Bitter Kola ( also know as Garcinia Kola )

Is a species of flowering plant in the Clusiaceae or Guttiferare family. It is found in Benin, Cameroun, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Bitter kola or Garcinia kola is a tree that grows in the rain forests of west Africa. The fruit, seeds, nuts and bark of the plant have been used for centuries in folk medicine to treat ailments from coughs to fever. According to a report from the Center For International Forestry Research, garcinia kola trade is still important to the tribes and villages in Nigeria. As with any herb, never consume garcinia kola without first discussing its use and benefits with your physician, especially if you are currently being treated for other medical conditions or are on any medications.

Traditional medicine

Bitter kola is traditionally used by Africa medicine men who believe that it has purgative, antiparasitic, and antimicrobial properties. The seeds are used for bronchitis, throat infections, colic, head or chest colds, and cough. It is also used for liver disorders and as a chewing stick.

Research findings have revealed that bitter kola has a lot of medicinal benefits to those who eat it

 “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” According to him, modern medicine tends towards disease prevention through foods but the majority of people who wish to eat healthy food may also miss out on the fact that cooking sometimes destroys or reduces certain elements that should nourish the body. Nutritionists say that while some foods are better eaten when cooked, some others such as fruits and certain vegetables are better eaten raw in order to  get the most of each nutrient.

Bitter kola is one of such fruits which can be eaten raw and still benefit from its high nutritional content. Eating a piece of bitter kola daily can help in  the treatment for low libido, low sperm count, erectile dysfunction, arthritis, reduction of eye pressure, treating hangover, improving lung function and knee osteoarthritis among others. Medical experts at  Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, OAUTH, in a study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, said that bitter kola has a significant analgesic/anti-inflammatory effects in knee osteoarthritis patients.

Bitter kola is a potential osteoarthritis disease activity modifier with good mid-term outcome. Another study on bitter kola published recently in Science Journal of Microbiology showed that seed and leaf of bitter kola have antibacterial activity on clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Streptococcus pyogenes. Bitter kola has been shown to be a popular treatment for diarrhea and fever. The seed extract is antiseptic and is active mostly against gram-positive bacteria, while the leaf, is active mostly against gram-negative bacteria. It is also very efficacious for hepatitis.

In West Africa, bitter kola is now being harnessed as a cure for the Ebola virus infections and also against flu. The stem, bark and the seeds are used for acute fever, inflammation of the respiratory tract and throat infections. The seeds are also chewed to relieve hoarseness of voice, sore throat and cough. In folk medicine, the seed is used for the treatment of liver disorder and it’s also used in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhea. The leaves are used for stomachache and pains and they also serve as good remedy for typhoid fever.

Generally used as a social snack and offered to guests in some cultural settings, bitter kola has been indicated in the treatment of laryngitis, general inflammation, bronchitis, viral infections and diabetes.  Realnews gathered that some Igbo medicine-men prescribe the fruit for arthritic conditions and is eaten raw and not prepared as food because it has medicinal attributes. It is also taken dry as a remedy for dysentery and is said to provide an antidote against Strophanthus poisoning.

Some medical experts in Lagos have said that regular intake of bitter kola has little or no side effect on human health. They said that bitter kola is a potent antibiotic, which could be effective in the treatment of many ailments and infections. Bartholomew Brai, nutritional biochemist at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, said bitter kola is used in the preparation of herbal drugs either as a nourishment, a supplement or a herbal remedy.

;Bitter kola helps to reduce eye pressure and relieves arthritis by reducing swelling, pain and increase joint movement. He also attested to the fact that the likely side effect of eating bitter kola could be incurred by any patient on drugs or medication. Botanically known as Garcinia kola, bitter kola belongs to the plant family Guttifereae. In Nigeria it is called oje in Bokyi, edun or efiari in Efik, efrie in Ejagham-Ekin, cida goro in Hausa, efiat in Ibibio, emiale in Icheve, igoligo in Idoma, aku-ilu or ugolo in Ibo, akaan in Ijo-Izon, okain in Isekiri, and orogbo in Yoruba.

Barriers to cultivation

Despite its socio-economic importance of Garcinia kola, the cultivation of the species is very much limited. Factors that have discouraged farmers from growing Garcinia kola include difficulties encountered in the germination which reduces the availability of seedlings in the nurseries for possible plantation establishment. Most of the productive trees are those which were left in the wild when farm plots were cut out of the forest. Researchers have studied the germination problems of G. kola seeds and suggested various means of breaking its dormancy. But there is still a great need to investigate more simple and practicable methods that could be easily adopted by the farmers with low technological input. G. kola seeds has both seeds coat dormancy and physiological dormancy probably imposed by the chemicals in the seed. Seed coat dormancy of Garcinia kola can be reduced by removing the seed coat before sowing while the physiological dormancy can be reduced by soaking in water for 72 hours. the removal of the seed coat, soaking in water for 72 hours, placing inside air tight transparent polythene bag and sprinkling of water on the seeds when needed for constant moisture will give early germination period of 2 weeks.