Pharmacognostical Profile of Selected Medicinal Plants - African Medicinal Plants - page 154

Synonyms — Ximenia aegyptiaca L. , Agialida senegalenses v. Tiegh, A. barteri v. Tieg h .,
Balanites zizyphoides Mldbr. & Schltr.
The genus Balanites has hitherto been placed in the plant family Zygophyllaceae or
Simaroubaceae.
Related Species — Balanites wilsoniana Dawe and Sprague
Family — Zygophyllaceae
Common Names — Desert date, soap berry, thron tree
African Names — Arabic: bhanitez; Hausa: aduwa; Fulani: tanni; Kanauri: kingo; Swahili:
mnyara, njienja; Yoruba: adowa. For B. wilsoniana : Igbo: ngwu-awusa; Bini: ubogho; Yoruba: budare.
Description — This is a savanna tree that grows up to 10 m, easily recognized by the long,
straight, green spines arranged spirally along the branches; each spine has a two-leaflet compound
leaf below it. It has a remarkably fluted trunk and a spherical crown; the bark is grayish-brown and
has ragged fissures and yellowish-green patches that are exposed by scaling of the bark. 264 It has dis-
tinctive leaves, with two leaflets up to 5 cm long on leafstalks about 2 cm long that are broad, slightly
obovate, blunt, or rounded at the apex and cunneate; young leaves have short hairs. The yellowish-
green flowers are borne above the leaf axils in short clusters; the (five) greenish petals are about 5
cm long; individual flower stalks (five) are up to 1 cm long with yellow 6 stamens and an ovary of
five fused shiny, dark-green carpels (March-June). Fruits are produced between March and October.
The fruit has a single hard, pointed seed, about 2.5 cm long and 1.2 cm in diameter; it is broadly
oblong, ellipsoid, green, and shortly velvety when young, turning yellowish and glabrous when ripe
and resembling a small date; it has a thin hard skin and a pale brown sticky edible fleshy pulp. 28,33
The related species B. wilsoniana is a lowland large forest tree found in the southern parts of
West Africa and in parts of East Africa. It is distinguishable from B. aegyptiaca, which grows in
the north, by its large leaves and by the lack of spines on the flowering branches. The leaflets have
distinct stalks, and the petals are hairy inside. The uses, constituents, and other notes on B. aegpyp-
tiaca should apply also to B. wilsoniana.
Habitat and Distribution — It is found in Sahel-savanna regions and drier parts of middle-belt
zones of Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast and is cultivated as a fruit tree in semisavanna parts of
the continent.
Ethnomedicinal Uses — The plant features prominently in Hausa ethnomedicine and has been
found most useful for other household purposes. A Bornu proverb extols Balanites thus: “A bito tree
and a milk cow are just the same.” The fruit pulp is a mild purgative but when ripe can be used in
making pleasant drinks or fermented into alcoholic beverages. The fruit and bark are lethal to small
freshwater snails (mollusks), which act as intermediary hosts to bilharzia, and has been recommended
for the control of schistosomiasis. The bark decoction is used as an abortifacient. The oil of the fruit
kernel is employed for the dressing of wounds and as an embrocation in rheumatism. 6,265 The roots and
fruits are used as anthelmintics and as an arrow poison antidote; the fruit alone is employed for the
treatment of liver and spleen disorders; the root has been indicated for the treatment of malaria, herpes
zoster, and venereal diseases. For a comprehensive account of the various medicinal uses, please con-
sult the references cited and see the work of Ainslie, 266 Ayensu, 7 and Irvine. 9
Other Uses — The gelatinous substance on top of the fruits is used in making sweetmeats. Saponin
occurs in the roots, bark, wood chips, and fruits; hence, they are used in washing clothes. The gum
from the trunk, when fresh, is pleasant to suck. The leaves are occasionally used as a vegetable and
are eaten by goats, camels, and cattle. The root is processed with charcoal and oil to produce local ink,
and the hard seeds are used for rosary beads and necklaces and in the game of darra. 9 The fine-grained
wood is used for implements and furniture, and various plant parts are used for religious rituals.
Constituents — The dried seeds yield about 48% of a fixed oil, zachunoil , and the seedcake
contains 50% protein. 267 The seeds, leaves, fruit pulp, bark, and root contain saponin, including the
tetraglycoside of diosgenin. 268 The diosgenin content of the whole dried plant has been evaluated
as 5.6%; the predominant genin (two-thirds) in the plant is, however, yamogenin, the C-25 epimer