Alafia Barteri

alafia barteri.jpg

NAME: Alafia barteri

FAMILY: Apocynaceae

COMMON NAMES: Alafia chewing stick, guinea-fowl's crest

LOCAL NAMES: Agbari etu, ota, momunimo, ndambi

USEFUL PART(s):  Roots, leaves

GENERAL USES:

  • The root of the plant can be use as chew-sticks

  • The fibre from the stems of the plant serves as tying material for roofs etc.

 

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

  • Guinea Bissau

  • Cameroon

  • Congo

  • Sierra Leone

  • Gabon

  • Liberia

  • Nigeria

  • Togo

  • Benin

WHY IS IT GREEN?

Alafia barteri medicinal values include:

  • Sickle cell anaemia

  • Rheumatic pains

  • Tooth-ache

  • Eye infections

  • Fever

  • Malaria

  • Antifungal

FUNFUL FACT

  • Alafia barteri is an active, climbing shrub which is said to be toxic

FURTHER READINGS

Aiyelaagbe, O. O., Negi, A. S., Hamid, A. A., Luqman, S., Kumar, S. B., & Kaneez, F. (2015). Chemical Constituents from Alafia Barteri Oliv. Leaves with Cytotoxic Activity. Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society, 62(9), 751–755. https://doi.org/10.1002/jccs.201500213

Colegate, S. M., Gardner, D. R., Betz, J. M., Fischer, O. W., Liede-Schumann, S., & Boppré, M. (2016). Pro-toxic 1,2-Dehydropyrrolizidine Alkaloid Esters, Including Unprecedented 10-Membered Macrocyclic Diesters, in the Medicinally-used Alafia cf. caudata and Amphineurion marginatum (Apocynaceae: Apocynoideae: Nerieae and Apocyneae). Phytochemical Analysis, 257–276. https://doi.org/10.1002/pca.2624

Hamid, A. A., Aiyelaagbe, O. O., Kaneez, F., Luqman, S., & Negi, A. S. (2017). Correction to: Isolation, characterization and antiproliferative evaluation of constituents from stem extracts of Alafia barteri Oliv. Hook. F. Medicinal Chemistry Research, p. 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00044-017-2116-2

Hamid, A. A., Aiyelaagbe, O. O., Negi, A. S., Luqman, S., & Kaneez, F. (2017). New Triterpenoids from the Leaves of Alafia barteri. Chemistry of Natural Compounds, 53(6), 1075–1079. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10600-017-2204-z

Ishola, I. O., Oreagba, I. A., OkekeOgochukwu, N., & Olayemi, S. O. (2015). Analgesic and anti-inflammatory actions of Alafia barteri: Involvement of monoaminergic, nitrergic and opioidergic pathway. Nigerian Quarterly Journal of Hospital Medicine, 25(2).

Lasisi, A. A., Olayiwola, M. A., Balogun, S. A., Akinloye, O. A., & Ojo, D. A. (2016). Phytochemical composition, cytotoxicity and in vitro antiplasmodial activity of fractions from Alafia barteri olive (Hook F. Icon)-Apocynaceae. Journal of Saudi Chemical Society, 20(1), 2–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2012.05.003

Sofidiya, M. O., Imeh, E., Ezeani, C., Aigbe, F. R., & Akindele, A. J. (2014). Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanolic extract of Alafia barteri. Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy, 24(3), 348–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjp.2014.07.013

Wieringa, J. J. (2011). Novitates Gabonenses 70. the advantages of a specimen database: Alafia velutina is a synonym of Farquharia elliptica (Apocynaceae). Blumea: Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Plant Geography, 56(3), 240. https://doi.org/10.3767/000651911X609237