cedro
Quick Facts
- What it is: The bitter bark of Cedrela odorata, a tropical American tree known as Spanish cedar, used in Latin American folk medicine for fever and gut complaints.
- Main uses: Fever, Diarrhoea, Intestinal worms, Skin sores, Insect repelling
- Active ingredients: Cedrelone, Gedunin, Methyl angolensate, Tannins, Sesquiterpenes such as cedrene and cadinene
- Forms: Dried bark for decoction, Tincture, Essential oil from the wood (external use only), Capsules (rare)
- Time to effect: Not known; it may do nothing.
- Side effects: Stomach upset from the tea; rash and breathing trouble from the wood dust.
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What is cedro?
Cedro is the bark of Cedrela odorata, a tall tropical American tree. The timber trade calls it Spanish cedar. In Latin America and the Caribbean, healers boiled the bark into a bitter tea for fever, gut upsets and worms.
It is not a true cedar. Do not mix it up with Western red cedar, Atlas cedarwood or cedar leaf oil. These are different plants with different risks.
The name causes more confusion. In parts of Spain and Italy, "cedro" means citron, a citrus fruit. Check the Latin name on any product you are looking at.
Here is the honest verdict. There are no good human trials of cedro for any health problem. Long traditional use is not proof that it works, and it is not proof that it is safe.
How does cedro work?
No one has shown how cedro acts in the human body, because the human studies have not been done.
Most of what is claimed comes from the lab. In test-tube work, bark and wood extracts slow the growth of some bacteria and fungi. Whether that happens inside a person who drinks a tea is unknown.
The bitter compounds called limonoids draw the most interest. In test tubes, gedunin and related limonoids from this plant family act against the malaria parasite. That is a long way from treating malaria in a person.
In insect studies, cedrelone puts insects off feeding and slows their growth. This may explain why the wood resists pests and why the smoke was used to drive off mosquitoes.
The bark also tastes astringent, which is a drying, puckering feel. Tannins cause that. Astringency is often said to firm up loose stools, but this has not been tested for cedro in people.
So treat every mechanism claim here as a lab finding, not a proven effect.
What forms does cedro come in?
Cedro is sold and used in a small number of forms, most of them unstandardised.
Dried bark, in chips or powder, is the traditional form. It is simmered in water to make a decoction.
Alcohol tinctures of the bark turn up in Latin American markets and online shops.
Essential oil distilled from the wood is sold for scent and for pest repelling. It is not a food or a drink.
Sawdust and wood shavings are a timber by-product, not a remedy. They are a known cause of rash and breathing trouble in workers.
Capsules are rare. When they exist, the label almost never states how much active material is inside.
There is no agreed standard for strength. One product cannot be assumed to match another.
Where it comes from:
Cedro has a long standing in Latin American folk medicine, from Mexico through the Amazon basin and the Caribbean.
Healers used bark decoctions for fever and for malaria-like illness. The same tea was given for diarrhoea and for intestinal worms.
Washes made from the bark were applied to sores, cuts and skin infections. Some accounts record it for toothache.
In several regions the bark was also taken to bring on a late period. That use is the reason pregnancy warnings sit high on this page.
The wood itself was prized long before any medical claim. It resists insects, which is why it lines cigar boxes and storage chests.
These records describe what people did. They were not trials, and they did not track harm.
Who should avoid cedro?
- Never use cedro if you are pregnant. The bark was traditionally taken to bring on a late period, and that is a real risk to a pregnancy.
- Do not use it if you are trying to get pregnant.
- Do not use it while breastfeeding.
- Never give cedro to a baby or a child.
- Never swallow the essential oil, not even a drop. It is for scent and pest use only.
- Do not use it if you have liver disease (a damaged liver) or kidney disease.
- Avoid it if you have asthma (a lung disease that narrows the airways), and keep away from the sawdust.
- Do not use it if you have ever reacted to cedar wood dust with rash, wheeze or a blocked nose.
- Never use cedro in place of treatment for malaria, dengue or any illness with fever. Get tested instead.
- Do not use it if you take warfarin (a blood thinner), lithium, ciclosporin or digoxin, unless your doctor agrees.
- Avoid it in the two weeks before planned surgery.
When should you see a doctor?
Stop using cedro and see a doctor if you get a rash, itching, or a wheeze after handling the bark or dust.
See a doctor the same day if your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow. That can mean the liver is in trouble.
Get urgent care for a fever above 39C, a fever lasting more than three days, or any fever after travel to a malaria area.
Call emergency services for swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, sudden trouble breathing, or repeated vomiting that you cannot stop.
Is cedro legal where you live?
Cedro is not approved as a medicine in the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Union. Any product sold there is a supplement or a plant material, and its health claims are not vetted.
The tree itself is protected. Cedrela odorata is listed on CITES Appendix II, so its timber trade is controlled across borders.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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