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Croton lechleri is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to northwestern South America. It is commonly known as sangre de grado (sic, Peruvian Spanish), sangre de drago (Ecuadorian Spanish) or sangre de grada (sic, Bolivian Spanish). They refer to this tree's (and several related species') thick red latex.
The latex has medicinal properties, and is used by local peoples as a liquid bandage, applied to seal wounds, as it dries quickly to form a protective skin-like barrier. Its use by native people has led to scientific study and observation of its in vitro antioxidant activity as well as both mutagenic and antimutagenic behavior.
Proanthocyanidins are the main constituent of the resin produced by Croton lechleri, constituting more than 90% of its dry weight. The remaining 10% is largely alkaloid taspine, as well as catechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin, and low amounts of terpene compounds.
Traditional Medicine
Croton adenophorus · Texabama Croton · Alabama croton · Healing croton · Croton aromaticus · Croton barahonensis · California croton · Hogwort · Croton chilensis · Chittagong Croton · Mexican croton · Cortez's croton
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Croton lechleri by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
