Mauby Bark
Colubrina arborescens
The bark used to make mauby, a bitter Caribbean drink and folk remedy. A very small study suggested it may lower blood pressure in some people.
Mauby Bark may interact with some medicines. If you take any medicine, read Interactions with medicines below and talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using it.
What is Mauby Bark?
- Plant family
- Rhamnaceae, the buckthorn family
- Parts used
- The bark, boiled into the bitter Caribbean drink mauby
- Genus
- Colubrina
- Species
- arborescens
Also called
Mauby
Traditionally used for
- Mauby drink
- Blood pressure
Traditionally described as
- Bitter
Health topics
Where Mauby Bark appears in symptom search, and why. Being listed doesn't mean it's a proven treatment.
- High Blood Pressure
In a very small 2-week study, blood pressure fell in some people drinking mauby. Bigger studies are needed. It may interact with warfarin.
Traditions that use it
Caribbean Folk Medicine
Mauby, a bitter drink made from the bark, is widely used in the Caribbean as a folk remedy.
Safety
Interactions with medicines
Mauby may interact with warfarin (a blood thinner). In a case report, a 70-year-old man on warfarin had dangerously thin blood (a very high INR) after he began drinking mauby. If you take warfarin, talk to your doctor before drinking mauby.[1]
Technical detail: INR > 8.0 and later 4.8 on a previously stable dose; Naranjo score 6 (probable interaction).
What does the research say?
Traditional use
These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.
Mauby is a bitter dark drink made from the bark of the mauby tree. It's commonly used in the Caribbean as a folk remedy with many claimed health benefits.[1]
Laboratory & animal research
Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.
Lab analysis of the bark of a related tree, Colubrina elliptica, found natural soap-like compounds called saponins.[2]
Technical detail: mabiosides C–E, novel triterpenoid saponins, isolated with mabioside B from Colubrina elliptica bark.
Research in people
In a small study, 28 people with high blood pressure drank bottled water, coconut water, mauby, or a mix of coconut water and mauby for 2 weeks. Blood pressure fell in some people in the mauby and coconut water groups. Mauby mixed with coconut water gave the biggest drops. The study was very small and short.[3]
Technical detail: 7 per group; significant systolic decreases in 71% (coconut water), 40% (mauby) and 43% (mixture); diastolic decreases in 29%, 40% and 57%; largest drops with the mixture were 24 mmHg systolic and 15 mmHg diastolic.
In short
May interact with the blood thinner warfarin; talk to your doctor before drinking it if you take warfarin.
Sources
- [1] Elevated International Normalized Ratio in a Patient Taking Warfarin and Mauby: A Case Report — Journal of Pharmacy Practice · DOI: 10.1177/0897190016663435Peer-reviewed study
- [2] Mabiosides C-E: triterpenoid saponins from the bark of Colubrina elliptica — Phytochemistry · DOI: 10.1016/s0031-9422(00)97092-4Peer-reviewed study
- [3] The control of hypertension by use of coconut water and mauby: two tropical food drinks — West Indian Medical Journal · DOI: 10.1590/s0043-31442005000100002Peer-reviewed study
This information is educational and traditional in nature, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.