Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Synonyms — Pygeum africanum Hook. f.; Pygeum crassifolium Hauman
Family — Rosaceae
Common Names — African stinkwood, African prune, African cherry, bitter almond, iron
wood, pygeum, red stinkwood
African Names — Bamileke (Cameroon): alumty; Banso (Cameroon): kirah; Kom
(Cameroon): lluo; Oku (Cameroon): vla; Bakweri: wotangue; Kenya: muiri, mueri; Afrikaans:
rooistinkhout; Amharic: tikur inchet; Luganda: ngwabuzito, ntasesa; Tanzania: mkomohoyo;
Tanzania: mseneo; Uganda: ntasesa; Ganda: entasesa, ngwabuzito; Xhosa: umkakase; Zulu:
inyazangoma-elimnyama
Description — Prunus africana is an evergreen tree that is native to the montane regions of
sub-Saharan Africa and the Islands of Madagascar, Sao Tome, Fernando Po, and Grande Comore
at about 900-3400 m of altitude. The mature tree is up to 25 m high, rarely a shrub 3-5 m tall, or a
medium-size tree about 10 m tall; it is much-branched and often pendulous in forest and shorter and
with a round crown 10-20 m in diameter in grassland. It requires a moist climate, 900-3400 mm
annual rainfall, and is moderately frost tolerant. The bark is dark brown to gray and rugged. Leaves
are petiolate; lamina are 4 6 -11(15) × 2-4(5·5) cm, elliptic, lanceolate-elliptic, or oblong-lanceolate
and glabrous, coriaceous, or subcoriaceous; the apex is obtuse to subacuminate; the base is broadly
cuneate to rarely rounded; margins are coarsely crenate-serrate to subentire with dark glandular
dots in the incisions (the most proximal gland on one or both margins of the leaf sometimes is con-
spicuous); the petiole is 1-2 cm long, channeled, and often reddish; stipules are ± linear, 15-20 cm
long, and caduceus.
Habitat and Distribution — Prunus africana is a Pan-African montane tree species. It is listed
as an endangered species by CITES, but experts believe that the species is not remotely in danger
of extinction as long as some montane forest survives somewhere within its enormous range. 1140
It occurs in Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, South
Africa, Zimbabwe, and other montane zones of the continent. It is commercially collected mainly
from Cameroon and Madagascar.
Ethnomedicinal Uses — Pygeum is used in traditional medicine in West and Central Africa
for malaria, wound dressing, appetite stimulation, gonorrhea, insanity arrow poison, stomach pain,
and kidney disease and as a purgative. The plant came into prominence in the 1990s as an herbal
remedy for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Constituents — The major compounds isolated from Prunus bark include fatty acids (C22-
C24), alkanes, alkanols and phytosterols, lauric acid, myristic acid, n-tetracosanol, n-docosanol,
ferulic acid, β-sitostenone, β-sitosterol, and ursolic acid. The relative concentration of these com-
pounds in several Prunus bark samples have been used to show an independent evolution of bark
metabolism within different phylogeographical lineages, and that the molecular phylogeographic
pattern is partly reflected in the variation in concentration of bark constituents. This finding may
have important implications for the design of strategies for the sustainable use and conservation of
this important African tree species. 883
Pharmacological Studies — Extracts of the African prune tree have been shown by many stud-
ies to be effective in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs) associated with BPH
and obstructed bladder. In anti-inflammatory evaluation, it inhibits production of 5-LOX metabo-
lites in vitro 884 and the fibroblast growth tumor (FGF)- and epidural growth tumor (EGF)-induced
proliferation of 3T3 fibroblasts.885 885 Two recent clinical trials using P. africanum revealed an approxi-
mately 40% reduction in the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and improvement in the
urinary flow rates of approximately 18% over baseline. 886,887 Based on a meta-analysis of 18 clinical
trials, Ishani et al. demonstrated that men receiving P. africanum were more than twice as likely to
be rated with symptom improvement by their physician compared with men receiving placebo (65%
vs. 30%, relative risk [RR] = 2.1). 888
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