Guaco (Mikania Glomerata) – Powdered Leaves from Brazil

Guaco in Brazilian herbal tradition

Guaco is a familiar name in Brazilian homes, where its leaves have long been prepared as herbal teas and syrups. The plant behind this powder, Mikania glomerata, is a vigorous South American climber associated with the Atlantic Forest. Its story connects household plant knowledge with one of Brazil’s earliest official records of herbal medicines.

Maya’s Guaco comes from small family cultivations in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The growers follow sustainable harvesting practices guided by lunar cycles, and the leaves are shade-dried before being milled into a fine green powder. Its character is herbal and earthy, with the aromatic quality for which Guaco leaves are known.

A climbing plant with two familiar names

Although it grows as a leafy climber, Guaco belongs to the daisy family, Asteraceae. Its opposite leaves can be broad and somewhat lobed, while its flowers are small and clustered. It is the leaves that became established in Brazilian herbal preparations.

The common name also applies to Mikania laevigata, a closely related species. Brazilian botanical and pharmaceutical literature discusses the two separately because their leaf chemistry can differ. This product is Mikania glomerata; the botanical name gives a more precise identity than “Guaco” alone.

From household syrups to the pharmacopoeia

Guaco’s strongest documented cultural connection is with Brazilian popular herbal medicine. Leaf infusions and sweetened syrups became familiar preparations for coughs and other respiratory complaints. That history explains why Guaco is so closely associated with breathing in Brazilian plant lore; it describes the purposes of traditional preparations rather than a demonstrated effect of this powder.

Mikania glomerata appeared in the first Brazilian Pharmacopoeia in 1929. Its later inclusion in official herbal formularies shows how a plant known through household practice also became a subject of formal identification, preparation standards and research. Those standards concern particular preparations and do not make every product bearing the name Guaco equivalent.

What researchers have studied

Coumarin is one of the compounds used when studying and checking the identity of Guaco preparations. Researchers have also investigated other constituents and the way chemistry changes with species and processing. A published clinical study provides a useful example of the limits of this evidence: nineteen healthy volunteers received oral solutions made from the two Guaco species under a defined, short-term regimen.

The researchers found no adverse events attributable to the M. glomerata solution, although some laboratory and clinical measurements changed within normal ranges. This was a small safety study, not a test showing that Guaco treats respiratory disease. It also studied prepared solutions, so its findings cannot establish the effects or an appropriate dose of loose leaf powder.

Keep the powder tightly closed in a cool, dry place. Guaco sits alongside other regional plant traditions in our Well-being botanicals collection.

Selected references

• Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency: assessment of Mikania glomerata leaves
• Brazilian Ministry of Health: Guaco research monograph (2018)
• Bertol and colleagues: clinical safety study of two Guaco species (2024)

This product is sold as a botanical specimen. Information on traditional, cultural and reported uses is provided for educational and ethnobotanical purposes only and is not a recommendation for any particular use. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.