Native to Central America. It extends from southern Mexico to northern South America. In Central American jungles it can be found at different altitudes, from 0 to 800 m.
The leaf and bark of the Huitapil is used to treat diabetes and cough. For bronchitis, make a tea with garlic, red onion, eucalyptus and trumpet tree bark.
It is used as medicine in most of the country (from the center to the southeast), mainly for its application in cases of diabetes, where the treatment consists of using the infusion of the leaves, branches, bark or roots as everyday water. For blood pressure and kidney problems, it is used slightly cooked and eaten on an empty stomach for at least a week. It is also widely used against scorpion and ant stings, for which the affected area must be washed with the leaves cooked and with honey. In cases of warts, the latex is applied directly. Grinded leaves with baby oil or boiled with salt are recommended on burns and can be applied in baths and fomentations or as poultices.
Aqueous extracts of Cecropia obtusifolia have a significant hypoglycemic effect with no adverse effects and the mechanism of action is not brought about by stimulating the insulin secretion (Revilla-Monsalve et al. 2007).
Its hypotensive effect has been extensively studied. The aqueous extract of the leaves has been shown to have a mild diuretic effect in rats.
The fruits have a relatively high nutritional value; they have a higher proportion of proteins than those of other moraceae and lauraceae.
Revilla-Monsalve, M. C., Andrade-Cetto, A., Palomino-Garibay, M. A., Wiedenfeld, H., & Islas-Andrade, S. (2007). Hypoglycemic effect of Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol aqueous extracts on type 2 diabetic patients. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 111(3), 636–640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2007.01.014
Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (n.d.). Cecropia obtusifolia, ficha descriptiva. http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/info_especies/arboles/doctos/49-morac3m.pdf