Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Toxicity —
Prunus
extracts seem well tolerated in both acute and chronic toxicity studies, at
doses of up to 8 mg/kg for the acute single dose in rats and mice, and administration for up to 6
months in rats and mice.
889
Gathumbi et al., however, reported some adverse biochemical and hema-
tological changes in rats given 3.3 mg/kg for 6 days.
1141
Commerce —
Prunus
is a major article of commerce from Cameroon and Madagascar to
Europe and the United States. An attempt by the Plantecam Company to add value to the raw mate-
rial by establishing a process plant at Mutegene in Cameroon was not sustained. The price of the
raw material is US$9.56 kg CIF, and the dried extract sold in Europe is at US$175.84 per kg CIF.
Agriculture —
The tree grows at a moderate rate and responds well to cultivation. The seeds
cannot be stored; therefore, fresh seeds are used for cultivation. Moist leaves around the seed mini-
mize moisture loss during temporary storage and transport. It is able to withstand severe bark
removal to exhibit complete bark regrowth, but poor harvesting of bark may lead to tree death.
Sustainable harvesting is done by collecting the bark only from quarters on opposite sides of trees,
from about 35 cm above the ground level to the height of the first branch. In this way, it is believed
that the bark can be harvested sustainably every 4-5 years. Bark removal induces early flowering.
Mean bark yield per tree is 55 kg, ranging from 34 to 74 kg.
PSIDIUM GUAJAV
Botanical Name —
Psidium guajava
L.
Synonyms —
Guaiava pyrigormis
Gaertn.,
Syzygium ellipticum
K.Schum. & Lauterb.
Family —
Myrtaceae
Common Names —
Guava
African Names —
Hausa: gwabaa; Efik: woba; Igbo: ugwoba; Yoruba: guafa
Description —
It is a large shrub or small tree up to 10 m high. The stem is slender, usually not
exceeding 30 cm in width; the bark is brownish, thin, smooth, and often flaking off in small patches.
The leaves are oblong, slightly oval shaped, and oppositely arranged on the stem and branches, 5-10
cm long, rarely exceeding 15 cm in length. They are light green in the upper surface and downy and
pale green in the lower side. They display prominent nerves in the leaf underside. The flowers are
white and occur solitarily or as a few in a cluster in the axils of the leaves. They are about 2.5 cm in
diameter, with numerous stamens that are arranged in groups. The fruits are globose or pyriform,
