What is Mancinella?
Mancinella is a homeopathic remedy. It is a single drug remedy, which means it is made from one source only. That source is the manchineel tree (Hippomane mancinella), also called the manchineel or beach apple.
The tree is one of the most poisonous plants in the world. Its milky sap blisters skin and can blind an eye. Its fruit has killed people who ate it.
The remedy is not the raw plant. The sap is diluted in water and alcohol again and again, with hard shaking at each step. At 30C, the usual strength sold, nothing of the tree is left.
Homeopaths give it for burning skin rashes, mouth sores and sudden mood changes. Trials do not show that it works better than a dummy pill. Long use in homeopathy is not proof that a remedy works, and we say that here once rather than in every section.
How does Mancinella work?
There is no known way for a 30C remedy to act on the body, because none of the plant is left in it.
Homeopathy rests on an idea called "like cures like". The claim is that a substance that causes certain symptoms can treat those same symptoms once it is heavily diluted. Manchineel sap burns skin, so the remedy is given for burning, blistering rashes.
Homeopaths also say that water holds a kind of "memory" of the plant after it is shaken. Chemistry and physics give no support for this idea.
When the remedy is tested against a dummy pill, the two act the same. Any change a person feels most likely comes from time, care and expectation.
What forms does Mancinella come in?
Mancinella is sold as small sugar pellets, as larger tablets, and as liquid drops in alcohol.
Common strengths are 6C, 30C and 200C. The higher the number, the more dilution steps were used, and the less chance any plant is left.
Some shops also list mother tincture or very low X strengths. These may still hold real plant matter and are not safe to take. Mancinella is never sold as a tea, a powder or a raw fruit, and no one should ever make such a thing at home.
Where it comes from:
The manchineel tree grows on beaches in the Caribbean, Florida and Central and South America. Local people have warned about it for centuries, and Spanish sailors wrote about its poison.
Homeopaths began using a diluted form in the 1800s after a "proving", a test in which healthy people took the remedy and wrote down what they felt. Skin blisters and strong mood symptoms were reported.
Mancinella has stayed a small, second-line remedy in homeopathy. It is not a staple of any other healing tradition.
If this is an emergency
Some reactions to Mancinella need urgent care. Call your local emergency number or go to an emergency department straight away — do not wait to see whether it passes.
Who should avoid Mancinella?
- Never eat, chew or touch any part of a manchineel tree, including its fruit, leaves, bark or sap.
- Never shelter under a manchineel tree in rain, and never burn its wood, because the sap and smoke burn skin and eyes.
- Do not use any Mancinella product sold as a mother tincture (raw plant extract) or at a very low strength such as 1X, 2X or 3X, because real plant poison may remain.
- Do not use it in place of treatment your doctor has prescribed, and never stop a prescribed medicine to try it.
- Do not use it for a serious or fast-worsening problem, such as chest pain, trouble breathing, a spreading skin infection or a high fever.
- Do not give it to a baby, a child or an older person instead of getting medical care.
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, unless your doctor or midwife says it is fine.
- Do not use the sugar pellets if you are lactose intolerant (your body cannot digest milk sugar), as most pellets are made with milk sugar.
- Do not use the liquid drops if you are avoiding alcohol, or if you take disulfiram or metronidazole (medicines that react badly with alcohol).
When should you see a doctor?
Get emergency help straight away if sap or fruit from a manchineel tree touches anyone. Call emergency services if there is eye pain or loss of sight, burning in the mouth or throat, swelling of the lips or tongue, trouble breathing, or vomiting after eating the fruit. Rinse skin with plenty of water while you wait.
See a doctor within a day if you have a rash that spreads, weeps or is very painful, a sore throat with fever, or a mouth sore that does not heal in two weeks.
Make an appointment if your symptoms have not improved after about two weeks on this remedy, or if they come back. Also speak to a doctor about sudden hair loss, hot flushes that disturb your sleep, or low mood and fear that will not lift.
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