Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Synonyms —
Inga biglobosa
(Jacq.) Willd,
Mimosa biglobosa
Jacq.,
Parkia africana
R.Br.,
Parkia clappertoniana
Keay,
Parkia intermedia
Ol iv.,
Parkia oliveri
J.F.Macbr.
Related Species —
Parkia bicolor
A Chev.
Family —
Leguminosae
Common Names —
African locust bean, nitta tree, locust bean, monkey cutlass tree
African Names —
Yoruba: ewé igba, igiougba, iru; Hausa: dawa dawa, daddawa; Igbo: ogiri-
awusa; Fufulde (Nigeria): netteh, nerre; Mandinka (Senegal): netto; Wolof: nette, houlle, ouli; Ewe:
moti, wati; Bassa: budo; Mina: woti; Malinké: néré; Baoulé: kparalé, kpalé; Fon: arouati; Peuhl: niri
Description —
Parkia biglobosa
is a medium-size tree up to 30 m tall; taproot is often present,
with lateral roots up to 10(-20) m spreading from the bole; the bole is usually straight and robust,
cylindrical, up to 130 cm in diameter, often branching low; bark is distinctly longitudinally is-
sured, often with more or less regular scales between the fissures and is thick, ash gray to grayish
brown; slash is fibrous and reddish brown, exuding an amber gum; crown is dense, wide spreading,
and umbrella shaped, consisting of heavy branches. Leaves are bipinnate, swollen at the base and
therewith an orbicular gland, with 8-16 pairs of pinna, each one composed of 15-35 pairs of leaflets
1 cm long and 2 mm broad. Inflorescence is a pendulous head arranged racemosely; the peduncle
is 10-35 cm long, turning salmon-pink and many flowered. Flowers are narrow, red, and 3 cm
long; stamens have blackish anthers. Pods are slender, a little flattened, and 30 cm long. Seeds are
globose-ovoid and embedded in a yellowish farinaceous fleshy endocarp.
Habitat and Distribution —
Parkia biglobosa
is a Sudano-Zambezian species present in a belt
between 5° N and 15° N, from the Atlantic coast in Senegal to southern Sudan and northern Uganda.
The belt is widest in West Africa (maximum 800 km) and narrows to the east. It was probably intro-
duced to São Tomé and Principe.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The locust bean is used in Africa as a fermented food condiment
for seasoning sauces and soups. The use of the fermented beans of African locust bean dates back
many centuries and was already described in the fourteenth century. In West Africa, the bark, roots,
leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds are commonly used in traditional medicine to treat a wide diver-
sity of complaints, both internally and externally, sometimes in combination with other medicinal
plants. The bark is most important for medicinal uses, followed by the leaves. Medicinal applica-
tions include the treatment of malaria; parasitic infections; circulatory system disorders, such as
arterial hypertension; and disorders of the respiratory system, digestive system hemorrhages, and
dermatosis.
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It has also been used for the treatment of measles, chicken pox, and gingivitis and
as an anthelmintic. In the savanna and Sahel regions of West Africa, locust bean plays a role in all
major rituals, including those associated with birth, baptism, circumcision, marriage, and death.
Constituents —
The boiled and fermented seeds contain 35% proteins, 29% lipids, and 16% car-
bohydrates and have good organoleptic properties and a positive effect on intestinal flora. The seeds
are good sources of protein, fat, and calcium but contain a nontoxic oil of variable composition. The
seed fatty acids include arachidic, behenic, stearic, oleic, palmitic, and linoleic acids. The fruit pulp
contains up to 80% carbohydrate. The bark was found to contain a long-chain ester of trans-ferulic
acid, together with an inseparable mixture of long-chain cis-ferulates. In addition, lupeol, 4-O-methyl-
epi-gallocatechin, epi-gallocatechin, epi-catechin 3-O-gallate, and epi-gallocatechin 3-O-gallate were
isolated.
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The bark, leaves, and pod husks are rich in tannins, flavonoids, and coumarins.
Pharmacological Studies —
The ethanolic extract of
P. biglobosa
gave a positive response in
the brine shrimp lethality assay (LD
50
315.2 µg/ml. This result was reinforced by cytotoxicity assays
against tumoral cell cultures NSCLC-N6-L16 human bronchopulmonary carcinoma, IC
50
13.0 µg
ml; KB human nasopharyngeal cancer, IC
50
20.0 µg/ml; and P388 leukemia in mice, IC
50
22.4 µg/
ml.
841
The seeds possessed antiplatelet,
844
antioxidant, and antihypertensive activities and showed
antisnake venom activity.
845
The hydroalcoholic, ethyl acetate, and butanolic extracts of
Parkia
biglobosa
leaf, which contained mainly PACs and monomeric flavonoids, induced endothelium-
dependent NO- and endothelium derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF)-mediated relaxation in
