with relapsing bacterial vaginosis who used Horopito cream used alongside antibiotics reported no relapses. (4)
Oral yeast infections
Oral candidiasis - also caused by candida albicans - can be effectively managed with Horopito. An unpublished clinical study involving patients with chronic recurring intestinal candidiasis found that Horopito supplementation was more effective than the antifungal drug Fluconazole.
One month of supplementation resulted in 80% of the Fluconazole patients relapsing, but only 32% of the Horopito group.
Topical infections
Horopito’s antifungal activities have also been documented for treating fungal skin conditions such as athlete’s foot, anal itch, and rashes. It was used to successfully treat Herpes simplex-1(cold sores) and shown to have antiviral activity comparable to the popular cold sore treatment Acyclovir.
Horopito products and supplements
The only commercial plantation in the world to grow and extract Horopito is in Golden Bay, New Zealand which is run by Forest Herbs Research.
Founded by Peter Butler, the family-owned business has been sustainably farming Horopito for over 30 years. Forest Herbs Research manufactures and exports a wide range of Horopito based natural products all over the world. Their comprehensive product line now includes both oral and topical formulas for most yeast-related conditions, from vaginal candidiasis to athlete’s foot.
If practitioners want to find out more about Horopito and candidiasis they should watch this helpful webinar.
Reference:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.655069/full
Kumari, A., Bishier, M. P., Naito, Y., Sharma, A., Solimene, U., Jain, S., Yadava, H., Minelli, E., Momella, C., & Marotta, F. (2011). Protective effect of an oral natural phytonutrient in recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis: a 12-month study. Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents, 25 (4), 543–551.
https://academic.oup.com/bbb/article-abstract/52/6/1409/5968006
Forest Herbs Research. Kolorex Cream 2000 Pavlodar Clinical Study Data on File.