20 patients were chosen for the study, which was carried out from April to May of 2004 .  Both sexes were included, with an age range of 4 to 78.  Of the initial 20, 7 did not return for their post-carao blood test.  Therefore, only data on 13 patients is presented in the table below.

Patients took carao during a  2 month period.  During this time they took only carao extract for their anemia - no medication or iron was allowed.  In addition, they were instructed not to make dietary changes.

A chemical analysis of Tropical Health Foods TM carao was carried out by Ligia Carmona Infante, Dr. Carmona's daughter, as part of the study.

Patients with improvement in both hemoglobin and hematocrit are shown in dark green background.  Patients with improvement in one value but not the other are shown in light green background.  The 42 year old diabetic patient in also shown in light green because the carao stopped the deepening of anemia expected in her case.  Patients with no improvement in hemoglobin or hematocrit are shown in white background.

4 patients presented disease, including 2 with abnormal blood loss.

In 9 persons out of the 13 total, the post-carao blood tests showed improvement.  If the diseased and hemorrhaging patients are excluded, we find 7 of 9 cases improved, or 78%.

Very significantly, 100% of the patients reported feeling better and with more energy consuming carao.  Dr. Carmona reports, "all of the patients felt more energy with the carao, even those with chronic disease and even those with bleeding due to gynecological problems."  "No patient gained weight, and they felt so well that they will all continue using it after the study."

He continues: "The amount of iron [in carao] is very low, and besides, vegetable iron is poorly absorbed, and in this group of 13 people it helped 8 patients, this brings us to form the hypothesis that there is a factor in carao that favors the absorption of iron and its metabolism in the bone marrow."

Following are Dr. Carmona's conclusions in full:

• Carao is an energizing drink
• It does not produce weight gain since it produces a feeling of fullness.
• It helps the non-hemorrhaging patient with chronic diseases to not become more anemic.
• To correct anemia, causes such as hemorrhages and gastric blood loss should be corrected.
• In general, it is well-tolerated by the digestion.
• By a mechanism that is not very clear...it helps to correct anemia.

Lloyd's comments:

1. Evidently much less than the recommended dose (4 teaspoons per day) was used. At the recommended dose, the carao extract I provided for this study would have lasted 37 days, not 2 months.

2. Although non-hemorrhaging patients respond best, in our experience we have seen carao fruit extract benefit those suffering from chronic hemorrhages.

3. 7 of the original 20 patients did not return for the followup blood test, and so were excluded from the study. The likelihood is that these patients all had excellent results, since they didn't return for any further medical attention.

3. See also the clinical evidence by Dr. Attahiru I. Sokoto in Nigeria.  Also, see the summary of a definitive peer-reviewed pharmacological study.

It is my hope that it will spark interest in further studies. Investigators who are interested please contact me.

I wish to thank Dr. Carmona for conducting this study. Readers who wish to contact Dr. Luis Carmona can do so at the following email address: luiscarcas<@>yahoo.com.  (Remove the angle brackets from the email address. This is a spam prevention measure).