What is Kambo?
Kambo is a non-psychoactive traditional Amazonian ceremony which utilizes the secretion of the frog Phyllomedusa Bicolar (also known as giant monkey tree frog, waxy-monkey tree frog, etc) which is found in the Amazon Basin and in other surrounding areas. The Kambo secretion comes from the frogs skin and is carefully collected without harming the frog. The secretion contains a synergistic blend of various peptides which are known to help bring the body back into a state of homeostasis. Kambo is often considered a “peptide supplement”, as many of the peptides within the human body have also been found in the Kambo secretion. These peptides have the amazing ability to aid in the body’s natural ability to heal itself on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. Some of its most well known attributes include improving physical and mental dis-ease including Lyme, PTSD, depression and anxiety.
In the Amazon, Kambo is often used as a hunting aid, due to its ability to increase strength and stamina, and disperse panema (negative energy).
Kambo is used in both traditional and modern day application to address a large spectrum of physical and emotional issues.
Peptides
What is a peptide?
Peptides are short chains of amino acid monomers linked by the peptide (amino) bonds.
The benefits of Kambo come from a complex cocktail of neuro and bioactive peptides that have been found in the Kambo secretion. Below you will find that these peptides have a wide range of functions that have been known to have amazing benefits on the body and mind.
The following text is a summary of research carried out by Pharmacist Rosa Sanchis.
Phyllomedusin: such as tachykinins (which also act as neuropeptides) - produce contraction at the smooth muscle level and increase secretions of the entire gastrointestinal tract such as the salivary glands, stomach, small and large intestine, pancreas and gallbladder. These are the main parts responsible for the deep purge produced by the administration of Kambo.
Phyllokinin and Phyllomedusins: both are potent vasodilators, increasing the permeability of the blood-brain barrier both of their own access as well as for that of other active peptides. Within this family are the medusins, which also have antimicrobial and antifungal properties.
Caeruliens and Sauvagines: They are peptides with chains of 40 amino acids with myotropic properties on the smooth muscles, producing a contraction of the colon and urinary bladder. They produce a drop in blood pressure accompanied by tachycardia. They stimulate the adrenal cortex and pituitary gland, contributing to greater sensory perception and increased resistance. Both peptides possess a great analgesic power, contributing to the increase of physical strength, the capacity to confront physical pain, stress, disease and diminish the symptoms of fatigue. In the medical field this family of peptides contributes to the improved digestion and has analgesic properties against pain in renal colic, pain due to peripheral vascular insufficiency and tumor pain.
Dermorphin and deltorphin: These are small peptides composed of 7 amino acids. They are selective agonists of the opiate delta receptors, 4000 times more potent than morphine and 40 times more than the endogenous endorphins.
Adenoregulins: discovered in the 90s by John Daly’s team at the National Institute of Health in the United States. Adenoregulin works on the human body through the adenosine receptors, a fundamental component throughout all human cellular fuel. These receptors may offer a target for the treatment of depression, stroke and cognitive loss diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and also Parkinson’s.
Dermaseptins: including adenoregulins (with 33 amino acids), plasticins and philloseptins form part of a family of a broad spectrum of antimicrobial peptides involved in the defence of frogs’ bare skin against microbial invasion. These are the first vertebrate peptides that show lethal effects against filamentous fungi responsible for severe opportunistic infections which accompany immunodeficiency syndrome and the use of immunosuppressive agents. They also show lethal effects against a broad spectrum of bacteria both large+ and large-, fungi, yeasts and protozoa. Several years of research carried out at the University of Paris have shown that peptides Dermaseptin B2 and B3 are effective in killing certain types of cancer cells. Research at Queens University in Belfast recently won a prestigious award for his groundbreaking work with cancer and Kambo. Its action mechanism is produced by inhibiting the angiogenesis of tumor cells, with selective cytotoxicity for these cells.
Bradykinins: such as phyllokinins and trytophilins. They are peptides with structure and properties similar to human bradykinin. they are important sources of scientific study as they are hypotensive and due to producing vasodilation, contraction of the non-vascular smooth muscle, increase vascular permeability, also related to the mechanism of inflammatory pain.
Bombesins: these peptides stimulate the secretion of hydrochloric acid by acting on the G cells of the stomach, regardless of the pH medium. They also increase pancreatic secretion, intestinal myoelectric activity and smooth muscle contractility.
Ceruleans: stimulate gastric bile and pancreatic secretions, and certain smooth muscles. They could be used in the paralytic ileus and as a diagnostic medium in pancreatic dysfunction.
Tryptophilins: are neuropeptides consisting of 4 to 14 amino acids, which are opening up new perspectives on how the human brain works. These biopeptides have aroused a great deal of scientific interest and many of them have been successfully synthesized in the laboratory and patented. But so far, none of these molecules have been used in clinical practice. Research on the components of Kambo continues to evolve to find clinical applications in the world of medicine and pharmacology, and in the study of new action mechanisms in our human biology.
Brief History of Kambo
The Kaxinawá legend tells that members of the tribe became very ill and their medicine man had done everything that was possible to cure them. All known medicinal herbs were used, but none helped. Under the effect of sacred plant medicines, Pajé (medicine man) entered the forest where he received a visit from the Grandmother. In her hands was a frog from which she took a white secretion, and taught Pajé how to apply it. After returning to the tribe, Pajé followed the guidelines he was given and was able to cure his brothers and sisters. After his death, his spirit lived on in the frog where it continued to protect the health of those who defend the forest.
Whatever the mythical origin, Kambo has been long used by several different Pano-speaking indigenous tribes in the Amazon, including the Katukina, Asháninka, Yawanawá, Matsés and may have even been used by the classical Maya, whose art depicted tree frogs next to mushrooms. Tribes of the Amazon often refer to kambo as “Hunting Magic” as it has been known to increase strength and stamina, disperse negative energy or panema and reduce the need for food and water while minimizing human scent. “Fortified by the ‘vaccine’, hunters are also thought to emit a strange green light that draws their prey near.”
French missionary Constantin Tastevin stayed with Kaxinawá in 1925, and was the first Westerner to witness Kambo used in the Amazon. In the 1980s, Kambo was rediscovered by journalist Peter Gorman and anthropologist Katharine Milton, both whom spent time living with the Matsés of northeasters Peru/southwestern Brazil. “They each supplied kambo samples to the biochemists John Daly and Vittorio Erspamer, who analyzed the secretion’s peptide content and saw great medical potential. Pharmaceutical companies have made efforts to synthesize and patent kambo peptides, but have largely struggled to develop medications.”
Kambo was rarely applied to non-Indians until 1994, where it was first offered as as therapy by Francisco Gomes. Around 1999, he was joined by Santo Daime and acupuncturist Sonia Maria Valenca Menezes, along with other non-indigenous kambo applicators including holistic therapists and doctors.
“In 2004, the Brazilian government prohibited all advertising of Kambo’s medical or therapeutic benefits, effectively shutting down the new urban applicators. In part, this was a legal response to the Katukina’s demand to protect their ‘intellectual property’.” (The Essential Guide to Kambo - Third Wave)