Common Name:

General Information

Albertisia delagoensis is a small shrub or climbing plant.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

East Africa - southern Mozambique, S. Africa.

Habitat

Well drained littoral sand, in open grassy fields or in open spaces between trees[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Climber
Height	0.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The root is used to treat fevers[]. A root extract is taken to treat diarrhoea, vomiting, menstrual pain, chest problems, body pain caused by influenza, back pain and antenatal problems, and it is used as an anthelmintic, appetite stimulant and to improve sexual performance in men[].
The ash of burnt roots is applied to heal sores[].

A root and leaf extract is given orally to babies for cleansing the stomach[].

The stems and roots are rich sources of alkaloids: yield from the roots is 1 - 2.2 mg/g dry weight; from the stems 0.3 - 0.8 mg/g; and from the leaves 1.1 - 2.7 mg/g[]. The large amounts of alkaloids give the plant a bitter taste, which explains its use as an appetite stimulant[].
In trials, methanol extracts of the leaves and roots exhibited antiplasmodial activities of IC50 4.1 μg/ml and 1.6 μg/ml, respectively on chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum[].
The alkaloid cocsoline showed strong antiplasmodial activity (IC50 = 1 μM) in vitro; cycleanine showed selective antiplasmodial and antiprotozoal activities as well as spasmolytic activity in vitro, and also antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. Dicentrine exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities in vitro.
In-vitro tests showed a low cytotoxicity against the Graham cell line for leaf extracts[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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