Umganu - Sclerocarya birrea
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Ethnobotanical uses :
A decoction of the bark boiled in water is used as a body strengthener.A hot infusion of the bark is drunk as a tonic for weakness/tiredness.A root infusion is swallowed to arouse or prevent possession from spirits by the Ndebele from Zimbabwe.Unspecified parts are used to facilitate divination by the Shangaan.Unspecified parts are used for magical purposes.Purification rites are performed by washing/bathing with the bark.An extract of the fruit sap is drunk in Swaziland as an intoxicant.____________________________________________________________
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Considered by some to be the most important of all southern African fruit trees.
The delicious fruit is eaten fresh or is fermented to produce marula beer.____________________________________________________________
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The world's 2nd best-selling liquer is made from the fruit of the marula tree.
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Chemistry :
The bark contains procyanidins. The plant contains gallotannins (hydrolysable tannins), flavonoids and catechins (flavan-3-ols). ____________________________________________________________
Pharmacological action :
The stem bark is antibacterial.The bark is antidiarrhoeal.The leaf is hypoglycaemic.The root is antimalarial.____________________________________________________________
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