Vernonia amygdalina

Vernonia amygdalina, a member of the daisy family, is a small shrub that grows in tropical Africa. V. amygdalina typically grows to a height of 2–5 m (6.6–16.4 ft). The leaves are elliptical and up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Its bark is rough.[1] V. amygdalina is commonly called Congo Bololo in D. R. Congo, bitter leaf in English because of its bitter taste. African common names include grawa (Amharic), ewuro (Yoruba), etidot (Efik), onugbu (Igbo), ityuna (Tiv), oriwo (Edo), Awɔnwono (Akan), chusar-doki or shuwaka (Hausa), mululuza (Luganda), labwori (Acholi), olusia (Luo), ndoleh (Cameroon) and olubirizi (Lusoga).[2][3][4]

Vernonia amygdalina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Vernonia
Species:
V. amygdalina
Binomial name
Vernonia amygdalina

Uses

Food

The leaves are a staple vegetable in soups and stews of various cultures throughout equatorial Africa. They are washed to reduce their bitterness, after which they are dried and used to prepare meat dishes. In Nigeria, leaves are also used in place of hops to brew beer.[5]

Medicinal

The Tongwe use cold concoctions of this plant as a treatment for malaria, intestinal parasites, diarrhea, and stomach upset. For numerous African ethnic groups, a concoction of this plant is also a prescribed treatment for malarial fever, schistosomiasis, amoebic dysentery, and several other intestinal parasites and stomach aches.

Other

In Nigeria, twigs and sticks from this plant are used as a chewing stick for dental hygiene and the stems are used for soap in Uganda. In Ghana, the young leaves rather than the old, has gained credence for its potent anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory activity; and have been proven using animal models.[6][7]

Zoopharmacognosy

In the wild, chimpanzees have been observed to ingest the leaves when suffering from parasitic infections.[8]

References
  1. Ijeh II; Ejike CECC (2011). "Current perspectives on the medicinal potential of Vernonia amygdalina Del". J Med Plant Res. 5 (7): 1051–1061.
  2. Egedigwe CA (2010). Effect of dietary incorporation of Vernonia amygdalina and Vernonia colorata on blood lipid profile and relative organ weights in albino rats (Thesis). Department of Biochemistry, MOUAU, Nigeria.
  3. Kokwaro, John (2009). Medicinal Plants of East Africa (3rd ed.). Nairobi, Kenya: University of Nairobi Press. ISBN 978-9966-846-84-6.
  4. Appiah, Kwame (2018). "Medicinal Plants Used in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Southern Ghana: An Ethnobotanical Study". Medicines. 6 (1): 1–27. doi:10.3390/medicines6010001. PMC 6473417. PMID 30577439.
  5. Pieroni, Andrea (2005). Prance, Ghillean; Nesbitt, Mark (eds.). The Cultural History of Plants. Routledge. p. 31. ISBN 0415927463.
  6. Asante, Du-Bois; et al. (2016). "Antidiabetic Effect of Young and Old Ethanolic Leaf Extracts of Vernonia amygdalina: A Comparative Study". Journal of Diabetes Research. 8252741: 8252741. doi:10.1155/2016/8252741. PMC 4884890. PMID 27294153.
  7. Asante, Du-Bois; et al. (2019). "Anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and antipyretic activity of young and old leaves of Vernonia amygdalina". Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. 111: 1187–1203. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2018.12.147. PMID 30841432.
  8. Huffman, M.A.; Seifu, M. (1989). "Observations on the illness and consumption of a possibly medicinal plant Vernonia amygdalina (Del.), by a wild chimpanzee in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania". Primates. 30: 51–63. doi:10.1007/BF02381210.
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