Liver sausage tree

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Liver sausage tree
Liver sausage tree

Liver sausage tree

Systematics
Asterids
Euasterids I
Order : Mint family (Lamiales)
Family : Trumpet Family (Bignoniaceae)
Genre : Kigelia
Type : Liver sausage tree
Scientific name of the  genus
Kigelia
DC.
Scientific name of the  species
Kigelia africana
( Lam. ) Benth.

The Sausage Tree ( Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. , Syn. Kigelia pinnata ( Jacq. ) DC. 1845) is a plant type from the family of the Bignoniaceae (Bignoniaceae). The species is the only one in the monotypical genus Kigelia . The tree originally comes from West Africa , but today it is widespread in almost all of Africa . The appearance of the fruit is reminiscent of a liver sausage, which gave the species its name.

description

blossom
fruit
Dried fruit of Kigelia africana - cross section, seeds in the fruiting body and detached seeds

Liver sausage trees are medium-sized, semi-evergreen trees , usually with a spreading crown, which reach heights of 15-25 meters. The bark is relatively smooth, slightly rough or slightly cracked to scaly and brownish to gray.

The stalked leaves are arranged opposite or whorls, and - from 5 to 11 part leaflet consisting - pinnate. The ovate to obovate or elliptical, mostly whole-margined leaflets are about 5–12 centimeters long, only the terminal leaflet is somewhat stalked, the others are almost sessile. The edge of the leaflet is sometimes wavy and slightly serrated, the leaflets are pointed to pointed or rounded to indented, edged. Pseudo stipples , as found in other members of the family, are missing.

The inflorescences are loose, long panicles or racemes that hang from the lower branches in a flagellate manner . The hermaphrodite, large and long-stalked, five-fold flowers open at night and are pollinated by bats . The green-yellowish to reddish, slightly leathery calyx is large, cup-shaped and has five irregular tips. The two-lipped crown is tubular up to the top cup-shaped, with a wide throat. The slightly curved, ribbed crown beaker is yellowish to reddish, the recessed, reddish to dark red or purple colored, rounded crown lobes are frilly and pleated . The flowers contain four fertile, didynamic stamens and a short staminode, which are somewhat hairy and mostly enclosed at the base. The anthers are hairless and consist of two thick, hanging and not forked counters. The Upper constant ovary is oblong and slightly ribbed and long stylus is slightly conical, the scar is bilobed, -züngig. In the only chamber of the ovary , the ovules are arranged in four rows in several rows. The ovary is enclosed by a ring-shaped and pillow-shaped disc .

The woody, greyish-brown and many-seeded, non-opening fruits hanging down on long stems, the berries (armored berries ), with a warty, rough surface, are 40–100 cm long and weigh 7–12 kg. They are sausage to pear or egg-shaped, with remains of the style at the tip. They are very stable thanks to the woody structure that is permeated with fibers. They contain dried brown and bare, about 1 centimeter long, leathery seeds in a moist, starchy and protein-containing, whitish, fibrous pulp. The fruits are preferred food sources for large mammals such as elephants and giraffes , but baboons can also open the hard berries.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 40.

  • Free standing tree

  • Foliage

  • bud

  • Yellow flowers

  • Chalice, pistil and disc

  • Flowers and unripe fruits

  • Multiple fruits

Systematics

The genus Kigelia was listed as part of the tribe Crescentieae for a long time . 1976 Alwyn Gentry divided the tribe Coleeae from the Crescentieae and also classified the Kigelia in the Coleeae. Early molecular biological studies with only a few investigated representatives initially confirmed this classification. However, recent research examining wider parts of the family showed that the Coleeae would not be monophyletic with the Kigelia . Accordingly, the genus is placed close to the genera Stereospermum , Markhamia , Newbouldia and Fernandoa ; these together form a sister clade to the Coleeae.

The genus is listed by many authors as monotypical with Kigelia africana as the only species. But one can distinguish two subspecies:

  • Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. subsp. africana (Syn .: Kigelia aethiopica Decne. , Kigelia abyssinica A.Rich. ): It occurs in tropical and southern Africa.
  • Kigelia africana subsp. moosa (Sprague) Bidgood & Verdc. (Syn .: Kigelia moosa Sprague ): It occurs in tropical Africa.

Uses

Mokoros on the Okavango Delta : dugout boats made from the trunk of the liver sausage tree

The content of the stable fruit is in principle unsuitable for human consumption. Only the roasted seeds are used in times of need.

However, fruits, bark and roots are used by locals to make medicinal products. They are used to heal tapeworms , ulcers , dysentery , rheumatism and syphilis . The trunk of the liver sausage tree is used in the Okavango Delta region to make mokoro canes because it has some preferred properties for boat building and durability in water.

The association evoked by the shape of the fruit plays a role in applications with the aim of breast lift or breast enlargement ( Senegal ) or penis enlargement ( Venda ). So far, none of these attributions has been scientifically proven.

African wisdom

There is a saying that the worst place to stay is under a liver sausage tree. If you are not killed by the pound-heavy fruit, then you will be driven away by the elephants who come to eat the fruit.

Legend

According to an old legend from southern Malawi , the fruit of the liver sausage tree, when hung in a corner of the hut, protects it from cyclones .

ingredients

Experimental pharmacology

Although extracts and preparations from liver sausage tree drugs are not used in medicine, there is evidence of a possible pharmacological effectiveness. However, most of the biomedical knowledge about the effects of the liver sausage tree has so far been based on in-vitro tests and is therefore of limited informative value. The large number of ingredient groups suggests that liver sausage tree extracts have a wide range of effects.

It has been proven in individual in vitro tests that preparations can have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, against certain bacteria and fungi, against trypanosomes and against the pathogen causing malaria. And animal studies have also shown toxic effects on molluscs , and there was no short-term organ toxicity. However, no long-term toxicological data are available. Since skin irritations and cytotoxic (cell-damaging) effects against cancer cell cultures were determined in vitro , a favorable risk-benefit ratio is unlikely, especially since the effects observed were often inferior to the effects of standard substances.

The current state of pharmacological and biological research is:

  • In vitro tests showed an antioxidant effect by reducing the production of reactive substances in rat liver tissue, the production of which had previously been stimulated by pro-oxidants. The livers of mice treated with a dose of paracetamol that was harmful to the liver could be protected from major liver damage by the administration of Kigelia africana . This protective mechanism is also based on the antioxidant effect of Kigelia africana ingredients.
  • The iridoid verminoside showed in vitro anti-inflammatory (anti-inflammatory) effects by reducing the expression of the NO synthase iNOS and the release of the nitric oxide (NO) produced by iNOS . It was found to be cytotoxic and caused skin irritation , but did not affect skin cell viability.
  • The investigation of a plant extract, which is prepared from several plants, including Kigelia africana , and is used against diabetes in some African countries, showed no organ toxicity in rats and gave no indications of drug interactions .
  • A molluscicidal effect was found in a study of various Kigelia africana extracts .
  • The ingredients norviburtinal and isopinnatal from Kigelia africana have a cytotoxic effect in vitro against melanoma cell lines and other cancer cell lines . A dichloromethane extract from the stem cortex of Kigelia africana slowed the growth of melanoma cell lines and one kidney cell carcinoma line
  • 2- (1-Hydroxyethyl) naphtho [2,3- b ] furan-4,9-dione from the liver sausage tree root bark was effective in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum , the causative agent of tropica malaria .
  • Component 2- (1-hydroxyethyl) naphtho [2,3- b ] furan-4,9-quinone exhibited in vitro to a antitrypanosomal activity, both against Trypanosoma brucei brucei , the causative agent of animal disease Nagana , as well as against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense , the causative agent of East African sleeping sickness . Also Isopinnatal , Kigelinol and Isokigelinol worked against these two trypanosomes , but not markedly so, but all four substances were less effective than the standard drug pentamidine .
  • An aqueous extract of the Kigelia africana stem bark showed antimicrobial activity. Kigelinon, Isopinnatal, Dehydro-alpha-Lapachon, Lapachol, P-Cumaryl acid and ferulic acid from the root and Kigelinon and caffeic acid. from the fruits, extracted with methanol , have been identified as antifungal and antibacterial substances in Kigelia africana .

literature

  • E. Fischer, I. Theisen, LG Lohmann: Bignoniaceae . In: Klaus Kubitzki, Joachim W. Kadereit (eds.): Flowering Plants, Dicotyledons: Lamiales (except Acanthaceae Including Avicenniaceae). Springer Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-540-40593-3 , pp. 9-38.
  • Hans Dieter Neuwinger: African medicinal plants and hunting poisons. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8047-1314-9 .

Web links

Commons : Leberwurstbaum  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ IPNI
  2. ↑ Leberwurstbaum on awl.ch.
  3. ↑ Kigelia aethiopica at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  4. ↑ Russel E. Spangler, Richard G. Olmstead: Phylogenetic Analysis of Bignoniaceae based on the cpDNA Gene Sequences rbcL and ndhF. In: Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Volume 86, 1999, pp. 33-46.
  5. ↑ Michelle L. Zjhra, KJ Sytsma, Richard G. Olmstead: Delimitation of Malagasy tribe Coleeae and implications for fruit evolution in Bignoniaceae inferred from a chloroplast DNA phylogeny. In: Plant Systematics and Evolution. Volume 245, 2004, pp. 55-67. doi: 10.1007 / s00606-003-0025-y .
  6. ↑ a b c Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Kigelia - World Checklist of Selected Plant Families of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on December 28, 2017.
  7. ^ A b Hans Dieter Neuwinger: African medicinal plants and hunting poisons. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8047-1314-9 .
  8. ^ Hans Dieter Neuwinger: African ethnobotany: poisons and drugs: chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology. translated by the author and Aileen Porter. CRC Press, 1996, ISBN 3-8261-0077-8 , p. 254.
  9. ↑ Safari Africa - flora & natural landscapes - Kenya, liver sausage tree, elephant tree - Kigelia africana ( Memento from March 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ).
  10. ↑ a b c T. R. Govondachari, SJ Patankar, N. Visananthan: Isolation and structure of two new Dihydroisocoumarins from Kigelia pinnata. In: Phytochem. 10, 1971, pp. 1603-1606.
  11. ↑ KC Joshi, P. Singh, S. Taneja, PJ Cox et al: New terpenoid aldehydes from Kigelia pinnata: Crystal structure of Pinnatal. In: Tetrah. 38, 1982, pp. 2703-2708.
  12. ↑ DN Akunyili, PJ Houghton, A. Raman: Iridoids from Kigelia pinnata bark. In: Fitoterapia . (5), 1993, pp. 473-474.
  13. ↑ a b c d K. Inoue, H. Inoue, CC Chen: A naphthoquinone and a lignan from the wood of Kigelia pinnata. In: Phytochem. 20, 1981, pp. 2271-2276.
  14. ↑ a b S. V. Moideen, PJ Houghton, P. Rock SL Croft, F. Aboagye-Nyame: Activity of extracts and naphthoquinones from Kigelia pinnata against Trypanosoma brucei brucei and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. In: Planta Med . 65 (6), Aug 1999, pp. 536-540. PMID 10483374 .
  15. ^ A b C. R. Weiss, SV Moideen, SL Croft, PJ Houghton: Activity of extracts and isolated naphthoquinones from Kigelia pinnata against Plasmodium falciparum. In: J Nat Prod . 63 (9), Sep 2000, pp. 1306-1309. PMID 11000047 .
  16. ↑ SM El-Sayyad: Flavonoids of the leaves and fruits of Kigelia pinnata. In: Fitoterapia . (4), 1981, pp. 189-191.
  17. ↑ a b P. Picerno, G. Autore, S. Marzocco, M. Meloni, R. Sanogo, RP Aquino: Anti-inflammatory activity of verminoside from Kigelia africana and evaluation of cutaneous irritation in cell cultures and reconstituted human epidermis. In: J Nat Prod . 68, 2005, pp. 1610-1614. PMID 16309308 .
  18. ^ R. Gormann, L. Schreiber, H. Kolodziej: Cuticular wax profiles of leaves of some traditionally used African Bignoniaceae. In: Journal of Nature Research C . 59, 2004, pp. 631–635 ( PDF , free full text). PMID 15540593 .
  19. ↑ YG Gouda, AM Abdel-Baky, KM Mohamed, FM Darwish, R. Kasai, K. Yamasaki: Phenylpropanoid and phenylethanoid derivatives from Kigelia pinnata DC. fruits. In: Natural Product Research . 20 (10), Aug 2006, pp. 935-939. PMID 16854722 .
  20. ↑ a b O. A. Binutu, KE Adesogan, JI Okogun: Antibacterial and antifungal compounds from Kigelia pinnata. In: Planta Med. 62 (4), Aug 1996, pp. 352-353. PMID 8792668 .
  21. ↑ MT Olalye, JB Rocha: Commonly used tropical medicinal plants exhibit distinct in vitro antioxidant activities against hepatotoxins in rat liver. In: Exp Toxicol Pathol . 58 (6), Aug 2007, pp. 433-438. Epub 2007 Mar 29. PMID 17395447 .
  22. ↑ MT Olaleye, BT Rocha: Acetaminophen-induced liver damage in mice: Effects of some medicinal plants on the oxidative defense system. In: Exp Toxicol Pathol. 59 (5), Mar 17, 2008, pp. 319-327. Epub 2007 Dec 3rd PMID 18054472 .
  23. ^ AK Nyarko, LK Okine, RK Wedzi, PA Addo, M. Ofosuhene: Subchronic toxicity studies of the antidiabetic herbal preparation ADD-199 in the rat: absence of organ toxicity and modulation of cytochrome P450. In: J Ethnopharmacol . 97 (2), Feb 28, 2005, pp. 319-325. Epub 2005 Jan 18. PMID 15707772 .
  24. ↑ SL Kela, RA Ogunsusi, VC Ogbogu, N. Nwude: Screening of some Nigerian plants for molluscicidal activity. In: Rev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop. 42 (2), 1989, pp. 195-202. PMID 2626572 .
  25. ↑ SL Kela, RA Ogunsusi, VC Ogbogu, N. Nwude: Susceptibility of two-week old Lymnaea natalensis to some plant extracts. In: Rev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop. 42 (2), 1989, pp. 189-192. PMID 2626571 .
  26. ↑ SJ Jackson, PJ Houghton, S. Retsas, A. Photiou: In vitro cytotoxicity of norviburtinal and isopinnatal from Kigelia pinnata against cancer cell lines. In: Planta Med. 66 (8), Dec 2000, pp. 758-761. PMID 11199138 .
  27. ↑ PJ Houghton, A. Photiou, S. Uddin, P. Shah, M. Browning, SJ Jackson, S. Retsas: Activity of extracts of Kigelia pinnata against melanoma and renal carcinoma cell lines. In: Planta Med. 60 (5), Oct 1994, pp. 430-433. PMID 7997471 .
  28. ↑ DN Akunyili, PJ Houghton, A. Raman: Antimicrobial activities of the stembark of Kigelia pinnata. In: J Ethnopharmacol. 35 (2), Dec 1991, pp. 173-177. PMID 1809824 .