Kambo is known as one of the strongest natural medicines found in the world to boost the immune system. It is the venom that is secreted from the Giant Monkey Tree Frog or, scientifically known as, the Phyllomedusa Bicolor. The venom excreted from the Kambo frog is the frog’s natural defense mechanism to fend off predators. As a result of the high potency of the frog’s venom, it has no known natural predators. It is widely believed that the catalyst for the production of the secretion is due to their diet. This is the reason why they do not produce the secretion in a controlled laboratory. This secretion has been used for thousands of years as medicine by the indigenous Amazonian tribes to increase strength, immunity, and hunting capabilities.

The Kambo frog’s appearance is a strong green in color coupled with a creamy white belly and dark spots on chest, flank, and legs. Kambo frogs are large in size, male bodies as long as 9 to 10 cm and females from 11 to 12 cm. The Kambo frogs’ reproduction cycle is all year round with November and May as peak periods. The Kambo frogs build nests hanging about one to three meters above streams and ponds which are made out of folded leaves. A gelatinous mass, containing eggs, is deposited from the female into these nests. In relation to all arboreal Amazonian frogs, Kambo frogs produce the largest spawn. The size of one spawn is equivalent to an average of 1,000 eggs. Thereafter, tadpoles emerge within 11 to 14 days. As a result, the Kambo frog can be found in large populations spanning all over the Upper Amazon rainforest in regions such as Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Aside from large spawns, the Kambo frog is also found in abundance because of the fact that it has no known natural predators. They are consistently listed in the ‘Least Concern’ category according to the IUCN database because of their wide distribution and large population. Currently, the only recognized threats to the Kambo frog are spawn predation and potential destruction of their habitat.

Originally, it is documented that as many as 53 tribes practiced Kambo and, currently, it is still used widely amongst indigenous people in the Amazon to this day. In fact, there are 13 tribes who continue to do so which include the Amahuaca, Apurina, Katukina, Kulina, Marubo, Matses, Mayoruna, Yawanawá, and Kaxinawá tribes. The name Kambo is also referred to as Dow-Kiet, Sapo, Kampu, Campu, and, in the Portuguese language, as the “Vacina da Floresta” which means “Vaccine of the Forest.”