Voacanga africana is widespread in mainland tropical Africa, from Senegal east to Kenya and south to Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Its is an evergreen shrub or tree growing from 1 – 11 meters tall and branching from low down. Voacanga bark has a long history of traditional medicinal use. It also supplies food and a range of commodities. All parts of the plant are rich in alkaloids, especially the root bark.
The bark and seeds of the tree are utilized as stimulant, aphrodisiac, and ceremonial psychedelic. These effects are due to the presence of a complex mixture of iboga alkaloids such as voacangine, voacamine, vobtusine, amataine, akuammidine, tabersonine, coronaridine and vobtusine. It’s sometime substitute iboga, although the effects are not completely the same. Most of these alkaloids show a vast range of pharmacological activities including analgesic, antibacterial, anticonvulsant, cardiotonic, cytotoxic, diuretic, hypotensive, vasoconstrictor, central nervous system-stimulant, and exerting a spasmolytic effect on the smooth muscle of the intestine.
Voacanga bark is also used in treating sores, furuncles, abscesses, fungal infections, filaria, eczema, painful hernias and heart-troubles.
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