Description

Bitter Kola (Garcinia Kola) is popular in Southern Nigeria. The plant is extensively used in herbal medicine and as food. It prevails as a multipurpose tree crop in the home gardens of Southern Nigeria .

The seeds of Garcinia Kola is chewed as an aphrodisiac or used to cure cough, dysentery, or chest colds. It could serve as raw material for pharmaceutical industries. The raw stem bark of Garcinia Kola is a purgative. The powdered bark is applied to malignant tumors. The sap is used for curing parasitic skin diseases. The latex or gum is used internally against gonorrhea, and applied externally on fresh wounds. The seeds prevent or relieve colic disorders or cure head or chest colds, suppressed cough and is often used in the treatment of Cirrhosis and hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) .

An important constituent of Garcinia Kola is flavonoid having antiinflammatory properties  and a natural antioxidant . Industrially, Garcinia Kola is being investigated for possible hop substitution in bear production. The bitterness and microbial actions were suspected to be as a result of the presence of some phonelic compounds.

Consumption and use of bitter kola in Nigeria is low due to inadequate information on the physico-chemical and nutritive properties. Consequently, it becomes imperative to investigate this seed and create awareness on its potentials.