Alchornea Cordifolia

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NAME:  Alchornea cordifolia

FAMILY: Euphorbiaceae

COMMON NAMES: Christmas bush

LOCAL NAMES: Ipa, esinsin, eepa, bambami, ububo, bulora, garagasaki

USEFUL PART(s):  Leaves, stem, bark, twig

GENERAL USES:

  • The part of the tree is use in making dyes, inks and stains

  • The wood is use in furniture and for house construction

  • The leaves can be cooked and serves as food

  • The wood serves as fuel

 

Geographic Distribution

  • Ghana

  • Togo

  • Nigeria

  • Cameroon

  •  sierra leone

  • Liberia

  • Mali

  • Ivory coast

WHY IS IT GREEN?

 Alchornea cordifolia medicinal values include:

  • Fever

  • Rheumatism

  • antimicrobials

  • Diuretic

  • Purgative

  • Toothache

  • Cough

  • Sore

  • Gonorrhea

  • Insomnia

  • Diarrhea

  • Haemorrhoids

  • Antiaborifacients

  • Venereal diseases

  • Epilepsy

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

  • Improve soil fertility

  • Shelter tree for crops

FUNFUL FACT

  • The mode of propagation is by seed or stem cuttings

  • It is a medicinal plant which scatter easily and usually found in secondary forest

FURTHER READINGS

Adeneye, A. A. dewale, Oreagba, A. I. brahim, Ishola, I. O. gunbayode, & Kalejaiye, H. A. deola. (2014). Evaluation of the anti-arthritic activity of the hydroethanolic leaf extract of Alchornea cordifolia in rats. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicines : AJTCAM / African Networks on Ethnomedicines, 11(2), 402–410.

Adeshina, G. O., Kunle, O. F., Onaolapo, J. A., Ehinmidu, J. O., & Odama, L. E. (2012). Antimicrobial Activity of the Aqueous and Ethyl Acetate Sub-Fractions of Alchornea cordifolia Leaf. European Journal of Medicinal Plants, 2(1), 31–41.

Ajibade, T. O., & Olayemi, F. O. (2015). Reproductive and toxic effects of methanol extract of Alchornea cordifolia leaf in male rats. Andrologia, 47(9), 1034–1040. https://doi.org/10.1111/and.12374

Boniface, P. K., Ferreira, S. B., & Kaiser, C. R. (2016). Recent trends in phytochemistry, ethnobotany and pharmacological significance of Alchornea cordifolia (Schumach. & Thonn.) Muell. Arg. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2016.06.021

Djimeli, M. N., Fodouop, S. P. C., Njateng, G. S. S., Fokunang, C., Tala, D. S., Kengni, F., & Gatsing, D. (2017). Antibacterial activities and toxicological study of the aqueous extract from leaves of Alchornea cordifolia (Euphorbiaceae). BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-017-1854-5

Kouakou, K., Schepetkin, I. A., Yapi, A., Kirpotina, L. N., Jutila, M. A., & Quinn, M. T. (2013). Immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharides isolated from Alchornea cordifolia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 146(1), 232–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2012.12.037

Mambe, F. T., Voukeng, I. K., Beng, V. P., & Kuete, V. (2016). Antibacterial activities of methanol extracts from Alchornea cordifolia and four other Cameroonian plants against MDR phenotypes. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 11(2), 121–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2015.12.001

Ngaha, N. M. I., Dahlan, I., Massoma, L. D., Mandengue, S. H., & Yusuf, A. A. (2016). Comparative Proximate Analysis of Leaves and Bark of Alchornea Cordifolia (Euphorbiaceae). Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, 5(1), 84–90. https://doi.org/10.15640/jaes.v5n1a9

Okoye, F. B. C., Osadebe, P. O., Nworu, C. S., Okoye, N. N., Omeje, E. O., & Esimone, C. O. (2011). Topical anti-inflammatory constituents of lipophilic leaf fractions of Alchornea floribunda and Alchornea cordifolia. Natural Product Research, 25(20), 1941–1949. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2010.512272

Osadebe, P. O., Okoye, F. B. C., Uzor, P. F., Nnamani, N. R., Adiele, I. E., & Obiano, N. C. (2012). Phytochemical analysis, hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of Alchornea cordifolia methanol leaf extract on carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic damage in rats. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, 5(4), 289–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1995-7645(12)60041-8