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Herb library · Herb · Guaiacum officinale

Lignum vitae

A slow-growing Caribbean tree with blue flowers and some of the hardest wood in the world. Its resin, guaiacum, was one of the most famous drugs of the 1500s to 1700s; it has not been studied on its own in people.

Traditional use

Barham, writing of Jamaica in the early 1700s, records that a purging syrup was made from the blue flowers, that the fruit was a strong purge he preferred to the bark for the pox and yaws, and that the gum was a medicine so well known in Europe, as guaiacum, that he need say no more. The wood and resin were shipped from the Caribbean to Europe for centuries.

What studies show

No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.

  • Insufficient

    Rheumatism, skin and the other traditional uses: no study of lignum vitae alone in people was found. Its research is chemistry and lab and animal work (inflammation in rats, cells in a dish). A 2024 acne study used it only in a cream combined with another plant, so it cannot say what lignum vitae itself does.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AmountBarham describes the fruit, and even a syrup of the flowers, as strongly purging (laxative); do not eat the fruit or make home preparations.
  • NoteA 2019 case report from India describes serious poisoning, with a risk of lasting damage to vision, from drinking large amounts of a homeopathic guaiacum preparation.
  • NoteLignum vitae trees grow very slowly and wild stands are scarce; a close relative, Guaiacum sanctum, is studied as an endangered species. Buy only from a supplier who can show a legal source.
  • PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found; avoid it then.
  • 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.

“Its flowers are five-leaved, and of a delicate blue colour, of which may be made a purging syrup, like syrup of violets. The fruit is very purging, and for use excels the bark”
Henry Barham, Hortus Americanus (1794), p. 87. See the page of Hortus Americanus, p. 87 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Hortus Americanus, p. 87

Sources

  1. Guaiacum Toxicity: An Unusal Poisoning (J Assoc Physicians India, 2019) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Anti-inflammatory activity of Polygonum bistorta, Guaiacum officinale and Hamamelis virginiana in rats (J Pharm Pharmacol, 1994) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. The synergistic effects of Guaiacum officinale and Rhodomyrtus tomentosa extracts in the treatment of acne vulgaris on sensitive skin (J Cosmet Dermatol, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Genetic diversity in the endangered tropical tree, Guaiacum sanctum (J Hered, 2010) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.