Vernonia amygdalina, family Asteraceae or Compositae is a plant consumed locally as food and serve important ethno medical uses. It grows throughout tropical Africa to a height of about 1 – 5 metres and it is indigenous to many West African Countries. Many parts of the plants are useful, they are used locally for the treatment of fever, Stomach disorder, jaundice, worm infestation, constipation, malaria, hiccups, kidney problems, amoebic dysentery, schistosomiasis, cough, wounds, diabetes, laxative, veneral diseases and other bacterial and protozoal infection.
Taxonomy
The Asteraceae (Compositae) are herbs, shrubs, or less commonly trees and is arguably the plants largest family of flowering and has approximately 1,620 genera and more than 23,600 species. Vernonia is a genus of about 1,000 species of herbs and shrubs of which V. amygdalina is the most prominent specie and one of the pan tropical tribes of the family Asteraceae.
It grows predominantly in tropical Africa especially in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa and it is domesticated in parts of West Africa. It is popularly called bitter leaves because of its bitter taste and is used as vegetables or as flavour decoction soups.
In Nigeria, it is known by several local names such as “Ewuro” in Yoruba language, “Onugbu” in Igbo language, “Oriwo” in Bini language, “Ityuna” in Tiv language, “Chusar doki or fatefate” in Hausa language and “Etidot” in Ibiobio.
Morphology
The plant is normally found along rivers and lakes, in forest margins, wood land and open grass land in the wild or cultivated. It grows very well under full sunlight and humid environmental conditions. The Vernonia amygdalina plant is a shrub that grows to a height of 1-3 m with petiole leafs of about 6 mm in diameter and about 20 cm long, and elliptic in shape. The leaves are dark green colored with a characteristic odour and have a bitter taste. The bark is grey or brown and has a rough texture that is flaked. Its flowers are white, small, tiny, and clustered with small fruits that are slightly hairy, with small nuts inside
Uses/Benefits
Bitter leaf has been used as food and medicine for centuries in Africa. The plant has a wide spectrum of uses in African traditional medicine and has been used in the management and treatment of a number of health conditions. For instance, African Traditional Healers across the African continent use the plant for treating and managing a number of medical conditions including: fever, malaria, stomach ache, skin infections like ringworm, acne, diabetes, cancer, insomnia, hepatitis, toothache, jaundice, diarrhea, bilharzias, pneumonia, tuberculosis, stroke, arthritis, wounds, fatigue and cough. It is also used as an anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-helminthes, as a laxative, an appetizer, an aphrodisiac and for body weight loss.
The bitter taste of Bitter leaf is due to its anti-nutritional components such as alkaloids, saponins, glycosides and tannins.
The roots and leaves decoction of bitter leaf are commonly used in ethno medicine to treat fevers, hiccups, kidney problems and stomach discomfort among other several uses. It is also used in the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery hepatitis and cough and as a laxative and fertility inducer. The leaves of Vernonia amygdalina are also commonly used as a treatment against nematodes in humans and chimpanzees as well as other intestinal worms. In addition, extracts of the plants have been reported to be used in Nigerian herbal homes as tonic, in the control of tick and treatment of hypertension.
Some small and medium scale industries use bitter leaf in their herbal soap formulations, and in beer brewing which is drunk for restoration of stamina.
Scientific studies show that Vernonia amygdalina is rich in bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, saponins, terpenes, flavanoids, phenolic acids that have various medicinal properties including cancer prevention and treatment of microbial infections. Some of these bioactive compounds like alkaloids contribute to the bitter taste of this wonder plant.
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