Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
cholesterol without any change in the quantity of LDL receptor.
670
Clinical observational stud-
ies in humans have also shown that addition of a supplement of 4 g/day of “dika bread” to the
diet of patients with type 2 diabetes for 1 month reduced plasma glucose and lipid levels. There
was remarkable reduction in the LDL plus VLDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while the
levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol increased. The three ATPases of the erythrocyte membrane
of the diabetic patients were significantly lower than in normal subjects.
671
The use of African
bush mango for treatment of obesity has been established by several laboratory and clinical stud-
ies.
672,673
In a double-blind, randomized study involving 40 subjects (mean age 42.4 years), 28
subjects received
Irvingia gabonensis
(1.05 g three times a day for 1 month), while 12 were on
placebo and the same schedule. During the 1-month study period, all subjects were on a normo-
caloric diet evaluated every week by a dietetic record topic. At the end, the mean body weight
of the
I. gabonensis
group had decreased by 5.26% ± 2.37% (
p
< 0.0001) and that of the placebo
group by 1.32% ± 0.41% (
p
< 0.02). The difference observed between the IG and the placebo
groups was significant (
p
< 0.01). The obese patients under
Irvingia gabonensis
treatment also
had a significant decrease of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides and an increase
of HDL cholesterol. On the other hand, the placebo group did not manifest any changes in blood
lipid components.
1149
The male fertility enhancement of
Irvingia
has been evaluated in a study in which hormonal
parameters of male guinea pigs were investigated and compared with that of Proviron using an
enzyme immunoassay method, which was done by reaction of antibody with serum testosterone
and testosterone label, magnetic solid phase separation, and color development step. The aqueous
extract of the seeds (50-400 mg/kg) caused a statistically significant increase (
p
< 0.05 analysis of
variance [ANOVA]) of testosterone in male guinea pigs, from 2.70 ± 0.26 ng/ml to 3.10 ± 0.42 ng/ml
on day 7 and to 3.30 ± 0.48 ng/ml on the 28th day of the administration of the extracts. The highest
increase was 3.30 ± 0.48 ng/mL, obtained after 28 days of treatment. These effects were similar to
those of Proviron, which were 2.80 ± 0.28 ng/ml and 3.00 ± 0.41 ng/ml on the 7th and 28th day of
treatment, respectively.
674
The extracts of the leaves and roots showed significant antimicrobial activities that were found
comparable to those of gentamicin and tioconazole used as controls.
675
The mutagenicity of dika
nut as evaluated by Ames assay,
in vitro
and
in vivo
chromosomal aberration test, and
in vivo
micro-
nucleus assay did not reveal any genotoxicity of the extract. The results of a subchronic toxicity
study suggested the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) for
I. gabonensis
ext ract ( IG OB131)
was greater than 2500 mg/kg/day, the highest dose tested.
676
Commerce —
Kernels of
Irvingia gabonensis
are valuable articles of trade domestically and
between countries in West and Central Africa. There has been a recent increase in demand due to
international trade because of its use in the preparation of an effective weight loss dietary supple-
ment. Domestication of this species offers great opportunity for the sustainability of production.
A few plantations exist in Nigeria and Cameroon, but these are hardly sufficient to meet the grow-
ing demand and have resulted in substitutes from Asia and fake products containing ordinary
mango. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), cited in Ladipo,
677
reported
that in 1975 the market for kernel products was worth in the region of US$50 million. The market
has been growing since then. The global trade on raw dika nuts and products was estimated at
about US$165 million in 2010.
Agriculture —
Irvingia gabonensis
has a slow growth on planting but gradually picks up. It is
mainly propagated by seed. Germination of
Irvingia gabonensis
seeds takes more than 14 days, and
they should first be extracted from the fruit and dried for at least 2 days. A germination rate of 80%
can be reached in this way. Methods of vegetative propagation through rooting of leafy stem cut-
tings under mist have been developed, and micropropagation, grafting, and marcotting experiments
