Epazote leaf Chenopodium ambrosioides

Common name:Dysphania ambrosioides

Medicinal uses

Epazote is used as a leaf Vegetable and herb for its pungent flavor and its claimed ability to prevent flatulence caused by eating beans but also in the treatment of amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, malaria, chorea, hysteria, catarrh, and asthma.

Oil of chenopodium is derived from this plant. It is antihelminthic, that is, it kills intestinal worms, and was once listed for this use in the US Pharmacopoeia. It is also cited as an antispasmodic and abortifacient – the first birth control pills were derived from research on epazote.