Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Marcela, also spelled macela, is a small shrubby plant from South America. Its dried, pale yellow flower heads are brewed as a tea. In English it is sometimes called Brazilian everlasting.
It is a household herb in southern Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. People drink it most often after heavy meals, for gas and stomach cramps. It is also taken to calm the nerves and ease period pain.
Here is the honest verdict. Almost all the research is lab and animal work. Good human trials are very scarce.
So its effects in people are not established. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a remedy works. It is also not proof that it is safe.
No one has shown how marcela acts in the human body. What follows comes from the lab bench, not from patients.
In test tubes, its flavonoids (plant pigments) mop up damaging molecules called free radicals. In cell studies, some of these compounds appear to damp down signals that drive swelling and redness.
In animal studies, extracts have relaxed gut muscle and eased spasm. Other animal work points to a calming, sleep-leaning effect on the brain. Rodent studies have also reported lower blood sugar and some liver protection.
None of this has been confirmed in people. A result in a mouse or a dish often fails to appear in a human. Treat these as ideas being tested, not as how the tea works in you.
The usual form is the dried flower head, sold loose or in teabags.
You may also find:
Teabags and loose dried flowers for infusion.
Liquid tinctures in alcohol.
Capsules of dried powdered herb.
Compound tea blends sold for digestion in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.
Cosmetic and bath products that use the extract.
In Uruguay and Argentina the dried flowers are sometimes added to mate. The plant also had a non-medical use as pillow and mattress stuffing. Herbal products are not tested the way medicines are, so strength differs from brand to brand.
Marcela was one of the best known home herbs of the Rio de la Plata region and southern Brazil. Written records of its use go back to the 1800s, and Guarani and criollo use is older still.
In Uruguay and Argentina, custom held that the flowers should be picked on the morning of Holy Week or at the start of autumn. Families dried them for the year ahead.
Traditional healers gave it for upset stomach, colic, gas, period cramps and nerves. It was also used in baths and poultices on the skin.
This is a record of what people did and believed. It is not a reason to treat yourself, and it does not tell you the herb is safe for you.
Stop and get emergency help if you get swelling of the lips, face or throat, hives, or trouble breathing. These can be signs of a severe allergic reaction.
Stop and call your doctor if you notice unusual bruising or bleeding, yellow skin or eyes, or dark urine.
If you have diabetes, check your blood sugar and seek help for shakiness, sweating, confusion or faintness.
See a doctor rather than continuing the tea if stomach pain, cramps or sleeplessness last more than two weeks.
In Brazil, the health regulator ANVISA lists macela among traditional plant remedies sold as teas. In the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union it is sold as a food or supplement. It is not approved anywhere as a treatment for any disease.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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