Health Awareness: Garcinia kola

Bitter kola or Garcinia kola is a species of flowering plant in the Clusiaceae or Guttiferae family. It is found in Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.Wikipedia

Bitter cola (Garcinia kola) seeds are smooth elliptically shaped, with yellow pulp and brown seed coat. Garcinia kola has economic value across West African countries where the seeds are commonly chewed and used for traditional ceremonies. The seeds are also used in folk medicine and have potential therapeutic benefits due largely to the activity of their flavonoids and other bioactive compounds (Farombi et al., 2000, 2002; Pietta, 2000; Okunji et al., 2002; Farombi, 2003].
HIPPOCRATES, the father of modern medicine once admonished: “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.
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.

Improves Sexual Performance
For people with a low libido, bitter kola can be your savior. Bitter kola increases sex drive and improves the sexual performance of men who consume them. For increased effect, you need to chew the kola for at least 2 minutes before intercourse. This is one of the reasons that bitter kola gained its fame in the past few years.

Relieve Arthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, characterized by pain, inflammation and limited movement in the joints, according to the National Institutes of Health. Causes of osteoarthritis can include joint injury, obesity and aging.
Since many arthritis sufferers prefer natural herbal medicines to other pain relievers and medications, researchers at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria tested the effects of garcinia kola against arthritis symptoms.
A study, written by Olayinka O. Adegbehingbe and published in the July 2008 issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, found that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Garcinia kola could significantly reduce inflammation, pain and increase joint movement in subjects that had osteoarthritis symptoms. It is believed that bitter kola could alleviate these symptoms by eliminating the cause of arthritis, which is fluid buildup and inflammation.

Cure diseases in lungs.
Thanks to another useful component in it, this nut helps improve the function of your lungs. So, if you seem to catch colds very frequently during the cold seasons, then eating bitter kola nuts is something you should consider.
A study in the 2008 issue of The Internet Journal of Pulmonary Medicine, performed on mice, reports that garcinia kola improved respiratory function after 28 days of use of a garcinia extract. Written by David A. Ofusori, MSc, from Igbinedion University in Nigeria, the study shows that garcinia kola works by dilating the alveolar ducts and sacs in the lungs by improving the strength of the fibers in the lung tissue.

Reduce Eye Pressure
An increase in eye pressure can lead to glaucoma, according to a report from The New York Times Health Guide. Researchers at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Nigeria tested the effectiveness of eye drops that contained 0.5 percent extract of garcinia kola.
The results of their study, published in the January 2010 issue of Middle East African Journal of Opthamology, showed that the opthamolic solution that contained the garcinia significantly reduced eye pressure when used twice a day.

Food Poisoning
In many rural areas of Nigeria (and other parts of Africa), when food is suspected to be contaminated by bacteria or someone accidentally eats food poison, traditional healers often recommend the mastication of bitter kola immediately after eating. This usually prevent the development of any infection or poisoning. Herbalists even recommend the seed and the bark of bitter kola should be eaten together in cases where food poisoning is suspected, “ it helps to detoxify the system“.

Cure Malaria
Researchers who reported that bitter kola had anti-malaria effect in the 2010 issue of Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, from a survey of plants used by traditional healers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, attributed this to its quinones content. Given the studies performed in the area, people who ate bitter cola nut were less likely to get malaria. Further more, kolaviron, the powerful chemical compound found in bitter kola, was reportedly tested on a malaria parasite and found to inhibit malarial activity.
“We extracted its chemical constituents, which is called Kolaviron and when it was tested on malaria parasite, we found it had significant anti-malarial activity,” says Professor Olusegun Ademowo, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, South West of Nigeria.

Traditional purposes
Some beautiful tribes, use bitter kola to welcome their visitors even at times for ceremonial purposes....
In summary, Bitter kola is use for both medical and traditional purposes.

In my country (Nigeria), bitter kola is known as Agbilu in Igboland, Orogbo in Yorubaland, and Namijin goro in Hausaland. What do you call bitter kola in your native language or country?

Now know how you can benefit from eating the nut, the seed and the leaves but always make sure you consult your doctor to know if it's dangerous to your health or not. As we all know, for every advantage their must be at least an atom of disadvantage.
Check for part 2 to know the possible side effect bitter kola can have on you, especially for women during pregnancy as they are more vulnerable during this time.

Watch out for part 2....