Ximenia americana L. [OLACACEAE]

This is a very variable shrubby tree up to 5 m high. It is often semi-parasitic, with strong thorns, or thornless, in savannah. The tree grows from Senegal to West Cameroon and is also widely dispersed in tropical Africa, America and Asia. X. americana is well known for its medicinal properties, and all parts of the tree are used. In Mali wounds are treated with a wash with a decoction of leaves or a combination of a wash with a decoction of bark and applying powdered bark is to the wounds.The pulverised bark and roots are used in West Africa for epidermal troubles like ulcers, craw-craw, ringworm, sores, etc. Powdered bark is deemed to be a good cleansing agent. Tenda in Casamance, Senegal, soak infected feet in boiled water with crushed bark and salt and bind them in cloth overnight, and then dead skin will be sloughed off. Root-bark is put into febrifugal medicines in Casamance, Senegal, and the plant is used against schistosomiasis in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Work on this plant is presently being carried out in our laboratories, based on traditional knowledge. A series of phenols, tannins and flavonoids with antioxidant effects have been identified in the plant.