Horopito - Nature's Ancient Anti-Fungal Herb

Deep in the South Pacific, New Zealand has produced extraordinary flora and fauna. New Zealand has over 2000 unique plants. One, called Horopito (Pseudowintera colorata), has existed largely unchanged for 65 million years!

Horopito is one of the earliest and most primitive flowering plants. The tiny flowers are overshadowed by the beautiful coloured leaves.

The main active component in Horopito is polygodial. The effect against candida of polygodial is increased 32 times by the addition of anethol, the main active of anise seed. Anise seed (aniseed) is a traditional medicinal herb in its place of origin - South America.

In addition to its actions against different types of fungus and yeasts, Horopito also contains the powerful antioxidant flavonoids - quercetin and taxifolin.

The Active Horopito in Mycozil was grown and produced by Forest Herbs Research.  Forest Herbs Research has discovered a five-fold difference in activity between the most active and least active Horopito populations. An effective preparation needs to be based on Horopito derived from one of these 'active' populations. Forest Herbs Research has the only commercial planting of active Horopito and a patent over its use.   We are proud to say that Mycozil contains this powerful anti-fungal ingredient which is effective in treating toenail fungus, nail fungus, athlete's foot and candida infections.  Along with Active Horopito, Mycozil contains many other powerful anti-fungal ingredients such as Oregano Oil, Lemongrass, Anise seed, Pau D' Arco and Bacillus Laterosporis.

One of the reasons Horopito has survived so well is that the constituents in it's leaves discourage attack from fungi or predators. These properties were recognized by New Zealand's early settlers,who traditionally used the leaves as an external and internal remedy.

University research in New Zealand and USA has identified the natural anti-fungal properties and they have compared favorably against prescription anti-fungal medications such as Nystatin.

The Active Horopito in Mycozil comes exclusively from the high activity specimens of the traditional New Zealand herb, Horopito. This is grown organically by Forest Herbs Research at a farm called Kaituna, adjacent to the million acre Kahurangi National Park. This is a temperate rainforest wilderness of New Zealand with the only intrusion being a few hiking tracks. To replicate Horopito's natural growing environment the plants are grown in sheltered clearings in the forest. The Horopito bushes must be at least five years old before they are harvested and each batch must pass an independent test for activity prior to use.

Occasionally, it has been reported that some individuals may experience a feeling of nausea after taking Horopito products, particularly for the first time. This may be due to the naturally hot Horopito (similar to cayenne pepper), or it may be due to a Herxheimer (yeast die-off) reaction. When yeast or other internal fungus is killed, it releases toxins into the body.  These toxins can cause symptoms of nausea, headache and fatigue.  This is called the Herxheimer reaction. This feeling is usually mild and transient. We recommend however that if  this feeling persists, that you consult your health care professional.

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Horopito References

1. Flowering Plants of New Zealand. Webb, Johnson & Sykes, DSIR Botany, Christchurch, N.Z. 1990, pp 104.

2. Antibiotic substances from New Zealand plants II. Polygodial, an anti-Candida agent from Pseudowintera colorata. McCallion, R.F., Cole, A.L.J, Walker, J.R.L., Blunt, J.W. and Munro, H.G., 1982, Planta Medica 44, pp 34-138.

3. Polygodial, an antifungal potentiator. Kubo, I. & Taniguchi, M., 1988, Journal of Natural Products 51 (1), pp 22-29.

4. Mode of action of polygodial, antifungal sesquiterpene dialdehyde. Tangiguchi, M., Yano, Y., Tada, E., Ikenishi, K., Oi, S., Haraguchi, H, Hashimoto, K. & Kubo, I., 1988, Agric. Biol. Chem. 52 (6), pp 1409-1414.

5. In vitro antifungal susceptibilities of Candida albicans and other fungal pathogens to polygodial, a sesquiterpene dialdehyde. Lee, S.H., Lee, J.R., Lunde, C.S. & Kubo, I., 1999, Planta Medica 65, pp 204-208.

6.A Literature Survey of the Constituents of Pseudowintera colorata. Larsen, 2001, New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food Research Limited, Plant Extracts Research Unit, Dunedin, New Zealand.

7.Anethole, a synergist of polygodial against filamentous micro-organisms. Kubo, I. & Himejima, M. 1991, J. Agric. Food Chem. 39, pp 2290-2292.

8. Fungicidal activity of polygodial in combination with anethole and indole against Candida albicans. Himejima, M. & Kubo, I. 1993, J. Agric. Food Chem., 41, pp 1776-1779.

9. Pavlodar City Centre for Clinical Immunology and Reproduction. Head Physician: O. Ogorodnikova. Pavlodar Postgraduate Physicians' Training Faculty Assistant : M. Valivach.

10.Data on File, Forest Herbs Research Limited, PO Box 912, Nelson, New Zealand.

11. Summers, PR: Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: Investigating the Dermatological connection. OBG Management 1998 August Suppl:2-6