Jaborandi – Pilocarpus

The mother tincture is prepared from the dried leaves of the plant(s) Pilocarpus jaborandi Holmes, P. pennatifolius Lem. and/or P. microphyllus Stapf, natives of Brazil. N.O. Rutaceae.

The main indications are:

Abnormal sweats, nocturnal sweats in pulmonary tuberculosis, excessive saliva- tion and cystitis during pregnancy. Hyperhydrosis generally, sweats after menopausal hot flushes.

Jaborandi, which contains pilocarpine, is known for its qualities as a diaphoretic, promoting sweating, and a myotic (i.e. causing the pupils to contract). Heinigke de- scribes the action of Jaborandi in the form of an infusion containing 6 grams. of the leaves as follows: “The face immediately flushes, the temporal arteries begin to throb, and a strange sensation of heat occurs in the mouth and face. Salivation be- gins, the brow becomes wet, sweating occurs all over the face, and the saliva flows more and more, filling the mouth with great quantities of fluid, leading to continual spitting; gradually the whole body is bathed in sweat, and an agreeable feeling of warmth predominates. Meanwhile, other realisations have dawned: the eyelids are moistening, the pupils are contracting slightly, the nose begins to run and the mu- cous membranes of pharynx, trachea and bronchi are exuding watery mucus; there are also palpitations and an irregular pulse. These symptoms are at their most intense after taking the remedy, continue for about 30–50 minutes, and then gradually die down, followed by a certain weakness and sleepiness, and a great dryness of all the organs which have just been so intensely active, remaining for a shorter or longer time.”

This picture of the effects of pilocarpine, which is the main active ingredient of Jaborani, can be used to good effect according to Reversal effect and the Law of Similars in such conditions as abnormal sweating, especially in night-sweats of tu- bercular patients, in salivation and urinary disorders, also during pregnancy, and also in spasms of the muscles of accommodation and various other kinds of visual disorders, such as difficulties in accommodation and spasms of the eyelids.

There are also good results in bronchitis with profuse secretion of watery mucus and in inflammation of the parotid glands, as well as in dysmenorrhoea of young girls who have extremely dry skin and scanty periods; it is also particularly good for nursing mothers who are short of milk.

Pilocarpine is used in ocular medicine in order to contract the pupils, e.g. in in- juries to the iris and in glaucoma, a 1%–2% solution being employed. Compared with eserine, pilocarpine has the advantage of a less powerful action, the accommo- dation being affected to a lesser degree, and the tendency towards iritis being en- hanced to a lesser degree than with eserin.

Good results have also been obtained in daily headaches which occur around mid- day and are associated with accelerated respiration and also with pressure on the chest, anxiety, palpitations, pain in the praecordia region, vertigo and pulsating pain

on the vertex. It should also be tried in disorders of accommodation, especially with spasm of the muscles of accommodation while reading, when the letters suddenly disappear, it becomes difficult to see in detail and there is myopia.

Good results could be expected in swelling of the middle ear (cf. Euphorbium), and in a sensation of emptiness in the lower abdomen, in painless diarrhoea, in flushing of the face with outbreak of sweat, and in sudden violent pain in the blad- der, shooting into the urethra, so that the patient has to cry out, and also in burning in the urethra with urging to urinate.

An important indication is also its use in pulmonary oedema with frothy expecto- ration and watery or mucous secretions, generally accompanied by excessive sweat- ing at various locations on the body.

The German Monograph-Preparation Commission for the Homoeopathic Field of Therapy has, under the Preparation Monograph for Pilocarpus, published the fol- lowing indication(s) in the German Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette) for jaborandi: eye disorders; excessive sweating.