Doris Obinna
In the midst of the belief by some elders that bitter kola (Garcinia kola) prolongs life, researches in modern science have revealed that it contains chemical compounds that help the breakdown of glycogen in the liver and has other medicinal uses, which account for its longevity property in man.
Apart from this, bitter kola is anti-poison. According to naturalist the seed and the bark of bitter kola should be eaten together in cases where food poisoning is suspected as “it helps to detoxify the system.”
There are other health values of bitter kola.
Bitter kola and malaria: Considerable experimental studies found that chemical constituents in bitter kola have anti-malaria properties. That aside, traditional healers have, for many years, prescribed bitter kola for the treatment of malaria infections.
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.
Bitter kola and lung functions: Bitter kola has been used for centuries to treat chest colds in traditional medicine, but research has taken a look and found out why it is effective. A study in the 2009 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.
Bitter kola and eye pressure (Glaucoma): 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 in Nigeria tested the effectiveness of eye drops that contained 0.5 per cent 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.
Bitter kola and weight loss: Bitter Kola has been known to be a natural hunger suppressant and also increases the urge to drink more water.
Bitter kola and male fertility: Garcinia kola is sometimes believed to cure impotence. Frequent taking of bitter kola boosts a man’s performance in bed with a woman.
Remedy and osteoarthritis: 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. The results of the study conclude that Garcinia kola significantly reduced inflammation and pain and increased joint movement in subjects that had osteoarthritis symptoms.
Another importance of bitter kola is that it repels snakes. For snake prevention, spread it around the building.
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