19/10/2019
ONE THOUSAND HERBS OF YORÙBÁ AND THEIR MEDICINAL VALUES
Ewé Amùjẹ̀
This plant is of two types according to Yorùbá. We have Amùjẹ̀ ńlá = Harungana Madagascariensis and Amùjẹ̀ wẹ́wẹ́ = Byrsocarpus coccineus and Cnestis Longiflora.
Let us concentrate on Amùjẹ̀ ńlá for now because it has the ability to stop bleeding, especially during child birth. Uncontrollable bleeding is one of the leading cause of maternal mortality in our contemporary world, but our forefathers have a cure for it in ewé Amùjẹ̀ because it has properties that can make blood clot.
Harungana is an evergreen shrub or tree with a much branched, heavy, spreading canopy; it usually grows up to 12 metres tall, with occasional specimens up to 27 metres. The bole is straight and cylindrical bole.
A multipurpose tree, being particularly valued for its medicinal uses and as a dye. It is still occasionally planted as a medicinal plant and for obtaining gutta-percha, whilst it is also grown as a forest tree in tropical Africa.
Haronga is widely used in Africa as a healing medicinal plant, especially for treating skin complaints and conditions where blood is manifest. The bark, sap and gum are particularly valued and are held to be aphrodisiac, astringent, oxytocic, emetic, emmenagogue, expectorant, haemostatic, purgative, styptic and vermifuge.
Analysis of Nigerian material has shown the presence of a trace of alkaloids in the bark. No alkaloids were found in material from Madagascar, but abundant saponins were found in the leaves, and the presence of flavones, leucoanthocyanins and tannins in the stem.
The yellow colouration has been ascribed to a phenolic pigment named harunganine.
Several related substances are present and an extract called ‘harongan’ is being subjected to examination for stomach and pancreas disorders.
Examination of Nigerian material for anti-biotic activities has shown action on Gram +ve Sarcina lutea and Staphylococcus aureus, no action against Gram -ve organisms, and no fungistatic action.
Sap expressed from the inner bark is taken slightly warmed as a purgative, whilst water in which the bark has been boiled is used as a treatment for dysentery and is also given to babies suffering from constipation and wind. Sap washed out from bark taken from the east and west sides of the tree trunk (a relic of sun-worship?) has been used as a remedy for tape-worm, whilst the bark is also used as a vermifuge.
The resinous sap is applied externally to treat all manner of cutaneous complaints including leprosy, sores, itch, scabies, ringworm, craw-craw, mange,? Prickly heat, mycoses, often after the affected area has been scarified to draw blood with, for example, the rough leaf of Ficus exasperata, the sand paper tree.
The gum is applied to cuts, including fresh circumcision wounds, and ulcers. The dried gum is also used as a wound-dressing.
Based on the Theory of Signatures, the yellow colour of the gum evokes usage of the bark, roots or the gum itself for treating jaundice. Likening the expissation of the gum to milk-flow, the bark or root is used in a treatment to stimulate breast-development. The bark or the gum is held to have purgative properties. In Senegal the bark, and the leaves, are used for stomach-ache.
Resin from the flower is used for treating colic, puerperal infection, roundworm and as a rubefacient.
Ash (of the bark?) is applied to areas of scabies.
A bark-decoction, or of the root, is widely deemed helpful as a remedy for a range of troubles in which blood is manifest including haematuria; dysentery and piles; as an emmenagogue and oxytocic for a range of gynaecological conditions including expelling the placenta, miscarriage, dysmenorrhoea, irregular or painful menstruation; cough with bloody sputum. Both the bark and the gum are used for treating chest and breathing difficulties - a decoction being used for bronchial affections, coughs and asthma.
The twigs, leaves and leaf-buds find similar medicinal uses to the bark and sap and are often used to treat the same range of conditions.
The leaves and roots are also considered febrifugal and anti-malarial. They have been used for treating heart-troubles. The leafy shoots are chewed as a masticatory with kola nut for treating urethral discharge.
The roots are used to hasten breast development in young women.
The fruit is laxative, stomachic and, in large quantities, emetic.
Thanks.