If you have been exploring aging-focused skincare, you have probably come across paracress. It gets a lot of attention for its nickname "nature's Botox," and its growing presence in premium skincare formulas.

But before we get to what it does on skin, which we cover in depth in our companion article, it is worth understanding what this plant actually is, where it comes from, and the full range of ways humans have been using it for centuries.

Paracress is genuinely one of the more fascinating botanicals I have researched, not because of the skincare hype, but because the history and science behind it are far more interesting than the marketing usually lets on.

What Is Paracress?

Paracress is the common name for Acmella oleracea, a small flowering herb in the Asteraceae family, the same family as daisies and sunflowers. The name "paracress" is derived from the Para region of Brazil, its place of origin, meaning "cress-like vegetable." It goes by many other names depending on where in the world you encounter it: jambu in Brazil, toothache plant, eyeball plant, spot flower, buzz button, and electric daisy, which happens to be the inspiration behind two of our Organic Ivy products, Electric Glide and Electric-C Daisy.

Acmella oleracea is an annual herb characterized by its yellow-to-red cylindrical discoid flower heads. The central discoid turns red as the plant matures, which is what gives it the distinctive eyeball-like appearance behind several of its common names.

The oldest recorded cultivation of the plant dates to St. Vincent in the Caribbean in 1791, though it is believed to have originated in the tropical rainforests of Peru or Brazil, and has since been introduced and cultivated across tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa, and Asia. (source)

The Tingling Sensation and the Compound Behind It

The most distinctive thing about paracress is what happens when you chew a fresh flower bud. Within seconds, a tingling sensation floods the mouth, followed by mild numbness and increased salivation. This is not a novelty effect. It is the direct result of the plant's primary bioactive compound: spilanthol.

Spilanthol is a naturally occurring N-alkylamide, a fat-loving plant molecule that influences how nerves, muscles, and inflammation signals behave without being a hormone or drug. It is the main constituent isolated from many parts of Acmella oleracea and has been demonstrated to exert diverse biological activities including anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and penetration-enhancing effects. (source)

A Deep History of Traditional Use

Long before paracress appeared in a skincare serum, it was a staple of traditional medicine and cuisine across multiple continents. The range of its traditional applications is genuinely impressive.

Dental and oral health

The most common and widespread traditional medicinal use of Acmella oleracea is to treat toothache and throat and gum infections. The flowers were traditionally chewed by people living in the Amazon to relieve mouth, tooth, and throat pain, which is the origin of the common name "toothache plant." This use extended across the Americas, Africa, and Asia, and among the Irula tribe in the Hasanur Hills of Tamil Nadu, India, the flowers were crushed and applied directly to the affected site for toothache relief. Modern dental research has since validated the plant's anesthetic properties, and it has found application in oral care gels and lozenges.

Pain relief and anti-inflammatory use

Beyond the teeth, traditional healers used paracress for broader pain and inflammation management. Traditional uses in Brazil include treatment for rheumatism, anemia, influenza, and other fevers, as well as use of a plant decoction as an antiseptic. In Ayurvedic and folk medicine contexts across India, the plant was similarly valued for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.

Culinary traditions

Paracress is not only medicinal. It has a rich culinary history, particularly in northern Brazil, where it is known as jambu and remains an ingredient in traditional Amazonian cooking to this day.

In the north of Brazil, jambu is consumed primarily cooked, as an ingredient in traditional dishes including duck in tucupi sauce, a broth made from fermented wild manioc liquid, and tacacá, a soup made with jambu, tucupi, and dried shrimp. Fresh shredded leaves are also added raw to salads for their distinctive pungent and tingling flavor.

An extract of the plant, sometimes called jambu, is used as a flavoring agent in foods, chewing gum, and chewing tobacco. In haute cuisine and modern mixology, the fresh flower buds have become a novelty ingredient prized for the sensory experience they produce, the electric buzzing sensation that gives the "buzz button" name its meaning.

Insecticidal applications

Paracress has also been traditionally used as an insecticide, including against the yellow fever mosquito. In central Italy, jambu essential oil has been studied as a low-toxicity insecticide to repel mosquitoes, flies, and other insects.

What Modern Research Has Found

Traditional use often precedes scientific validation by centuries, and paracress is no exception. Researchers have been systematically investigating its bioactive properties, and the findings are broad.

A comprehensive review of the pharmacological literature found that Acmella oleracea contains a variety of phytochemicals, including spilanthol, phenolics, flavonoids, coumarins, and triterpenoids, which contribute to a diverse range of pharmacological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antinociceptive, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, diuretic, and vasorelaxant effects.

To translate that into plain language:

• Anti-inflammatory: Research has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity from spilanthol, including dose-dependent reduction in macrophage activation and nitric oxide production, as well as inhibition of cytokine production and NF-kB activation. [Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, pubs.acs.org]
• Antimicrobial and antifungal: The plant's extracts have shown activity against various bacterial and fungal organisms in laboratory studies, which aligns with its traditional use as an antiseptic and wound treatment.
• Immunomodulatory: Spilanthol has demonstrated immune-modulating properties in vitro, suggesting potential for supporting immune function, though human clinical trials in this area remain limited.
• Analgesic: The structural similarity of spilanthol to capsaicin and its interaction with pain receptor pathways supports its long-established use as a natural analgesic.
• Diuretic: Traditional use as a diuretic has been studied and shows some scientific support, including research on spilanthol's effects on kidney function at the molecular level. [Source: PMC4877099]

An important note of honesty here: current research on Acmella oleracea remains largely preclinical. Conducting well-designed clinical trials is imperative to validate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of the plant in human populations. The traditional use record is extensive and the laboratory findings are promising, but most of the research has not yet been conducted in large-scale human trials. This is worth keeping in mind when evaluating the broader therapeutic claims you may encounter about this plant.

What It Is Used for in Skincare

The application of paracress in modern skincare is built on one specific mechanism: spilanthol's ability to interact with neuromuscular pathways in the small facial muscles responsible for expression lines. This is the basis of the "nature's Botox" nickname, and it is also the reason we chose it as the hero ingredient in both Electric Glide, our eye and wrinkle roller, and Electric-C Daisy, our full-face vitamin C serum.

We go deep on the skincare application, mechanism, benefits, limitations, and what to realistically expect in our companion article: Paracress for Skin: What It Does, How to Use It, and What the Research Actually Says. 

Safety and General Considerations

Paracress is generally considered safe at the concentrations used in food and cosmetic applications. A few considerations worth noting:

• The tingling sensation it produces is normal, expected, and temporary. It is a sign spilanthol is present and active, not a sign of irritation.
• Care should be exercised by those who are pregnant, using diuretics (as Acmella can have a diuretic effect), or taking drugs for prostate cancer. The plant should be avoided by those with known allergies to members of the Asteraceae family. (source)

As with any active botanical, patch testing before topical use is always advisable.

A Plant Worth Knowing

Paracress: the toothache plant chewed by Amazonian communities for centuries, the jambu simmering in a traditional tacacá soup, and the spilanthol extract in your skincare serum are all the same plant.

When an ingredient has been trusted across cultures, continents, and centuries before science caught up to explain why, that is not a trend. That is a track record!

Most ingredients that get a flashy nickname do not have much behind them once you look closely. Paracress is the exception. It is exactly why paracress earned its place in two Organic Ivy formulas, and why we think it deserves a spot in your routine.