Pterocarpus anglensis

Medicinal herb
 Herb 2
• Shona – Mubvamaropa

• Ndebele- Umvagazi

• English- Bloodwood, Sealing-wax tree, Wild teak, African teak

• Commercial- Mukwa

• Status- native
• Growth forms- tree, shrub
Botanic description 3

• Pterocarpus angolensis is a
medium-size to large, deciduous
tree that grows up to 30 m tall;
bark on young twigs is smooth,
grey and covered with hairs, and
on the older branches and stems it
is dark grey and rough to fissured
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Growing conditions 11

• Altitude- 840-1620m, lowveld

• On well drained soils in grassland and woodland and sometimes on
hillsides.
• Adaptable to red loams and deep sandy soils, but not coastal sands
or black clays.
• It is sensitive to frost and is reputed to be fire tolerant
• Mean annual rainfall: 700-1 500 mm
• Flowering times: Aug-Dec
Medicinal uses of Mubvamaropa 12

• Parts of the tree with medicinal uses:

• BARK
• ROOTS
• SAP
• SEEDS
• FLOWERS
• GUM
• WOOD
Bark and bark extracts 13
Medicinal uses
Bark and bark extracts 14

• The bark has several uses:

Heated in water and mixed with figs it is massaged on the breast to
stimulate lactation
A cold infusion from the bark alone provides a remedy for nettle rash.
A decoction of the bark is also taken orally for piles,
Cold infusion made from the bark is taken to relieve stomach
disorders, headaches, blood in the urine, earache and mouth ulcers.
Powdered bark, mixed with water, and the sap are used to treat
burns.
Bark and bark extracts 15

• Bark or roots, boiled with fresh meat, is used as a preliminary

accelerator in the treatment of gonorrhea.
• Bark extract- dropped into ear as earache medicine
• The bark is boiled and the resulting red fluid is used in treating
skin lesions and ringworm.
• [veterinary uses]-The bark is used in veterinary medicine. It is
believed to cure limping if it is placed on the injured part of the
beast.
 Roots 16
Medicinal uses
Roots 17

• A decoction of the root is believed to be a cure for

malaria and blackwater fever.

• An infusion made from the roots is taken orally for the

treatment of diarrhoea, bilharzia and abdominal pains.

• Roots are burnt and the ashes drunk in water to treat

asthma and tuberculosis.
Roots 18

• Corneal ulcers are bathed in an eyewash obtained when roots

of the tree are 1st cleaned and then left to soak in water for 6
hours.
• In the follow-up treatment of this ailment, flowers are placed
in boiling water over which the patient holds the face,
allowing the steam to fill the eyes; dropping sap into the eyes
treats cataracts and sore eyes
Seeds, sap and gum 19
Medicinal uses
Seeds, sap and gum 20

• Ripe seeds are burnt and the ashes applied to inflamed areas of the skin and to
bleeding gums.

• The sap is reputed to heal sores, including ringworm sores and stab wounds, and
to treat various other ailments

• A traditional medicine treating blood system disorders.

• The reddish sap underneath the bark is used externally for ringworm.

• Cataracts and sore eyes are treated by dropping sap on to the eyes
 Wood 21
Medicinal uses
Wood 22

• The reddish-brown powder derived from the rotten, softened

heartwood is used as a treatment against stomach ailments.

• The powder is mixed with fat to make an ointment which is used

to cure stomach problems by drawing lines on the belly of the sick
person , OR

• The powder is stirred into cold water and drunk, leaving the
powder at the bottom of the cup or glass.
Summary of medicinal uses-by properties 23

• Antimicrobial
• Aesthetic**
• Analgesic
• Antihistamine
• Haemorrhoids
• Anti-inflammatory
Analytical verification 24
Medicinal uses
Analytical verification 25

• In the present study, crude extracts of Pt. angolensis stem

bark were prepared using various organic solvents and tested
against several bacterial organisms.
• Several compounds in an ethanol extract were then isolated,
characterized and tested, in vitro, for their activity against
selected bacterial pathogens and Enta. histolytica and for
their cytotoxicity against a human cell line.
Analytical verification 26
1. Plant Collection
2. Preparation of Crude Extracts
• The bark was washed with distilled water and air dried in the laboratory for 2
weeks before being ground in a Wiley mill grinder
• Samples of the ground bark were soaked in various organic solvents (with 50 g
bark/500 ml solvent) for at least 72 h, with frequent shaking.
• Each resultant crude extract was suction-filtered through Whatman No.1 filter
paper and then the filtrate was evaporated to dryness.
• Each residue was dissolved, at 0.2 g/ml, in 12% (v/v) dimethyl sulphoxide
(DMSO) in water, to give a stock solution.
• All the stock solutions in the dark until used.
 Analytical verification 27

3. Fractionation
• For the isolation of compounds from an ethanolic extract of the stem bark of
Pt. angolensis, 1.4 kg of the powdered dried bark was extracted with 5 litres
of ethanol, by sonication for 30 min and overnight maceration.

• Most of the dried ethanol extract was loaded on a large silica-gel column and
eluted with seven different hexane: ethyl-acetate solvent systems.

• When the antibacterial activity of each of these main fractions was tested
against Staphylococcus aureus by bioautography all except fraction I showed
very strong antibacterial activity.
Analytical verification 28
IDENTIFICATION OF THE ISOLATED COMPOUNDS
• Attempts were made, using nuclear mass resonance (NMR), gas chromatography– mass
spectrometry (GC–MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to identify the
seven compounds isolated, in apparently pure form, from the stem bark of Pt. angolensis.

BACTERIA
• Each of the six crude extracts of Pt. angolensis was tested in vitro against five Gram-positive
bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus subtilis, St. aureus and Enterococcus
fecalis) and four Gramnegative bacteria (Enterobacter cloacae,Escherichia coli, Pantoea
agglomerans and Proteus mirabilis).

• The fractions of the crude extracts as well as the isolated compounds from Pt. angolensis were
tested for antibacterial activity by direct bio-autography on TLC.
Analytical verification 29

CYTOTOXICITY
• All seven compounds isolated from P. angolensis showed less toxicity
against cultures of human (HCT-8) cells than piperitenone, with IC50
of 175–375 mg/ml.

COMPUNDS DETERMINED
• Seven pure compounds were subsequently isolated from the ethanol
extract of P. angolensis bark.
 Analytical verification 30
• The major compounds, including:

Phthalate,

Flavonoids

Tannins, and

Four derivatives of epicatechin [(-)-epicatechin, epicatechin-3-O-galate,

epicatechin (4b–8)-epicatechin (B2)]
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