Buzz Button Plant: Health Benefits, Recipes & Contraindications

The buzz button plant, also known as jambu, paracress, or electric daisy, is native to the Amazon region and packed with fiber, vitamin C, iron, and potassium. These nutrients help prevent anemia and high blood pressure and also relieve constipation.

This plant is widely used in traditional medicine to help manage indigestion, mouth ulcers, cold sores, toothache, and sore throat due to its fungicidal, analgesic, antiseptic, and digestive properties.

The buzz button plant has a slightly spicy, tingling taste and can be eaten raw or cooked in traditional dishes such as tacacá soup or duck with tucupi sauce. It’s also used in salads, rice dishes, and even infused into liquors and beers.

Health benefits

The main benefits of the buzz button plant are:

1. Fights mouth and throat infections

Because of its anesthetic and antiseptic properties, the buzz button plant can be used as a natural remedy to ease mouth ulcers, cold sores, toothache, and sore throat. It helps fight infection and relieve discomfort in the affected area.

2. Helps control blood pressure

The buzz button plant is rich in potassium, a mineral that helps the body eliminate excess sodium, and may help support healthy blood pressure levels when included as part of a balanced diet.

3. Improves digestion

When consumed as a tea, the buzz button plant can help improve digestion. This is due to its natural digestive properties that may also relieve common symptoms such as bloating, burping, and nausea.

4. Relieves constipation

The buzz button plant is a good source of fiber, which helps relieve constipation by stimulating gut motility and absorbing water into the stool, making it softer and easier to pass.

Read more about natural laxatives to help relieve constipation.

5. Helps prevent anemia

The buzz button plant provides both vitamin C and iron, essential nutrients for the production of hemoglobin, which transports oxygen throughout the body. Low levels of hemoglobin are commonly associated with anemia.

6. Supports weight loss

The buzz button plant has mild diuretic properties that can help support healthy weight loss by reducing fluid retention when consumed as a tea.

Its fiber content also helps slow digestion and increase fullness, which can reduce hunger throughout the day and help with appetite control.

7. Prevents premature aging

Rich in flavonoids and saponins, bioactive compounds with antioxidant effects, the buzz button plant helps protect the skin from damage caused by free radicals, which contribute to premature aging.

It’s also a good source of vitamin C, which stimulates collagen production to maintain skin firmness and elasticity, helping prevent wrinkles and sagging.

Nutritional information

The table below provides nutritional information based on a 100 g (about 3.5 oz) serving of raw buzz button leaves:

In order to get the most benefits from the buzz button plant, it is important to consume it as part of a well-balanced diet along with regular physical activity.

How to make a tea

Buzz button tea can be prepared using the plant’s fresh leaves or flowers. It may help relieve toothache, mouth ulcers, sore throat, cold sores, and indigestion.

Ingredients:

• 10 g fresh buzz button leaves, chopped;

• 500 mL (about 2 cups) water.

Instructions:
Bring the water to a boil in a pot. Remove from heat, add the chopped leaves, cover, and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain and drink one cup per day.

Buzz button flowers can also be used raw for tooth pain. Simply chew two flowers directly over the painful area for about 2 minutes without swallowing, then spit them out.

Healthy recipes

1. Tacacá soup

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of salt;

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced;

• 3 chicory leaves, washed;

• ½ cup sour cassava starch or tapioca gum;

• 3 small chili peppers, chopped;

• 4 cups water;

• 500 g dried salted shrimp;

• 2 L of tucupi (fermented cassava broth);

• 3 bunches buzz button leaves, washed.

Instructions:
In a pot, combine garlic, salt, chicory, chili peppers, and tucupi. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 30 minutes. In another pot, cook the buzz button leaves in 1 L of boiling water until tender, then drain.

Rinse the shrimp well, place them in a pot with 4 cups of water, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking water, and remove shells and heads.

In another pot, mix the cassava starch with the reserved shrimp water and cook over low heat, stirring until it thickens into a porridge. To serve, add one ladle of tucupi to a bowl, followed by a portion of cooked buzz button leaves, porridge, and shrimp.

2. Rice with buzz button leaves

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice;

• 1 cup chopped buzz button leaves;

• 2 Tbsp olive oil;

• 450 mL boiling water;

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced;

• Salt and black pepper to taste.

Instructions:
Heat 1 minced garlic clove in 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a pot for 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir briefly. Pour in the boiling water, salt, and pepper. In another pan, sauté the remaining garlic in 1 Tbsp of olive oil and add the chopped buzz button leaves, stirring for 2 minutes.

Combine the sautéed leaves with the rice, mix well, and finish cooking. Serve warm with fish or chicken.

Contraindications to use

Because the buzz button plant can stimulate uterine contractions, it should be avoided during pregnancy.

People taking diuretic medications should also avoid consuming it, as it may enhance the effects of these drugs.

Additionally, anyone taking prescription medications should consult a healthcare provider before using the buzz button plant, as it may interact with certain medications.