The African cherry (Prunus africana): Can lessons be learned from an over-exploited medicinal tree?

Stewart, Kristine M.

doi:10.1016/j.jep.2003.08.002

Cited by 112 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…P. africana is used traditionally for the treatment of colorectal, breast and skin cancer (Ochwang'i et al, 2014). The bark and leaf extracts are also used to treat fevers, gonorrhoea and stomach pains (Stewart, 2003a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytochemistry, Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis Studies of Β-Sitosterol-3-O-Glucoside and Β -Amyrin From Prunus Africana

Maiyo¹,

Moodley²,

Singh³

2016

Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med

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Background: Prunus africana is used traditionally in many countries for the treatment of cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia. Materials and methods: In this study, compounds from the leaves and bark of this plant were isolated and tested for their cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction in two human cancer cell lines (hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and colorectal carcinoma (Caco-2)) and a non-cancer cell line (embryonic kidney (HEK293)). GC-MS profiling of the extract was also conducted. Results: Three compounds (β-sitosterol, β-amyrin and β-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside) were isolated and the cytotoxic activity of β-amyrin and β-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside on the HepG2, Caco-2 and HEK293 was determined using the MTT cell viability assay. Both compounds had significant cytotoxic activity towards the Caco-2 cell line with IC50 values of 81 μg mL -1 and 54 μg mL -1 for β-amyrin and β-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside, respectively while low cytotoxicity was observed on HepG2 cell lines with IC50 values of 206 μg mL -1 and 251 μg mL -1 for β-amyrin and β-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside, respectively. Apoptosis induction in cells was studied using acridine orange/ethidium bromide dual staining. In both cases, the compounds tested demonstrated selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells with high apoptosis indices in cells exposed to β-amyrin. Low IC50 values of 156 μg mL -1 and 937 μg mL -1 for β-amyrin and β-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside, respectively, were observed in the HEK293 cell line. Conclusion: This study reveals that the plant is rich biologically active compounds thereby validating its ethno-medicinal use.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytochemistry, Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis Studies of Β-Sitosterol-3-O-Glucoside and Β -Amyrin From Prunus Africana

Maiyo¹,

Moodley²,

Singh³

2016

Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med

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“…This is an important finding given that inventories conducted in Kwazulu-Natal (Geldenhuys 2004) and in Cameroon (Guedje et al, 2007) indicated that bark harvesters avoid smaller trees and target bigger trees that have better vitality and good bark recovery, which might consequently mitigate the impact of bark harvesting on the species. However, if the demand for bark of a certain species is very high, as for example in the case of Prunus africana in Cameroon, Madagascar and Island of Bioko, all sizes were found to be barkharvested (Cunningham and Mbenkum 1993;Stewart, 2003).…”

Section: Bark Recovery Rates After Debarking Influence Of Altitude mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has a long history of traditional uses and is the source of a nontimber forest product that has reached the international trade (Stewart, 2003). In the 1960s, bark extracts were found to be effective in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (Bombardelli and Morazzoni, 1997), and bark harvests began in Cameroon in the 1970s.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Some Ecological and Anthropic Factors on the Survival and Bark Recovery Rate of Prunus africana (Rosaceae) in South-West, Cameroon

Caroline¹,

François²,

Josette³

et al. 2016

Int. J. Curr. Res. Biosci. Plant Biol.

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A b s t r a c t A r t i c l e I n f oPrunus africana is important for its bark used in the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia in SouthWest Cameroon which has led to overexploitation of natural population of the species. Prunus africana is listed as an endangered species. Despite the relevance of bark, little information on the effects of some ecological and anthropic factors on the survival and bark recovery rate of Prunus africana is known. Debarking followed a combination of four factors: season of bark harvesting, three stem diameter classes and three intensities of trunk circumference debarked. After debarking, trees were trimestrially monitored for a two years period during which the survival of the tree and the speed of regeneration of the bark were recorded. Results show a dead rate of 13.33%. The rate of recovery of the bark at low altitude was about 21.27 cm/year. The best season for debarking was the rainy season (27.49 cm/year). Trees with a weak diameter (20-30 cm) showed a low rate of recovery (18.28 cm/year) and also those whose bark were peeled on a surface of 75 % of the tree's diameter (29.09 cm/year). These factors have important implications in drawing strategies for sustainable harvesting, management and conservation of this species.

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“…However, the empirical evidence concerning this issue is mixed. In a survey dealing with the over-exploitation of the prunus africana in Cameroon, Stewart (2003) reports that an increasing number of harvesters eroded the traditional resource protection ethic by the kwifon, as the former harvesting monopolist lost his right for exclusively harvesting the bark of the prunus africana. Ito et al (1995) and Lopez (1998) however show that even if the number of harvesters is limited, the exploitation level of the common-pool resource often exceeds the Nash equilibrium.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Market Dynamics, Dynamic Resource Management and Environmental Policy in the Context of (Strong) Sustainability

Klarl

2010

SSRN Journal

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The African cherry (Prunus africana): Can lessons be learned from an over-exploited medicinal tree?

Cited by 112 publications

References 24 publications

Phytochemistry, Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis Studies of Β-Sitosterol-3-O-Glucoside and Β -Amyrin From Prunus Africana

Phytochemistry, Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis Studies of Β-Sitosterol-3-O-Glucoside and Β -Amyrin From Prunus Africana

The Effects of Some Ecological and Anthropic Factors on the Survival and Bark Recovery Rate of Prunus africana (Rosaceae) in South-West, Cameroon

Market Dynamics, Dynamic Resource Management and Environmental Policy in the Context of (Strong) Sustainability

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