What is Kambo?

Kambo (also known as vacina-do-sapo, or sapo meaning "toad") is a poisonous substance that the giant monkey frog secretes. People sometimes refer to this animal as the giant leaf frog, blue-and-yellow frog, bicolored tree-frog, giant monkey frog, giant leaf frog, or waxy-monkey tree frog. Its scientific name is Phyllomedusa bicolor.

The giant monkey frog is native to the Amazon rainforest. They reside South America, in parts of Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela.

People in many cultures revere giant monkey frogs for their alleged healing abilities and Kambo has been used by Indigenous people as part of their spiritual and healing rituals for centuries.

Natives who practice kambo are Panoan-speaking indigenous groups in the southeast Amazon rainforest, such as the Kaxinawá Mayoruna, Matses, Marubo, Yawanawá, Amahuaca, Kashinawa, and the Katukina.

Today, Western-trained applicators and naturopathic practitioners hold kambo ceremonies around the world and kambo sticks can be bought online.

A kambo cleanse is said to remove negative energy among other health benefits.

Kambo is frequently offered alongside ayahuasca, ibogaine, 5-MeO-DMT, and other plant medicines for holistic treatment.

Kambo Chemistry

Kambo is a very special mix of bioactive peptides. Many of the bioactive peptides in Kambo are promising sources for modern medicine. Painkilling molecules in Kambo are the opioid receptor agonist deltorphin, dermorphin and cerulein.

What are the Benefits of Kambo?

The kambo frog secretes a thick mucus-like substance that contains bioactive peptides which practitioners say contain medicinal properties when ingested or applied topically.

Kambo is said to strengthen immunity, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, detoxify, and stimulate natural energy. In addition to its purported detoxifying properties, kambo’s chemistry may offer an array of benefits for both physical and mental health including balancing hormones, reducing chronic pain and decreasing stress levels.

Some proponents believe that kambo can treat the following:

• chronic pain
• depression
• anxiety
• migraines
• infections
• addiction
• Infertility
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease

Kambo ceremonies are becoming increasingly popular in the western world as alternative medicine due to its (mostly) safe, but (anecdotally) effective healing qualities.

Advocates say kambo can be a helpful tool to cleanse physical toxins and improve the immune systems, as well as emotional blocks for deep healing and transformation.

How is Kambo taken?

Kambo is usually consumed in a ceremony or kambo circle. Ceremonies usually have 10 or fewer participants.

Before the ceremony, the cleansing process begins. Kambo is best taken on an empty stomach, bladder, and bowel, so most Kambo practitioners recommend fasting for 10-12 hours before use and becreational drugs, alcohol and other substances are prohibited for at least 24 hours prior.

In a Kambo ritual, the practitioner forms a small wound on the person and then applies kambo, which is made up of various bioactive peptides that act as natural antibiotics.

A shaman healer or guide performs the ceremony, which involves burning the person's shoulder, leg, or foot, and then applying a kambo secretion to the wound. The burn makes it easier for your body to absorb the toxins, and it known as a gate.

Typically, women are burned on their legs to promote fertility, while men are burned on their arms and chests to promote a successful hunt or virility. These gates can leave scars, though they can fade with time and care.

Kambo is left on the wound for around 15 minutes.

What does Kambo feel like?

On application, It can cause an intense feeling, usually described as a burning sensation, accompanied by dizziness and nausea. It can cause profuse sweating and vomiting or purging is common.

The effects range from person to person depending on how kambo interacts with each individual.

People who have experienced kambo say it can fill them with a feeling that washes over their entire body, ranging from uncomfortable sensations that move around and through every part, to an intense feeling of energy or an opioid-like mellow feeling or euphoria.

Afterward, people who experience kambo report feeling weakened. However, the sense of relief that often follows is immense, sometimes described as peaceful and centered.

It can be challenging and is certainly not seen as recreational or fun. It’s a common saying that Kambo gives you what you need, but not what you want.

Even if your body may not feel its best afterwards, those who embrace kambo say that its effects are far-reaching and spiritually cleansing.

Through kambo sessions, people report feeling more mental clarity, energy, and even physical relief from chronic pain conditions.

How long does Kambo Last?

The immediate effects of Kambo last around 30 minutes, and very rarely it lasts for several hours.

Kambos Experiences

"The froggy rocket-ride was weird, and valuable for its novelty alone. I could also sense that at higher doses one would slip into that death rehearsal rag that compels so many envelope-pushing psychonauts. But I was not prepared for the thoroughly excellent if subtle payoff the venom had in store for me over the next few days: a persistently "up" level of energy and mood, but without the edginess of stimulants or the dopey, somewhat plastic cast of big pharma mood elevators. Our encounter with the frog venom was only the beginning of a long weekend bacchanal; yet even recreational compounds with heavy body loads left me feeling spry and chipper the morning after."

"Having had a bit more time to reflect upon my experience, I think sapo is peculiar concoction whose experience is worthy of trying once. If you care to recall your worst alcohol experience--that feeling like you’ve poisoned your body and you know that the time between now and when you're feeling better will involve much anguish--the effects of sapo are somewhat akin to that. It definitely feels like you’ve taken a poison instead of a medicine, and although I wouldn’t say that it feels like you’re dying, you certainly feel so horrendously ill that you’d probably wish you were dead."

"So I drank my water, got burned, had the venom administered, and then sat down on a couch, clutching a bucket to purge into. I felt the kambo within seconds. I tried my best to smile during the experience. I didn’t want or hope to out do the girl before me, but I loved the way she had handled herself, in a way where full grown men had crumpled in groaning, nauseated agony. A heat rose to my head, and my heart rate went up. It wasn’t unpleasant really, just odd. This feeling grew in intensity…I focused on breathing, and this was a great anchor. I felt electricity surging into my hands…my gut was being twisted…the guide sang to me and shook his rattle. I purged…deeply and cleanly…repeatedly, all the water I had drunk. My eyes were glued shut, my throat was a bit swollen, and my gut was still being twisted. I didn’t have any visions, as such, although I hear these may arise the more one works with kambo. I finally purged again. This time it came deep from within me…the ayahuasca from earlier in the day, and stomach bile…it felt like the kambo had gently squeezed all the impurities out of my liver and I was purging them. There was no trace of fear or anxiety during the experience. The experience, while very intense, was not as intense as I expected after observing others go through it. I had given myself over to the kambo and trusted in its power. The main period of intensity lasted only ten minutes. Then I could open my eyes, and my swollen throat began to recede. It was amazing being supported by all these people, all willing you on, while you are so vulnerable."

You can read more experience reports over at Erowid.

Potential risks with Kambo

Kambos beneficial healing effects are scientifically unproven, and it's effect on the central nervous system is unclear.

Whilst It’s true that the peptides in the toxins cause a pharmacological response, there’s no research to support whether that translates into lasting long term benefits.

Kambo is relatively safe when properly applied to healthy individuals, but poison from venemous animals is always going to a risk. Pharmacological effects include vomiting, sweating, and a rapid heart rate. There have even been reported cases of sudden death and cardiac arrest following a cleanse.

So yes, there are potential adverse events, potential health risks and adverse effects.

In this sense, Kambo is both frog poison and potential frog medicine.

If you are thinking of trying Kambo, It’s a good idea to do a test point - apply small dose on the skin before administering it to burns, and then gauge any negative reactions or unpleasant effects.

It's also advised not to try this on your own due to the possibility of adverse effects or medical contraindications that could have severe or fatal consequences.

Find an experienced guide, or at the bare minimum, a sitter.

If you have pre exiting health conditions like heart problems, avoid Kambo altogether.

If you're Pregnant or breastfeeding women, or recovering from surgery, taking immuno-suppressants for organ transplant, or a chemo- and radiotherapy patient, it's also best to avoid.

What does the science say about Kambo?

Researchers have discovered that kambo contains a number of compounds that have various effects on the human body, such as contracting or relaxing the muscles, dilating the blood vessels, and stimulating brain cells.

Currently, there is no research to support the beneficial healing effects of kambo, just anecdotal reports.

Further research is necessary to determine the effects, including potential dangers, of kambo on the human body.

Kambo Tolerance

Kambo does appear to be somewhat habit forming and you can build up a tolerance with frequent use. Experienced users need much more than those encountering it for the first time.

Kambo Sustainability

There's some concern within the kambo community that commercial supply chains might exploit indigenous tribes. Bulk production of kambo sticks could also pose a threat to P. bicolor frog populations populations in the wild.

Kambo and the Sustainability of the Giant Leaf Frog The giant leaf frog population is currently listed as stable, but the explosion in kambo's popularity increases future risk for the species.

With the increase in demand, some locals are incentivized to capture and sell the frogs, removing them from their original habitat and putting pressure on the ecology and the giant leaf frog.

Extraction of the secretion is also pretty traumatic for the frogs...

Is Kambo Legal?

Kambo is legal in the United States and Canada, and most other countries.

The only restriction is the Brazilian government’s 2004 ban on kambo’s commercialization.

Final Thoughts

Whether used for spiritual or healing purposes, kambo is becoming increasingly popular around the world.

Practitioners report physical benefits like reduction in inflammation, fatigue, and pain and powerful psychological effects that promote peace and well being.

People describe the the clarity of thought, sense of focus and mental strength as life changing.

But use caution; it's a poison and adverse reactions are possible. And there is no evidence or medical literature (yet) to back up the claims of long term therapeutic benefits.