MEDICINAL USES OF BITTER KOLA (GARCINIA KOLA)

Garcinia kola is a flowering plant that grows mostly in the tropical rainforest region of Central and West Africa. In Traditional medicine, every part such as the seeds, stem, and leaves has medicinal value. The seeds are edible and are consumed as an adjuvant to the true kola (Cola nitida) and for medicinal purposes.

It is commonly used to entertain visitors as a sign of peace and acceptance and used among dowry lists (what a man has to pay to marry a woman traditionally).

Garcinia kola has been used as a purgative, antiparasitic, and antimicrobial agent. It’s also used for throat infection, bronchitis, and as an aphrodisiac.

Pharmacological effects of the seeds include antidiabetic, antiiflammatory, antipyretic, immunomodulatory, antiatherogenic, antimicrobial.

Bitter kola is also one of the most commonly used herbs in herbal medicine to cure simple ailment like jaundice. It also serves as anti-poison, improves male erection, detoxify liver and it’s good for arthritis.

It has been mostly effective for obesity, heart disease. It is also used to treat diarrhea, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, serotonin syndrome and stomach problems.

It contains the medicinal properties known as kolaviron, flavounoid- Apigenin, Cyanidin 3, Tartaric acid, Resin, Saponis, Tannin, etc. Those are phytochemicals and it contains some vital nutrients too like Vitamin C

MEDICINAL USES

Regular consumption of Garcinia kola seeds lowers blood glucose levels and improves the complications of diabetes mellitus.

The seed is also potent medicine for Hepatitis in traditional medicine.

 Anti-poison

Chewing one fruit of Garcinia kola by an adult in moderate quantity in a day can serve as antidote for snake bite and food poison.

Weak erection

Sun dry the fruits and turn to powder, best mix with Alligator seeds powder, take a teaspoon at nights to improve your erection.

When a man is having weak erection, he can also boil the fresh root of bitter kola, ginger and garlic together, allow it to cool and settle.

Drink one glass of the decoction three times a day.

Jaundice

Blend or pound some fresh bitter kola nuts and soak in water for treatment of jaundice.

Take 25cl three times daily until a desirable result is achieved.

Liver detox

You can juice 10 pieces with 50cl of lemon juice, 4 tablespoons early mornings to detox the liver.

It is believed that Bitter kola seed has power to influence what we say especially when chewed with brown peel in the morning before eating. So if such occur, be careful of your speech until you eat a food that contains Red palm oil.

There is need for further research or authentication of already made research about Garcinia kola which will bring about several alternative remedies to be used for the above health problems Garcinia kola has been found to be effective against.