This is a large tree up to 15–25 m high and grows on the savannah in Senegal to Mali, with a short buttressed trunk, low-branching with a dense crown. It is often used as a ornamental plant and to give shade. It was identified as a woundhealing remedy in 1998, and after this field work three more has been conducted in 2003, 2007 and 2008. The results from this work indicate that this plant is used against fever, diarrhoeae, pain and differnt types of wounds.
A detailed study of pectin structures found in C. cordifolia bark and leaves were related to complement fixation, macrophage activation and anti-ulcer activity. Uncommon pectin structures with RG-I backbone having a high degree of branches O-3 linked to Rha and GalA with mono or dimeric side-chains consisting of a high degree of 4-OMe-GlcA, will give a highly negative surface for a majority of the fractions. Pectins isolated from the bark and leaves showed similarities in the structure. However, some differences in the amount of T-2-OMe- Gal and 4-OMe-GlcA, and HG proved to be important for immunomodulating activities and physiochemical properties. The bark fractions had generally higher complement fixing activity, in addition to a higher potential of activating macrophages. The observed difference in activity may be due to these relatively small structure differences, but cross-linking of HG blocs in pectins from leaves may be an indirect parameter for altered activity.
CCbark50 and CCleaf50 showed similar anti-ulcer activity in an experimental mouse model in a dose dependent way.