At the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre (TFMC), botanical medicine ingredients can be included in your treatment plan. And depending on your health goals, we may introduce you to the toothache plant! 

Formally called Acmella oleracea, this Brazilian plant has many nicknames, including jambu, buzz buttons, and electric daisy. In the northern areas of Brazil, the plant’s leaves and flowers are commonly used for dental concerns. This is because a compound called spilanthol is embedded in the plant’s leaves and flowers, which results in a soothing, tingling feeling for relieving oral pain. 

Along with its traditional uses for toothaches, the plant may be beneficial for combatting inflammation. Here, the TFMC lists the plant’s beneficial effects, things to consider before taking this herbal medicine, and how to access our adjuvant natural therapies. 

Understanding the toothache plant

Jambu (the toothache plant) is a flowering herb featured in Brazilian dishes, such as salads and a prawn-based broth called tacacá. Though it gives off a mild flavor when cooked, the plant is still embraced in food for its medicinal properties.   

The toothache plant grows yellow flowers that are reminiscent of buttons or red eyeballs. These flowers contain high quantities of spilanthol, a phytochemical that contributes to the plant’s ‘freezing’ effects when consumed. 

Along with potentially exerting pain relief, spilanthol from this flowering herb may support neuroprotection and antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant outcomes. “Plenty of studies have shown that the plant’s roots, petals, and leaves could potentially function as topical anesthetics, and those assertions have been verified by much research,” explains an article from Discover Applied Sciences.

With that, here are some things to note about this herb’s beneficial effects:  

• • The leaves are edible and they contain magnesium, lutein, and vitamins C, A and K. 
  • In one study, it was shown that raw toothache plants contain 24% more protein than conventional veggies. 
  • The plant’s spilanthol content “…not only reduces the perception of pain, but also the physical presence of inflammation, and this is the same way that popular anti-pain and anti-inflammation drugs like acetaminophen and ibuprofen function,” confirms Vanderbilt University.  
  • Chronic inflammation can result from oxidative stress. Oxidative stress – which is when the overproduction of free radicals exceeds your body’s current amounts of antioxidants – can accumulate from heavy exposures to environmental factors (i.e. pollution and toxic metals). Spilanthol has been explored for its potential effects on inflammatory signaling and its ability to support antioxidant processes.
  • Spilanthol’s anti-inflammatory components are thought to help relieve stomatitis. Stomatitis is a condition in which the mucous linings of the lip and mouth are inflamed, which can impede the way you talk and eat. According to a piece from the International Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases, jambu’s “…analgesic, anesthetic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties make it very versatile and useful for various applications in dentistry,” especially for targeting oral pain. 

Is this botanical supplementation appropriate for you?

If you’re interested in taking the toothache plant – or any other herbal products – it’s integral to consult with a health practitioner proficient in botanical medicine. This is because herbal ingredients can potentially interact with OTC and prescription medications. Regarding the toothache plant itself, it may not be suitable for: 

• • Pregnant/breastfeeding individuals;
  • Those with allergies to daisies and/or any other plants from the Asteraceae plant family;
  • People taking diuretics;
  • Males diagnosed with prostate cancer (supplementing with this plant can increase male hormones in the body, which may interact with drugs prescribed for this type of cancer).

The TFMC adheres to functional and integrative medicine and we can provide you with plant medicine guidance. But if you’re not interested in herbal remedies for yourself, that’s okay! We can personalize your treatments with other modalities instead, such as combining holistic nutrition with conventional medicine, hormone replacement therapies, and a wide range of other treatment modalities. 

Suggested reading: How Microplastics May Affect Your Health: Insights from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre

About our Toronto area functional medicine therapies

Understanding depression, pain, and digestive issues in a patient may require a personalized medicine approach. After all, each human is truly one of a kind due to family histories (genetics) and lifestyle factors. Functional medicine blends an individualized holistic approach with clinical conventional medicine, helping to address the reasons why you’re struggling with your quality of life. Exploring this root cause can help treat symptoms, while helping to prevent or slow down the formation of a chronic disease. 

Our functional medicine practitioners have extensive experience modifying therapies, strategically combining herbal medicine with Western and naturopathic medicine, hormone optimization programs, intravenous treatments, detoxification therapies, and more. Our health providers are proficient in pharmacognosy – the formal study of medicinal ingredients – and herbal products can be responsibly prescribed while avoiding medication interactions. Nutritional and botanical medicine can be accessed from our TFMC dispensary, which offers ethically-sourced plant medicine ingredients. 

All of our TFMC treatment modalities, including adjuvant IV therapy, are adapted with functional medicine principles. This means that doses of herbs, nutrients and hormone therapies are customized for your biological needs, making your doses unique to you! This is also why we utilize comprehensive laboratory testing, which are tools that help us personalize therapies. These functional lab tests may provide us with invaluable insights into your gut health, oxidative stress levels, vitamin deficiencies and environmental exposures (i.e. toxic metals), and allows us to make suitable recommendations. 

Please reach out if you have any queries about our clinical care. We are a patient-centered practice, so we can teach you how to read lab reports, what to do at home to support optimal health outcomes, and how to use nutrition to support long-term wellness. 

We’re accepting new Toronto functional medicine patients for adjuvant natural therapies, including herbal medicine, IV therapy, and more. If you’re interested in learning more, you can request your first consultation today. – click here to request your first consultation with us!

Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. You should always consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of information you have read from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre website or other affiliate media. 

 

References

“Acmella oleracea” from Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science, Center Latin American, Caribbean, Latinx Studies, viewed on April 23, 2025.

Aktar, M.A., Bhuia, M.S., Molla, S. et al. Pharmacological and phytochemical review of Acmella oleracea: a comprehensive analysis of its therapeutic potential. Discov Appl Sci 6, 412 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-024-06108-5 

Barbosa, A. F., De Carvalho, M. G., Smith, R. E., & Sabaa-Srur, A. U. (2016). Spilanthol: Occurrence, extraction, chemistry and biological activities. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia, 26(1), 128-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjp.2015.07.024

“Brazil’s answer to the Sichuan pepper” from the BBC, posted July 8, 2022, viewed on April 22, 2025. 

Neves DA, Schmiele M, Pallone JAL, Orlando EA, Risso EM, Cunha ECE, Godoy HT. Chemical and nutritional characterization of raw and hydrothermal processed jambu (Acmella oleracea (L.) R.K. Jansen). Food Res Int. 2019 Feb;116:1144-1152. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2018.09.060. Epub 2018 Oct 5. PMID: 30716900.

Nipate, S. S., & Tiwari, A. H. (2020). Antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties of Spilanthes oleracea with potential effect in chronic fatigue syndrome infirmity. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 11(2), 124-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2017.08.008

Prachayasittikul V, Prachayasittikul S, Ruchirawat S, Prachayasittikul V. High therapeutic potential of Spilanthes acmella: A review. EXCLI J. 2013 Apr 4;12:291-312. PMID: 27092032; PMCID: PMC4827075.

Rondanelli, M., Fossari, F., Vecchio, V., Braschi, V., Riva, A., Allegrini, P., Petrangolini, G., Iannello, G., Faliva, M. A., Peroni, G., Nichetti, M., Gasparri, C., Spadaccini, D., Infantino, V., Mustafa, S., Alalwan, T., & Perna, S. (2020). Acmella oleracea for pain management. Fitoterapia, 140, 104419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2019.104419

Shivananda, S.1; Doddawad, Vidya Gowdappa2; Vidya, C.S.3; Sanjay, C.J.4; Shetty, Akhil5; Kalgeri, Sowmya Halasabalu6; Bhat, H.Hari Kishore7. The Use of Spilanthes acmella Extracts as a Local Anesthetic Agent in Dentistry: A Review. International Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases 13(1):p 3-8, January-March 2023. | DOI: 10.4103/ijnpnd.ijnpnd_53_22

Veryser, L., Taevernier, L., Joshi, T. et al. Mucosal and blood-brain barrier transport kinetics of the plant N-alkylamide spilanthol using in vitro and in vivo models. BMC Complement Altern Med 16, 177 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-016-1159-0

Wu LC, Fan NC, Lin MH, Chu IR, Huang SJ, Hu CY, Han SY. Anti-inflammatory effect of spilanthol from Spilanthes acmella on murine macrophage by down-regulating LPS-induced inflammatory mediators. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Apr 9;56(7):2341-9. doi: 10.1021/jf073057e. Epub 2008 Mar 6. PMID: 18321049.