Hebanthe erianthos (many synonyms, including Iresine erianthos and Pfaffia paniculata), known as suma or Brazilian ginseng, is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. The specific epithet is also spelt "eriantha", although the basionym is Iresine erianthos.
The root of this rambling ground vine found in South America is used traditionally as a medicine and tonic. Nicknamed "para tudo" in Brasil, which means "for everything", suma is a traditional herbal medicine.Vieira, Roberto F. (1999) Conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants in Brazil. p. 152–159. In: J. Janick (ed.), Perspectives on new crops and new uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA.
The root contains phytochemicals including saponins (pfaffosides)."Triterpenoids from Brazilian Ginseng, Pfaffia paniculata" Jing Li, Atul N. Jadhav, Ikhlas A. Khan Tropical Plant Database
See also List of plants of Cerrado vegetation of Brazil
References