Common Name:

General Information

Bersama abyssinica is an evergreen shrub or tree usually growing up to 12 metres tall but exceptionally to 25 metres[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. It is also grown as a hedge and as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

All parts of the plant are poisonous and have been implicated in killing humans and livestock[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to southern Sudan and Ethiopia, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Habitat

Lowland bush savannah, gallery forests and montane forests, at elevations from sea-level up to 2,700 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	10.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Trees respond well to coppicing and pollarding[].
A very variable species, with a wide range of synonyms[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Although all parts of the plant are poisonous, they are often used in traditional medicine throughout the plant's range. For internal use, therefore the dosage is critical[].
The stem bark contains 2 bufadienolides, which are cardiac glycosides with anti-tumour activity, as well as sterols and the xanthone mangiferin[].
Two hellebrigenin derivatives identified in an ethanol extract of the bark have shown inhibitory activity against human carcinoma of the nasopharynx in cell cultures[].
Cardiac glycosides and unsaturated sterols were identified in stem bark and root bark[].
Leaf extracts have cardiogenic, spasmolytic and hypoglycaemic activities[].
Crude bark extracts slow down the growth of Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexineri and Shigella dysenteria, whilst a root bark extract slows down that of Bacillus subtilis[].
A methanolic leaf extract had an inhibitory effect on HIV-1 replication[].
From the roots the bufadienolide abyssinin (an insect antifeedant against Helicoverpa zea), 3 other bufadienolides, bersenogenin, berscillogenin, and 3-epiberscillogenin, all with in-vitro cytotoxicity, and glucuronide triterpene saponins have been isolated[].
Methanol fractions of the leaves showed significant free radical scavenging capacity. Phytochemical investigation resulted in the isolation of five flavonol glycosides and the xanthone mangiferin. The last compound also has cytoprotective properties[].

Bark, leaf and root decoctions are widely taken as a purgative to treat a range of stomach disorders, such as abdominal pain, colic, diarrhoea, cholera, intestinal worms, amoebiasis and dysentery. Rabies, syphilis, gonorrhoea and malaria are also treated with these decoctions[]. The stem bark and leaves are used to treat diabetes mellitus[].
A root bark infusion is drunk, stem bark powder is sniffed, leaf sap is applied as eye drops or leaf powder is sniffed to treat migraine, headache and colds[].

A stem bark decoction is drunk to cure cancer and rheumatism. As an aphrodisiac, the powdered bark is added to beer or the leaves are chewed.
A bark poultice is applied to the back in the treatment of lumbago[].

A leaf decoction is drunk in the treatment of lumbago[]. Leaf decoctions are also taken to treat feverish pains, loss of appetite, debility, jaundice and leprosy[].
To treat convulsions and snakebites, leaves are pounded and mixed with water, and the mixture is drunk and applied the body[].
Extracts of growing shoots are used for external treatment of burns, ulcers and to clean wounds[].

A root decoction is used to treat haemorrhoids and epilepsy[].
A root decoction is used as a wash to cure lumbago[]

Agroforestry Uses:

Branches are used in living fences[].
The plant behaves as a pioneer species and is considered a weed in forest plantations[]. This makes it of possible use as a pioneer species when planting woodland[].

Other Uses

Shoots and leaves are pounded and used to control stalk borers in maize[].

Seeds are used as a substitute for soap[].

The wood is white to brownish grey without differentiation between sapwood and heartwood; the texture is moderately coarse. The wood is hard and works easily. It is used for poles in house building[],
The wood is used for fuel and for making charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - remains viable for around 2 months after being removed from the tree[].
Cuttings
Root suckers.

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