Tetrapleura tetraptera Taub- Ethnopharmacology, Chemistry, Medicinal and Nutritional Values- A Review

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Tetrapleura tetraptera Taub (Fabaceae-Mimosoideae) is a well-known tree growing widely in forest zones all over West Africa. It is used in wound-healing, diabetes mellitus, asthma, hypertension, epilepsy, convulsions, leprosy, mental illness, inflammation, arthritis and rheumatoid pain, schistosomiasis control, as a general tonic and as a flavourer/spice.

Aim of this Review: The present review article which is in three parts gives an update on the chemistry, nutritional and medicinal values of its fruit, extracts and isolated compounds. It gives the opportunity to highlight the various ethnopharmacological uses as well as the pharmacological findings on T. tetrapteraand discuss them.

Findings: T. tetraptera was reported to contain various biologically-active compounds such as 7-Hydroxy-6-methoxy coumarin- an anticonvulsant and hypotensive, hentriacontane-an anti-inflammatory agent, N-acetylglycosides of oleanolic acid, echinocystic acid and 27-hydroxyolean-12(13)-en-28-oic acid-as molluscicidal saponins, echinocystic acid-3-O sodium sulphate, chalcones-butein and isoliquiritigenin and the flavanone-naringenin-strong antioxidants, fatty acids-with a high level of omega-3 and omega-6 acids, propanoids, amino acids-as bioactive and antioxidant constituents and structurally-related compounds. The extracts and some of the isolated compounds showed sedative, hypotensive, molluscicidal, CNS depressant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, wound-healing, contraceptive, analgesic, hypoglycaemic, antioxidant, hypolipidaemic, antimalarial, muscle-relaxant, anticonvulsant, hypothermic and anxiolytic effects in experimental animals. Nutritional assessments and phytochemical analyses of the fruit revealed the composition of mineral content, composition of essential oil, fatty acid profile, tannin content, crude protein content and toxic constituents which showed the nutritional importance of the fruit.

Conclusion: It is now known that T. tetraptera remains a rich source of extracts and chemical compounds that can benefit man in medicine and food; this justifies its use to spice dishes and for medicinal purposes.