About Kambo

About Kambô

Kambô medicine is a resinous secretion taken from the back of a large docile Amazonian tree frog Phyllomedusa Bicolor. The frog is not harmed during the process of collecting this secretion. The indigenous people’s view the frog as a sacred animal and it is revered in their cultures.

Kambô is a powerful shamanic tool used by a handful of the indigenous tribes of the Amazon to clear the energetic mucous (known as panema in the Katukina tribe) that causes illness and prevents clear communication and intuition while hunting. It is also used as an appetite suppressant, as well as to treat lethargy, apathy infertility and several other conditions. It acts as a panacea to treat the energetic roots of illness - physical, emotional and spiritual.

It is applied to the lymphatic system through small holes burnt into the skin, through which the abundant bioactive peptides pass. A combination of energetic and physiological processes begin which causes the body to expel toxic matter and energy from many of the organs and tissues in the body through a physical purge (vomiting). As a result of Kambô ceremonies, participants around the world have reported an incredible array of benefits across the spectrum of health which continue to amaze and astound us.

The bioactive peptides

Kambô contains quite a few bioactive peptides that are active in the human body. Many patents have been taken out by research companies in the hope that they may offer some of the healing benefits reported by Kambô users.

The ones that have been identified and studied include phyllocaerulein, phyllomedusin, phyllokinin, sauvagine, dermaseptins, adenoregulin, deltorphin, and dermorphin.

  • Phyllocaerulein, which stimulates gut flow, stomach acid secretion, and lowers blood pressure.
  • Phyllomedusin (tachykinin) and phyllokinin (bradykinin) contract the gut and lower blood pressure (by dilating blood vessels). Phyllomedusin can also affect consciousness and behaviour.
  • Sauvagine stimulates the adrenal glands and stimulate dopamine release. It causes the smooth muscles to contract.
  • DermaseptinB2 fights microbes and may combat cancer.
  • Adenoregulin affects the activity of important neurotransmitters and compounds (adenosine, adrenaline, andserotonin). 
  • Deltorphins (delta-opioid receptor activator) and dermorphin (mu-opioid receptor activator) act as opioids which relieve pain and relax muscles.


There have been many studies on the individual peptides and their effects on the body. These include antibiotic, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anaesthetic effects. The body reacts to the resin by boosting the natural immune system and ejecting toxicity through the liver, the intestines, and the skin. In the Amazon the medicine is considered to be an energetic medicine. It is believed that Kambô revitalizes the cells of the body - bringing them back to life and purging negative energies. By clearing the dense cloud that surrounds the warriors, they are able to tune into their prey and hunt adeptly. It is also used as an inoculation to strengthen the body against all illnesses.

Many people report a vast array of benefits, helping afflictions such as fatigue, addiction, allergies, phobias, fertility problems, depression, migraines, thyroid issues, arthritis and circulation problems. The beneficial effects can be wide and varied since a great amount of diseases are linked to energetic blockages in the body. Kambô can unblock these energetic dams and shifts the health dynamic back into balance. Results vary from subtle to life-changing.

“Kambô circulates in the heart. Our shaman said that when we take Kambô it makes the heart move accurately, so that things flow, bringing good things to the person. It is as if there was a cloud on the person, preventing the good things to come, then, when it takes the Kambô; it comes a ‘green light’ which opens its ways, making things easier.” — from “Kambô, The Spirit of the Shaman” by Professor Marcelo Bolshaw Gomes.

Nominated for the Nobel prize, Italian scientist Vittorio Erspamer of the University of Rome wrote that this secretion contains a ‘fantastic chemical cocktail with potential medical applications, unequalled by any other amphibian’.

There are a few contraindicated conditions for Kambô, though it is largely safe for the majority of people if applied by a trained practitioner. The contraindicated health circumstances are sometimes not simple, so it is best to get a skilled practitioner to assess your personal circumstances individually before signing up. At Sacred Tree we begin this process by asking you to fill in a form.