What is Kambo?

Kambo is the secretion of the Giant Green Monkey Tree Frog, which comes from the rainforests of the Upper Amazon. A few of the first noted Amazonian tribes to use Kambo include Matses, Kaxinawá, Amahuaca, and Yaminawá. The use of Kambo dates back thousands of years. Hunters would use Kambo to cleanse, strengthen and energies the mind and body. It would also allow them to run faster and longer, and eat and sleep less. Kambo was also used as medicine to treat malaria, fever, infections, and snake bites, and to clear away negative energy/ Panema, which can lead to overcoming obstacles and a more natural flow in one’s life.

Ethical and Sustainable harvesting practices 

​Kambo served by practitioners through the International Association of Kambo Practitioners (IAKP) is ethically and sustainably harvested, and comes directly from Matses tribe. The frogs are never harmed and are treated with the utmost care and respect. Only the first secretion is taken, which leaves the frog with sufficient secretion to defend itself from predators. Frogs go 2-3 months between harvesting periods after being released into the wild.

Kambo's interaction with our bodies 

Kambo is made up at a unique and complex mixture of bioactive peptides and neuropeptides, those of which are shared with and recognized by the human body. Peptides have an abundance of functions in the body.

Neuropeptides influence activities in the brain and body, such as analgesia, food intake, learning, and memory. A persons mood, energy level, pain, pleasure, weight, cognitive reasoning, ability to form memories, and immune system regulation are tied to neuropeptides. They can even turn on cellular function in the skin and have pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects.

Bioactive peptides perform a specific biological function that positively impacts the body, such as protein synthesis and immunoglobulin (antibodies). When bioactive peptides enter the body, the cell receptors recognize the compound and open to allow it to enter the cells, resulting in a flush and cleanse of deposits left in the cells by foreign substances that the cell was not able to process alone.

A few peptides identified in Kambo:​
  • Phyllokinin: Produces hypotension, a long lasting reduction in blood pressure.
  • Dermorphin: Effects pulmonary ventilation and pituitary hormone release. It has a potent opiate like activity on the mu-type opioid receptors, which has an analgesic effect.
  • Tryptophyllins: Biological activity is highly potent against yeast Candida Albans.
  • Dermaseptin: Antimicrobial activity against bacteria, yeast, fungi, protozoa and enveloped viruses, as well as filamentous fungi that are responsible for severe opportunistic infections accompanying AIDS and the use of immunosuppressive agents.
  • Adenoregulin: Interacts with the adenosine receptor, a fundamental component in the human cell fuel and has shown to be very effective in killing cancer cells.