Pito-pito

A Tagalog word which literally means “seven-seven”.

“Pito pito is most commonly used to refer to the blend of seven leaves of seven traditional herbal medicinal plants, usually prepared as a decoction or a poultice and used in a wide variety of folkloric applications: headaches, fever, cough, colds, migraine, asthma, abdominal pains, diarrhea, etc. The ingredients vary according to availability and intended use. Seven (pito) is believed to be numerologically essential to the efficacy of the eventual formulation.” [stuartexchange.org]

Traditionally, seven is believed to be a lucky number so if you put together seven medicinal herbs together, then it will become a very potent and effective “cure-all” concoction. Traditionally, it was used as treatment of mild to moderate symptoms of sickness. Once it gets into an extreme and life threatening situation, a quack doctor, or a traditional medicine man, is usually summoned to address it.

From my experience, Pinoys usually concoct this herbal remedy as a form of cleansing agent which one uses as a bathing solution or “pang-langas” to prevent the sickness from ever returning again. They boil the seven leaves and then wash their bodies with it after it has become moderately warm or mixed with tap water to make even its hot temperature. They do this after their recovery from a fever or any “weather related sickness”. They also use it to wash wounds and most especially to wash one’s newly circumcised penis to avoid infection because of its anti-bacterial properties.

But according to several herbalist quacks or “herbolarios” (by quacks, I don’t mean the wily type of quackery but how the medicinal institution refer to them), pito pito is not only used to cure sicknesses but can also be used as a treatment to impotence. Definitely it’s not an aphrodisiac but it’s supposed to make your system healthy which will in turn make your “willy” healthy.

The primary seven leaves used in concocting pito-pito are:

• Sambong
• Lagundi
• Suha leaves
• Kamias leaves
• Lemon Grass
• Guava leaves
• Banaba

Another variant of it which is usually used as an herbal tea:

• Alagao
• Anise seeds
• Banaba
• Coriander seeds
• Guava leaves
• Mango leaves
• Pandan leaves

Popular substitutes in case one or two ingredients are missing:

• Gotu-Kola (Centella asiatica)
• Pineapple leaves
• Star Apple or Caimito Leaves

What to do:
It’s simple, put all of the seven ingredients together, add water until half full (the amount of water depends on the amount of leaves you intend to use), boil for thirty minutes, and then strain all the leaves and solid objects to get all the juice out of it before throwing it away.

What you’ll be using here is the boiled solution which you can either drink as tea or use as a washing solution. The washing solution is only used to make wounds heal faster and to rejuvenate the weak body after recovering from a fever or after giving birth.

To address the other sicknesses, drink the solution.

For more information about Philippine herbal remedies and plants visit “Philippine Alternative Medicine”.