Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Extracts of the plant are known to inhibit the production of hyaluronidase and thereby help
to localize the infection and stop it from spreading to other parts of the blood.
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In vitro
stud-
ies showed inhibitory activity against
Trichomonas vaginalis
,
536
which supports its use in topical
preparations such as ointments, poultices, and vaginal pessaries. Other uses of
Echinacea
include
those for antiviral, vulnerary, and alterative activities; for septicemia; for the treatment of upper
respiratory tract infections such as tonsillitis and pharyngitis; and for boils and carbuncles.
540
The
drug has also been useful in combination therapy for outpatients with inoperable advanced hepato-
cellular carcinomas.
537
In Nigeria, a locally cultivated
Echinacea
is used in combination with
Garcinia kola
seed
extract as an immune booster and antioxidant and as a remedy for flu.
ELAEIS GUINEENSIS
Botanical Name —
Elaeis guineensis
Jacq.
Synonyms —
Elaeis nigrescens
A. Chev.,
Elaeis virescens
A. Chev.,
Palma oleosa
Mill.
Family —
Arecaceae
Common Names —
Oil palm, palm tree, king palm (
Elaeis guineensis
var.
idolatrica
) (English),
palmier a huile (French)
African Names —
Bambara: m'te; Bini: udin; Hausa: kauku, kwakwa: Igbo: nkwu; Nupe:
zukunnu: Swahili: mawese (palm oil); Tivi: irile; Urhobo: orien; Yoruba: ope, eyin
Description —
The oil palm is a straight stemmed tree up to 22 m high, with several prominent
foliar scars, which increase with the age of the plant. The leaves are dark brown, about 7 m smaller
than those of
Raphia
palm, spiny at the base. The leaves gather at the top to form an umbrella-like
canopy. Male and female inflorescences are borne at the axils of the leaves, with the male flowers
being clusters of spikes, while the female flowers are in large stalkless heads. The fruits occur as
ovoid drupes, with fibrous and oily mesocarp; they are bright red when ripe, appearing in a cluster
ranging from 3 to 10 kg. The seed, enclosed in a hard endocarp, contains an oily white albumen.
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Habitat and Distribution —
It is spontaneous in secondary forests and as a derived crop in
savanna and high forests. It is widely cultivated throughout the tropical forest regions. It is a major
crop in Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
Elaeis guineensis
is one of the plants that is central to the lives of
traditional societies in West Africa. All parts of the plant are useful: The wood is used as frames
for buildings, the sap is fermented into palm wine,
and the oil from the mesocarp and the seeds are
used for cooking and for making soaps, creams, and other cosmetics.
The fresh sap is used as a laxative, and the partially fermented palm wine is administered to
nursing mothers to improve lactation. Soap prepared with ash from the palm fruit husk is used for
treating infections. A root decoction is used in Nigeria for headache; the pulverized roots are added
to drinks for gonorrhea and menorrhagia and as a cure for bronchitis.
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The leaf extract and the juice
from young petioles are applied to fresh wounds. The fruit mesocarp oil and palm kernel oil (PKO)
are administered as a poison antidote and are used externally with several other herbs as a lotion for
skin diseases. PKO is applied to convulsant children to regulate their body temperature.
Constituents —
The mesocarp yields a yellow-to-red oil known as palm oil, which has a very
balanced fatty acid composition: 51% saturated fatty acids, 38% monounsaturated fatty acids, and
11% polyunsaturated fatty acids. The major saturated fatty acid is 38-44% palmitic acid (C16:0) and
4-5% stearic acid (C18:0). Oleic acid (C18:1) represents 39-44% and linoleic acid (C18:2) 10-12% of
the UFAs. It has been observed that the fatty acid composition in palm oil is quite remarkable, with
the structure of the fatty acids on the triglyceride backbone in which the majority (87%) of the UFAs
are situated in the sn-2 position, whereas the saturated fatty acids are mostly in the sn-1 and sn-3
positions.
538
Normally, the sn-2 position monoacylglycerols are readily absorbed in the intestine.
