dishes including fish, mushrooms, and vegetables and as a component in sauces. In some local South American kitchens boldo leaves are also popular for wrapping frying fish and meat. Boldo fruits, when dried, are used to make spicy condiments. Toxicity In 2009, the European Medicines Agency assessed boldo as follows: Boldo leaf contains the alkaloid boldine. Boldo leaf also contains 2–4% of volatile oil. Major constituents reported as: ascaridole (16–38%), 1,8-cineole (11–39%) and p-Cymene (9–29%). Ascaridole is highly toxic, and this raises concerns about the suitability of boldo leaf in traditional herbal medicinal products. Abortifacient and teratogenic effects in rats were observed with very high doses (800 mg/kg) of a dry ethanolic extract of boldine in the first days of pregnancy, not present at lower doses. Most investigations have been carried out using boldine. Limited information is available on herbal preparations of boldo leaf and where studies have been reported, details of the preparations are usually lacking. There are no reported genotoxicity or carcinogenicity studies with herbal preparations of boldo leaf. Boldo oil should not be used internally or externally. Where boldo leaf is used, the total exposure to ascaridole should be considered from a safety standpoint. The levels of ascaridole in herbal medicinal products should be quantified. In view of the low solubility of ascaridole in water, the use of aqueous extracts including herbal teas could be accepted. The use of ethanolic extracts of boldo leaf is not considered acceptable for traditional herbal medicinal products, in view of the potentially higher levels of the toxic ascaridole constituent. References External links Monimiaceae Flora of the Chilean Matorral Trees of Chile Trees of Mediterranean climate Drought-tolerant trees Endemic flora of Chile Medicinal plants of South America Dietary supplements Herbs Herbal tea