Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
mnyanya-mvitu; Kisambaa: ntula; Kifiome: nangali; Kipare: mdangu; Kisukima: matulu; Ki-arusha:
indulele; Kiberewe: mtobotobo; Kijita; mtobolo; Kiswahili: ntunguja, mndulele; Kinyamwezi:
mdulamu, mtulantu; Shona: mudulukwa; Swahili: mtungujamito; Yoruba: ikan
Description —
Solanum incanum
is a small perennial herb about 2 m high; the stem and
branches are with stout prickles. It has simple leaves, 2.5-12 cm long, 2.5-8 cm wide, alternate, and
stipules absent. The blade is ovate to ovate elliptic, the apex is rounded or acute, the base is truncate
or subcordate, and margins are repand-sinuate, with 2-4 rounded lobes on each side, greenish gray.
The flowers aresolitary, hermaphrodites, and 5-merous. The calyx is cup shaped and 5 lobed; the
corolla is purple-violet or white. It produces yellowish berries 2-4 cm in diameter with numerous
compressed-ovoid seeds.
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Habitat and Distribution —
The plant occurs throughout the continent on a variety of soils
from sea level to about 2200 m or more in semiarid areas receiving about 250 mm annual rain-
fall. The species has been recorded from Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria,
Cameroun, Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania,
Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
Solanum incanum
is employed in eastern and southern Africa for
the treatment of skin diseases and venereal infections and as a remedy for abdominal pains,
dyspepsia, fever, stomachache, and indigestion. The fruits are mostly used in the preparations
of remedies; both the roots and leaves find occasional use in the treatment of certain diseases.
In traditional veterinary medicine, the fruit juice is instilled into sheep's nostrils as a cure for
cough. The plant is also used as a snakebite remedy, for the treatment of liver and spleen dis-
eases, and as a remedy for toothache and earache. In northern Nigeria, the root and sometimes
the fruits are used as an ingredient for the preparation of arrow poisons. The plant is regarded
as poisonous in most parts of West Africa, and earlier reports of its use internally should be
interpreted with caution.
Constituents —
The plant contains steroidal alkaloids.
Pharmacological Studies —
The pharmacological activity of solanine and related steroidal
alkaloids includes antifungal, analgesic, and cytotoxic properties. In southern Africa, the plant has
been reported as effective in the treatment of a variety of external benign tumors in veterinary
practice.
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SOLANUM NIGRUM
Botanical Name —
Solanum nigrum
L. (APG =
Solanum americanum
M il l.)
Synonyms —
S. fistolotum
Rich,
S. nodiflorum
Jacq.,
S. guineense
(L) La m.
Family —
Solanaceae
Common Names —
Black nightshade, common nightshade, garden nightshade
African Names —
Arabic: enab el-ddeb; Hausa: goutan kadji; Igbo: afufa muo; Swahili: mtura;
Yoruba: odu, ogumo, igba yirin elegun
Description —
Solanum nigrum
is an annual, medium-size plant; it is herbaceous, growing
up to 60 cm in height. The stem branches are slightly pubescent and green in color with a purplish
tinge, which intensifies with the age of the plant. The leaves are whole or tortuous, ovate, and
briefly ciliated; they are arranged alternately and display agnation with the branches; they are 6-9
cm in length and 4-6 cm in width and have an acute apex. It is slightly hairy on the upper surface
of the midrib. There about 6-9 lateral veins that leave with the midrib at an angle of about 45°C.
The flowers are pendicellete, white, 2-10, borne on a slender peduncle, and somewhat umbellate in
shape. It produces berry-shaped, globular fruits about 5 mm in diameter that blacken on ripening.
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The fruits contain numerous white seeds, attached to an axial placenta. The fruits of this species of
Solanum
are edible and used as a masticatory.