Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The fruit of
Xylopia
is used as a soup condiment and is valued for its
carminative effect and as a cough remedy. The Igbo give the soup to women after childbirth as a
general tonic and to promote healing and lactation or to promote fertility in women. It is an ingredi-
ent in the preparation of a Yoruba herbal remedy, agbo. A decoction of the fruit is drunk as a remedy
for stomachache and as a treatment for bronchitis, biliousness, and dysentery. The seed extract is
used to eliminate roundworms.
78
A decoction of the fruits of
X. aethiopica,
leaves of
Alstonia boo-
nei
, and
Wissadula amplissima
is used to bathe children as an anticonvulsant. A decoction of the
fruits and stem bark of
Newbouldia
leaves is drunk as a remedy for amenorrhea.
External uses of the plant include a poultice for headache and neuralgia and with lemongrass
as a douching solution for female hygiene. A soup prepared with the ground fruits, those of
Piper
guineense,
and leaves of
Leptapsis cochleats
is taken as a remedy for dizziness.
Constituents —
The fruits contain the diterpenic acid xylopic acid [15β-acetoxy(-)16ene-19-oic
acid] and its analogs kaurenoic, 15-oxo-kaurenoic acid, and kauran-16-α-ol.
1088,1089
The plant also yields
cuminal, acyclic compounds, glycosides, alkaloids, fats, oils, and a pleasant-smelling volatile oil.
1090,1091
The volatile oil contains α- and β-pipenes, careen, cymene, α-phellandrene, limonene, terpinoline,
cineole, bisabolone, linolool, terpinen-4-ol, terpineal, cuminyl alcohol, and cumminic aldyhyde.
1092
Pharmacological Studies —
The fruit extract has been shown to be antimicrobial against both
Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria but inactive against certain strains of
Escherichia coli,
the activity mainly due to the diterpene xylopia acid,
273,1093,1094
as well as antifungal activity.
1095,1096
The dried fruit extract from
Xylopia aethiopica
and vitamin C have been evaluated for their
effect against γ-radiation-induced liver and kidney damage in male Wistar rats. The combination
product increased the antioxidant defense systems in the liver and kidney of irradiated animals and
may protect from adverse effects of whole-body radiation.
1097
Insecticidal formulations based on the
essential oil of
Xylopia aethiopica
(Annonaceae) and kaolinite-clay (particle size less than 50 μm)
were effective in protecting stored grains. Ingestion-contact insecticide tests have been conducted
using the maize weevil
Sitophilus zeamais
(Motsch.) (Curculionidae). The activity was found to
be concentration dependent, with the lethal concentration producing a 50% mortality rate (LC
50
)
at 4.35% (w/w).
1098
It also showed antifeedant activity against workers of the subterranean termite
Reticulitermes speratus
.
1099
Both the hexane extract of
Xylopia aethiopica
fruits and aqueous metha-
nol extract of the seeds showed termite antifeedant activity. Bioassay-directed fractionation led to
the isolation and identification of six ent-kaurane diterpenes in the active hexane extract. Feeding
deterrent activity varied significantly with the structures when the compounds were tested at concen-
trations ranging from 5000 ppm (40 μg cm
−2
) to 100 ppm (0.824 μg cm
−2
). (−)-Kaur-16 -en-19-oic acid
had the strongest termite antifeedant activity among the ent-kauranes isolated.
110 0
The extracts of
Xylopia aethiopica
have been shown to possess significant cardiovascular and
antidiuretic effects.
1101
The extracts were subjected to bioassay-directed phytochemical examina-
tion, which showed that the diterpene kaurenoids in the extracts were responsible for the signifi-
cant systemic hypotensive and coronary vasodilatory effect accompanied with bradycardia. These
effects were attributed to a calcium antagonistic mechanism. The diuretic and natriuretic effects
found were similar to the effects of chlorothiazide; this suggests inhibition of Na
+
and K
+
reabsorp-
tion in the early portion of the distal tubule. Further experiments are needed to elaborate the exact
mechanisms of the hypotensive and diuretic effects of diterpene kaurenoids.
The ocular dynamics of bolus consumption of a 300 mg total dose has been studied on visually
active volunteers with a view to finding its ocular effects or complications. It was found that the
aqueous extract of
X. aethiopica
was neither a miotic nor a mydriatic, but it lowered the intraocular
pressure (17.48%), reduced the near point of convergence (31.1%), and increased the amplitude of
accommodation (8.98%), which were positively correlated (
r
= 0.95). On the other hand, the sys-
temic extract had no effect on the visual acuity at far and near as well as the phoria status at the
appropriate distances. The convergence excess resulted in esophoria, and the increased amplitude of
accommodation placed greater demand on the accommodation mechanism without any discomfort.
