Fruit - Specimen details

Fruit - Specimen details

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Catalogue Number: 72999

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Plant Name 57.03 LEGUMINOSAE-MIMOSOIDEAE Tetrapleura tetraptera Entry Book Number 2.1994
Artefact Name Fruit Vernacular Name
Iso Country Not defined TDWG Region Not defined
Parts Held Fruit Geography Description West Tropical Africa, Africa
Uses FruitUse: MEDICINES User: Man TDWG use MEDICINES
Storage Bottles, boxes etc Related Items
Donor Miller RD Donor No
Donor Date 00/04/1994 Donor Notes
Collector Collector No
Collection Notes Collection Date
Exhibition Expedition
Number Components Publication
Notes: Prekese - a West African fruit. (See ECOS enquiry 62.94) This is widely used as a herbal medicine in West Africa, as the enclosed extracts from Dalziel (1937) and Iwu(1993) indicate. Scientific studies have isolated biologically active ingredients, whic, h support its use in medicines. Glycoside - oleanolic acid - anticonvulsant (mice) Planta Medica 36, 1979. Sopoletin - hypotensive (rats), chronotropic, and inotropic actions (guinea pig isolated atria), neuromuscular blocking activity, possible non spec, ific spasmolytic agent (Planta Medica 49, 1983). There is always a danger that medicinally active ingredients could, in sufficiently high doses be toxic, but I could find little data regarding this. The only reference I found to toxicity data is for the, volatile oil of the fruit (Fitoterapia LXIV, No 1, 1993), which I have enclosed. I hope that this will help in your evaluation of this plant. (F Cook) Fruit is widely available in shops and stalls catering for the West African population in Hackney. (, Correspondence from RD Miller, Senior Environmental Health Officer, Hackney Environmental Services.(April 1994)

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