南美洲尤其是亚马逊河流域的很多传统草药被土著用来治疗疾病，且药用历史悠久。随着现代科学研究的发展与深入，该地区很多传统草药或作为食物补充剂，如玛卡、雅贡；或被开发为功能性饮料，如瓜拉那豆、巴拉圭茶等；或者一些草药（如猫爪藤、保哥果等）的有效成分在抗肿瘤研究中显示出较强药理活性。这些传统草药已赢得越来越多的国际市场关注。简要介绍了部分南美洲常用草药的民间用途、主要化学成分和药理作用，以及目前开发情况，为进一步的研究开发提供参考。

For a long history, Amazon basin region use local herbs for healing purposes. With the development of the modern scientific research, more and more traditional herbs from South America are gaining global popularity. For example, Maca and Yacon were used as food supplements, Guarana and Mate were developed as an ingredient in energy drinks. And the main compounds of Cat’s claw and Pau d’Arco-Lapacho showed high potential on the antitumor aspects. The authors introduced briefly on folkloric medicinal herbs from South America here, in an effort to provide a clue for the modern research work.