Common Name:

General Information

Brucea antidysenterica is a monoecious shrub or small tree growing up to 7 metres tall[].
The plant is commonly used in traditional medicine, being harvested from wild plants[].

Known Hazards

The fruit is bitter and reportedly toxic to livestock, especially sheep[].
Crystals of calcium oxalate are present in the bark, leaves and roots[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Guinea and Nigeria east to Ethiopia and south to Angola, Malawi and Zambia.

Habitat

In the lower storeys of evergreen forest and often as secondary growth in deforested areas or at forest edges[]. Montane forests, forest margins and secondary vegetation, most frequently at elevations of 1,750 - 2,500 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	7.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant grows at moderate elevations, usually to 2,500 metres but exceptionally to 3,700 metres in the moister tropics of Africa[].

Vegetative growth, flowering and fruiting continue throughout the year, even in the dry season[].
Brucea antidysenterica has been recorded as a host plant of the Mediterranean fruit fly, a major pest of the fruit industry[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

As its name suggests, the plant is of value in traditional medicine for the treatment of dysentery. Modern research has confirmed this action and also highlighted other potential uses of the plant.
The leaves and stem bark contain quanninoids and canthin alkaloids that have potent anticancer properties, and these have attracted much research attention in recent decades[]. Some trials have been inconclusive, whilst others have shown promising results, especially since the effects were facilitated in the absence of overt toxicity[].
In addition to their antineoplastic activity, many compounds present in the plant are highly effective against the dysentery-causing amoeba, Entamoeba histolytica, and the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum[].
Quassinoids from the plant have exhibited weak anti-tuberculosis activity in vitro, whilst their anti-HIV potential is marred by high cytotoxicity[].
Quassinoids are characteristic of the Simaroubaceae; they give the bark of Brucea antidysenterica a distinctive bitter taste[].
Canthin alkaloids, present in the root bark of Brucea antidysenterica, have anticancer and antimicrobial properties[].

The bark, fruit and roots are widely used against dysentery, as an anthelmintic and to treat fever[]. The bark, fruit, seeds, leaves and roots (sometimes boiled) are used as a remedy for diarrhoea, indigestion and stomach-ache[]. The leaves and roots are cooked with meat, or infused with milk (for children) to relieve asthma[].

Wounds and skin complaints, such as those caused by leprosy and scrofula, are treated with ointments made from the leaves and twigs mixed with ghee or butter, or from the ripe fruits mixed with honey[]. Preparations of the roots are used on sores caused by sexually transmitted diseases, while the leaves and seeds are used to treat cancerous skin tumours[].

The roots are used to treat rabies[].

Other Uses

The fruit contains about 22% oil[]. No uses are mentioned[].

A yellow dye in the fruit endocarp is non-soluble in water[].

The wood is used as firewood and for roof construction[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in situ. Readily propagated from seed, an alternative method of propagation is transplanting wildlings[].
Seed can be stored at room temperature for over a year[].

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