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Herb library · Spice · Dysphania ambrosioides (formerly Chenopodium ambrosioides)

Epazote

A strong-smelling herb cooked with beans in Mexican and Latin American kitchens, and an old worm remedy across the Americas, the Caribbean and North Africa. Its oil, oil of chenopodium, is a poison: strong teas and the oil have killed young children.

Serious warning

Epazote oil (oil of chenopodium) is highly toxic: a toddler in Mexico died after being given 40 ml of it (1996), and a four-year-old in Morocco died after repeated strong infusions for fever (2024). Doctors report that poisonings, particularly in infants and children, can affect the brain, gut, liver and kidneys.

Traditional use

Long used against intestinal worms: in Peru as paico juice, in Dominica as a bush-medicine worm remedy, and in Morocco, where it is called M'khinza, also for fever, digestion and coughs. Oil of chenopodium, distilled from the seeds, was an official American worm medicine in the 1800s and early 1900s. Holland (1922) records it in use as a medicine at Oloke Meji in Nigeria, where it was called ma-nturisi, and in Angola, besides its uses in the Americas and India.

What studies show

  • Limited

    Roundworm in children: in a 2000 trial in Huaraz, Peru, 60 children with roundworm were randomly given paico juice for three days or a single dose of the drug albendazole; the eggs cleared in 86.7% of both groups, and about a quarter of each group had side effects. It is one small trial.

  • Insufficient

    Other intestinal parasites: in a 1996 Peruvian study without a comparison group, 72 people given paico leaf extract had their parasites cleared in 56% of cases. A 2024 review of the plant's other uses (diabetes, inflammation, infection) found only lab and animal work, and says clinical trials should wait on more research.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AmountOil of epazote (oil of chenopodium) is deadly in small amounts. In a 1996 Mexican case a girl under three died after a healer gave her 40 ml of the oil, containing about 1,560 mg of ascaridole; the report puts the lethal human dose near 1,000 mg. (The plant used was identified as a close relative, Chenopodium graveolens.) Never take the oil by mouth.
  • ConditionChildren: a 2024 Moroccan report describes a four-year-old who died after repeated strong infusions given for fever, and says poisonings, especially in infants and children, can damage the brain, gut, liver and kidneys. Do not give epazote teas or juices to children.
  • NoteA 2024 review says the plant's toxicity depends on the dose. Leaves cooked into beans as a seasoning are a different exposure from teas, juices or oil taken as a remedy.
  • PregnancyNo pregnancy or breastfeeding safety information was found in the sources used here; given its toxicity, avoid medicinal amounts.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“Used medicinally, Oloke Meji (Dodd, Herb. Kew), Angola (Hiern, Cat. Welw. Afr. Pl. iv. p. 898), by the Indians, Mexico, as a febrifuge (Palmer, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. xxi. 1886, p. 437), in the Antilles (Descourtilez. l.c.) and in India—as an infusion or tea of the plant (Hooper, Agric. Ledger, No. 6, 1904, p. 68).”
J. H. Holland, The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX) (1922), Part IV, p. 545. See the page of The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX), Part IV, p. 545 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part IV (Kew Bulletin, Additional Series IX), Part IV, p. 545
“This oil is used only as an anthelmintic. Its dose is from 3 to 6 drops for a child, repeated twice a day for 4 or 5 days, and then followed by an active cathartic. It forms the basis of several popular nostrums for worms. Poisonous effects have been observed, from its immoderate use.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1905), vol. 2, p. 1351. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 1351 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 1351

Sources

  1. A fatal case report of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (M'khinza) intoxication (Cureus, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Fatal poisoning caused by oil of epazote, Chenopodium graveolens (Gac Med Mex, 1996) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Ascariasis: comparison of the therapeutic efficacy between paico and albendazole in children from Huaraz (Rev Gastroenterol Peru, 2001) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Traditional medicine in the treatment of enteroparasitosis (Rev Gastroenterol Peru, 1996) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Ethnophysiology and herbal treatments of intestinal worms in Dominica, West Indies (J Ethnopharmacol, 2002) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin and Clemants: bridging traditional knowledge, phytochemistry, preclinical investigations, and toxicological validation (Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.