Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Synonyms —
Gentillia chevalieri
Beille
Family —
Phyllanthaceae
African Names —
Hausa: kirni; Igbo: orha (ola); Yoruba: ira
Description —
It is a shrub, sometimes growing up to 18 m high and about 1.5 m in width.
The stem is often crooked, with branches occurring at lower regions; the bark is gray, rough, and
often scaly. It has thin and red slash. The thin branches often grow spines. The twigs are usually
densely covered with short, rust-colored hairs. The plant has characteristic broadly elliptic leaves,
4-10 cm long and about 3-5 cm in breadth. The margins are slightly wavy, with the apex drawn out,
rigid, and curved downward. It has a thick, short, and very hairy leafstalk.
B. ferruguinea
produces
creamy-yellow, sweet-scented flowers that appear between February and August. The fruits occur
in July-September and are small and nearly round.
13
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The stem bark was used in the western states of Nigeria as an antidote
for arrow poison. The roots, bark, and leaves are ingredients in some varieties of the Yoruba “agbo
pot” used for pediatric illness. Dalziel
6
listed the whole plant for the treatment of intestinal and
bladder disorders and externally for skin infections and eruptions and the leaves and stem bark are
indicated for arthritis. A popular mouthwash called
epo-ira
in Yoruba is prepared from the stem
bark of this plant.
269
The leaves are cooked as a vegetable and eaten in times of famine.
Perhaps the most important use of
B. ferruguinea
is in the treatment of diabetes in certain parts
of West Africa. Ampofo made the first report on the clinical use of this herb for the treatment of
diabetes.
307
He documented the positive results of a pilot clinical trial of the antidiabetic properties
of
Bridelia
on 12 patients. An evaluation of 10 patients who received treatment at another herbal
home in Nigeria confirmed the value of
B. ferruguinea
in the treatment of diabetes. In Yoruba
(Nigeria) ethnomedicine, the plant is used in the preparation of a traditional gargle called “Ogun
Efu,” which is employed in the treatment of “Efu,” a pathological disorder characterized by a furred
tongue caused by overgrowth of papillae that produces a creamy curd-like coating on the tongue.
308
It is also used as a diuretic, antihypertensive, antifungal, and antidepressant. Other uses of the plant
include the preparation of an embrocation for the treatment of bruises, boils, dislocation, and burns
and as an oral decoction for the treatment of ulcers and persistent coughs.
Constituents —
The first chemical screening of the genus
Bridelia
was carried out by Treub
in 1907, who reported the presence of hydrocyanic acid in
B. ovate
and
B. tomentosa
.
309
The
pulverized stem bark contains tannins and reducing sugar but no alkaloid.
310
A chemical exami-
nation of the leaf of
Bridelia ferruginea
resulted in the isolation and characterization of two
coumestan-flavonoids, bridelilactone and bridelilactoside, as the main constituents of ethyl ace-
tate extract. The diethyl ether-soluble extractive yielded two coumarins, aesculetin and scopo-
letin, and six flavonoids, including quercetin, galangin, and naringenin. Lupeol, β-amyrin, and
β-sitosterol were isolated from the petroleum spirit extract.
311
It has been shown that the petrol
extract yielded mainly flavonoid glycosides, of which quercetin-3-neohersperisdoside (rutin) was
the major constituent.
312
Pharmacological Studies —
The hypoglycemic properties and the antihyperglycemic activity
of
Bridellia
in experimentally induced diabetes have been investigated. The fasting blood levels of
maturity onset diabetic patients are lowered to normal values by daily doses of aqueous extracts of
B. ferruguinea
leaves. Glycosuria was eliminated after 2 weeks of therapy even when ketosis had
been established. In experimental animals, alcoholic and aqueous extracts of this plant significantly
lowered fasting blood sugar but failed to protect the animals against alloxan-induced diabetes.
313,314
Rutin, isolated from the plant, has been proposed as the active constituent of
Bridelia
.
315
The milk-
coagulating activity of the ethanol extract of the bark of
Bridelia ferruguinea
and lime juice has
been evaluated as an index to determine the usefulness of the gargle prepared from these plants in
the treatment of papillary hypertropyhy.
308
Both plants appear to act synergistically as astringents
in milk coagulation which by extrapolation may explain their use in the preparation of Ogun efu.
308
Aqueous extract of the leaves of
B. atroviridis
administered in a concentration-dependent manner
