The tree is also known as the African plum tree, or Prunus africanum. This tree is a vulnerable native African species. Pygeum africanum is a useful multipurpose tree, with its bark and leaves used in traditional medicine for treating diverse ailments (e.g., gonorrhea, chest and intercostal pains, kidney disease, stomach and urinary tract complaints.
It is also used for fevers, malaria, wound dressings, as appetite stimulant and purgative for cattle). Leaves of Pygeum africanum are boiled and inhaled for fever treatment or are drunk as an infusion to improve the appetite.
It was reported that Pygeum extracts helps reduce the urologic symptoms (such as weak urine flow, incomplete voiding, frequent daytime and nighttime urination) associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Previous studies have shown that Pygeum africanum extracts as an antiprostate cancer treatment targets fast dividing cells by impairing mitosis or by causing target cells to undergo apoptosis.
Pygeum africanum
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 151, no. 3, pp. 1040– 1055, 2014.
Journal of Pharmacognosy and Natural Products, vol. 1, p. 110, 2015.
The African Journal of Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicines, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 210–229, 2013.
