The condurango shrub is native to South America, more specifically the Andes of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, where it is also cultivated. Further cultivation takes place in East Africa. The dried bark of the trunk and branches is used as the drug (Condurango cortex).
Condurango: characteristics of the plant
Condurango is a vigorous climbing shrub that bears hairy shoots and cross-opposite, heart-shaped leaves. The leaves are coarse and very hairy.
The flowers of the shrub are small and greenish-white in color. They have a bell-shaped corolla and are arranged in umbel-shaped inflorescences. Furthermore, the shrub bears bellows fruits, which contain seeds with a head of hair.
The genus Marsdenia includes a total of over 250 species, which are mainly native to the tropics.
Condurango bark as a medicine
The drug consists of the tubular pieces of bark, up to 5 mm thick, covered on the outside with a gray layer (periderm). On some bark pieces there are usually large transverse bark pores and occasionally bark.
The inside of the bark pieces is grayish brown in color, and the fracture is fibrous. Even with magnifying glass, stone cell nests can be seen in the secondary bark.
Odor and taste of condurango
Condurango exudes a pleasant, slightly sweet odor due to the vanillin it contains. The taste of Condurango is scratchy and slightly bitter.