Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Garcinia
and in view of the presence of a complex mixture of phenol compounds in
Garcinia kola
seed, investigators at the University of Ibadan's (Nigeria) College of Medicine evaluated the hepatic,
testicular, and spermatozoa antioxidant status in rats chronically treated with
Garcinia kola
seed. It
was observed that long-term treatment with
Garcinia kola
had no adverse effect on the spermatozoa
characteristics but significantly elevated testosterone concentration when compared to the control
group. Improvement of antioxidant systems was accompanied by a significant decrease in MDA
level in the liver, testes, and spermatozoa of
Garcinia kola
-treated rats. Histological observation
revealed that chronic administration of
Garcinia kola
had no effect on the liver and testes at all
doses when compared with the control.
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GLYCYRRHIZA GLABRA
Botanical Name —
Glycyrrhiza glabra
L.
Synonyms —
Glycyrrhiza glabra
L. var.
typica
Reg. et Herd.,
Liquiritia officinalis
Moench
.
Family —
Leguminosae
Common Names —
Liquorice (E), reglisse, bois dous, racine douce, herbe aux tanneura (F)
African Names —
Arabic: irksos
Description —
Glycyrrhiza glabra
is a perennial herb or subshrub, 1-2 m tall, with long, highly
developed stolongerous roots. The leaves are compound alternate imparipinnate from 9 to 17 leaflets.
It produces flat pods of 2 × 6 mm. Three varieties of
C.
glabra
are known in commerce:
C.
glabra
L. var.
typica
Reg. et Herd.,
G.
glabra
var.
glandulifera
Wald. et kit, and
C.
glabra
var.
vislacea.
Habitat and Distribution —
The plant is a temperate crop, cultivated in the arid regions around
the Mediterranean basin of North Africa and parts of southeastern countries.
