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Herb library · Herb · Petiveria alliacea

Guinea hen weed (anamu)

A garlic-smelling weed of the Caribbean and Latin America, sold as anamu. In Jamaica it is one of the plants cancer patients most often use, yet the only published trial in people found it no better than placebo, and a trial in people with cancer is still at the protocol stage.

Traditional use

In Jamaica a 2017 survey of cancer patients found it the plant most often used by men with prostate cancer. In Trinidad the root is infused or soaked in alcohol for colds and coughs (gully root) and used for arthritis and rheumatism (mapourite). In Brazil it is a folk remedy for arthritis pain, and across the Americas it has long been used in religious ceremonies. In the early 1700s Barham recorded in Jamaica that the root was put to aching teeth, and that cattle grazing on it gave milk and meat with a bad taste.

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Arthritis pain: a small 1991 double-blind crossover trial in 14 people with hip and knee osteoarthritis found tipi (guinea hen weed) tea no better than a placebo tea; both groups reported less pain.

  • Insufficient

    Cancer: its main compound, dibenzyl trisulfide, kills cancer cells in the lab. A small trial of a standardized extract in people with advanced gastrointestinal cancers and acute leukemias was published as a protocol in 2023; no results were found in the sources reviewed here.

  • Insufficient

    Anxiety, pain, memory and other nervous-system uses: supported by lab and animal studies only. A 2016 review says more work on safety and effectiveness is needed first.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • InteractionIn lab tests, dibenzyl trisulfide and alcohol-based root extracts strongly blocked liver enzymes (CYP1A2, CYP2C19 and CYP3A4) that break down many medicines. The authors warn that high-strength extracts may cause drug interactions; water-based teas contain much less.
  • NoteIn Jamaica, three in four cancer patients using plant remedies were also taking prescription medicine, and only 15% had told their oncologist. Tell yours about any guinea hen weed product.
  • PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found in the sources used here. Talk with your clinician first.
  • 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.

“This plant hath a very rank smell, and when cattle eat it, their milk and flesh have a disagreeable taste. The root, put to aching teeth, eases them.”
Henry Barham, Hortus Americanus (1794), p. 71. See the page of Hortus Americanus, p. 71 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Hortus Americanus, p. 71
“It is much coveted by Guinea hens, whence the name is derived.”
John Lunan, Hortus Jamaicensis (1814), vol. 1, p. 355. See the page of Hortus Jamaicensis, vol. 1, p. 355 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Hortus Jamaicensis, vol. 1, p. 355
“As this plant endures much drought, it remains green when others are burned up, when cattle will feed upon it, and it has been observed to give their milk the taste of garlic”
John Lunan, Hortus Jamaicensis (1814), vol. 1, p. 355. See the page of Hortus Jamaicensis, vol. 1, p. 355 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Hortus Jamaicensis, vol. 1, p. 355

Sources

  1. Reliance on medicinal plant therapy among cancer patients in Jamaica (Cancer Causes Control, 2017) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. The effectiveness of tipi in the treatment of hip and knee osteoarthritis — a preliminary report (Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 1991) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Exploring the safety and efficacy of phytomedicine Petiveria alliacea extract (Esperanza) in patients with metastatic gastrointestinal tumors and acute leukemias: study protocol (BMC Complement Med Ther, 2023) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Significant inhibitory impact of dibenzyl trisulfide and extracts of Petiveria alliacea on the activities of major drug-metabolizing enzymes in vitro (Fitoterapia, 2016) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Ethnobotany, phytochemistry and neuropharmacological effects of Petiveria alliacea L. (Phytolaccaceae): a review (J Ethnopharmacol, 2016) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. A critical review of the therapeutic potential of dibenzyl trisulphide isolated from Petiveria alliacea L (guinea hen weed, anamu) (West Indian Med J, 2007) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  7. An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in Trinidad (J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2015) — full text on PubMed Central (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  8. Comparison of plants used for skin and stomach problems in Trinidad and Tobago with Asian ethnomedicine (J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2007) — full text on PubMed Central (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.