Pareiræ Radix, commonly known as Pareira Root is the dried root of the plant Chondrodendron tomentosum from the Menispermaceæ family. The parts of the plant used are the dried root, bark and bruised leaves.
Synonyms – Pareira Brava, Wild Vine, Velvet Leaf, Cissampelos Pareira
Habitat – Brazil, West Indies, Peru
Uses – Chiefly used as a diuretic (increases the flow of urine) and tonic taken as a liquid extract. Pareira root acts as an antiseptic to the bladder, reducing inflammation. The drug was official in the British Pharmacopeia of 1989 for the preparation of fluid extract.
Characteristics – No odour with a bitter taste. The pieces of root are long and nearly cylindrical and 2cm to 5cm in diameter. They are covered with a thin blackish-brown bark and externally marked with longitudinal furrows and transverse ridges and fissures. Internally yellowish or brownish-grey.