Voacanga africana

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Voacanga africana
Voacanga Africana 06.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Voacanga
Species:
V. africana
Binomial name
Voacanga africana

Voacanga africana is a small tree native to tropical Africa belonging to the family Apocynaceae that grows to 6 m (20 ft) in height and bears leaves that are up to 30 cm (12 in) in length. The yellow or white flowers are succeeded by paired, follicular, dehiscent fruit with a mottled green exocarp and a pulpy, yellow mesocarp surrounding the seeds. The plant contains alkaloids acting as CNS depressants and hypotensives [2]

Description

Voacanga africana is a small tree up to 6 m (20 ft) tall with a spreading crown. The leaves are in opposite pairs, dark glossy green above and paler green below. The white or yellow flowers are in small bunches borne either in leaf axils or at the end of shoots. The spherical, dark green fruits, dappled with paler green, grow usually in pairs and contain seeds embedded in a yellow pulp. [3]

History

Voacanga africana was named by botanist Otto Stapf in 1894 after he received a type specimen from George Scott-Elliot, who had been participating in the Sierra Leone Boundary Commission. [4] From its discovery in 1894 onward, botanists considered the plant to have little economic usefulness apart from as a rubber adulterant. [5] This changed when, in 1955, French chemists Maurice Marie-Janot and Robert Goutarel extracted three alkaloids from the Voacanga africana which they believed could be used in the treatment of heart conditions. [6] Global interest in the plant as a source of useful chemicals followed, and today the plant is a major non-timber forest product exported from Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria, and Cote d'Ivoire. [7]

Uses

Chemical structure of voacangine Voacangine.svg
Chemical structure of voacangine
Chemical structure of voacamine Voacamine chemical structure.png
Chemical structure of voacamine

The plant contains a large number of alkaloids related to the anti-addiction medication ibogaine, including some of the only known naturally occurring CB1 receptor antagonists. [8] One of the plant's alkaloids, voacangine, has been used as a precursor in the semi-synthesis of ibogaine. [9] Voacamidine and voacamine cleavage can be used to increase voacangine yield. [10] While small amounts of ibogaine are found in Voacanga africana root bark, they do not occur in sufficient quantity to have medicinal or psychoactive effects. Extracts from the plant are also used in the production of vinpocetine, a medication used to treat Alzheimer's disease, and vinblastine, used to treat leukemia. [11] [12]

The 1998 Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants by Christian Rätsch included an entry on the Voacanga genus, which claimed that various members of the genus are used in West Africa for their psychoactive effects. [13] Since 2007, more specific, unsubstantiated rumors have circulated that the bark and seeds of the tree are used in Ghana as a poison, stimulant, and ceremonial psychedelic due to an edit made to a Wikipedia article about the plant by a Ghanaian businessman who linked to a website advertising the seeds. [7] A 2009 study by the National Institute of Health Sciences in Tokyo, Japan found that the Voacanga africana seed and bark products were in fact from a few different, but closely related species and contained some alkaloids including ibogaine, voacanga and tabersonine. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocynaceae</span> Dogbane and oleander family of flowering plants

Apocynaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Members of the family are native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members. The former family Asclepiadaceae is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here.

<i>Tabernanthe iboga</i> Species of plant

Tabernanthe iboga (iboga) is an evergreen rainforest shrub native to Central Africa. A member of the Apocynaceae family indigenous to Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo, it is cultivated across Central Africa for its medicinal and other effects.

<i>Argyreia nervosa</i> Species of plant

Argyreia nervosa is a perennial climbing vine native to the Indian subcontinent and introduced to numerous areas worldwide, including Hawaii, Africa, and the Caribbean. Though it can be invasive, it is often prized for its aesthetic and medicinal value. Common names include Hawaiian baby woodrose, adhoguda अधोगुडा or vidhara विधारा (Sanskrit), elephant creeper and woolly morning glory. Its seeds are known for their powerful entheogenic properties, greater or similar to those of Ipomoea species, with users reporting significant psychedelic and spiritual experiences. The two botanical varieties are A. n. var. nervosa described here, and A. n. var. speciosa, which are used in Ayurvedic medicine for their medicinal value.

<i>Tabernaemontana</i> Genus of plants

Tabernaemontana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. It has a pan-tropical distribution, found in Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, and a wide assortment of oceanic islands. These plants are evergreen shrubs and small trees growing to 1–15 m tall. The leaves are opposite, 3–25 cm long, with milky sap; hence it is one of the diverse plant genera commonly called "milkwood". The flowers are fragrant, white, 1–5 cm in diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibogaine</span> Psychoactive substance found in plants in the family Apocynaceae

Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in plants in the family Apocynaceae such as Tabernanthe iboga, Voacanga africana, and Tabernaemontana undulata. It is a psychedelic with dissociative properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voacangine</span> Chemical compound

Voacangine is an alkaloid found predominantly in the root bark of the Voacanga africana tree, as well as in other plants such as Tabernanthe iboga, Tabernaemontana africana, Trachelospermum jasminoides, Tabernaemontana divaricata and Ervatamia yunnanensis. It is an iboga alkaloid which commonly serves as a precursor for the semi-synthesis of ibogaine. It has been demonstrated in animals to have similar anti-addictive properties to ibogaine itself. It also potentiates the effects of barbiturates. Under UV-A and UV-B light its crystals fluoresce blue-green, and it is soluble in ethanol.

Schumanniophyton is a genus of three species of small tree native to west Africa and belonging to the family Rubiaceae. It contains the following species and varieties:

<i>Virola sebifera</i> Species of tree in the family Myristicaceae

Virola sebifera is a species of tree in the family Myristicaceae, from North and South America.

<i>Celtis africana</i> Species of tree

Celtis africana, the white stinkwood, is a deciduous tree in the family Cannabaceae. Its habit ranges from a tall tree in forest to a medium-sized tree in bushveld and open country, and a shrub on rocky soil. It occurs in Yemen and over large parts of Africa south of the Sahara. It is a common tree in the south and east of southern Africa, where the odour given off by freshly-cut green timber is similar to that of Ocotea bullata or black stinkwood.

<i>Hymenocardia acida</i> Species of tree

Hymenocardia acida is a plant of the family Phyllanthaceae native to tropical Africa. It is a small tree that grows to 10 m tall. Occurs in the Guinea and Sudanian savannah zones and deciduous woodland, from Senegal eastwards to Ethiopia and southwards reaching Zimbabwe.

<i>Voacanga</i> Genus of plants

Voacanga is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae found in Africa, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. As of August 2013 the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 13 species:

  1. Voacanga africanaStapf ex Scott-Elliot - tropical W + C + E + S Africa
  2. Voacanga bracteataStapf - tropical W + C Africa
  3. Voacanga caudifloraStapf - tropical W Africa
  4. Voacanga chalotianaPierre ex Stapf - tropical C Africa
  5. Voacanga foetida(Blume) Rolfe -Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Philippines
  6. Voacanga globosa(Blanco) Merr. - Philippines
  7. Voacanga gracilipes(Miq.) Markgr. - Maluku
  8. Voacanga grandifolia(Miq.) Rolfe - Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Queensland
  9. Voacanga havilandiiRidl. - Sarawak
  10. Voacanga megacarpaMerr. - Philippines
  11. Voacanga pachycerasLeeuwenb. - Zaïre
  12. Voacanga psilocalyxPierre ex Stapf - Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo
  13. Voacanga thouarsiiRoem. & Schult. Madagascar; widespread from Cape Province to Sudan + Senegal
  1. Voacanga dichotoma = Tabernaemontana pachysiphon
  2. Voacanga plumeriifolia = Tabernaemontana macrocarpa
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychoactive plant</span> Plants that induce psychotropic effects upon ingestion

Psychoactive plants are plants, or preparations thereof, that upon ingestion induce psychotropic effects. As stated in a reference work:

Psychoactive plants are plants that people ingest in the form of simple or complex preparations in order to affect the mind or alter the state of consciousness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voacristine</span> Chemical compound

Voacristine is a indole alkaloid occurring in Voacanga and Tabernaemontana genus. It is also an iboga type alkaloid.

<i>Voacanga grandifolia</i> Species of plant

Voacanga grandifolia is a plant native to Malesia and Queensland. It is an introduced species in India.

<i>Mostuea</i> Genus of plants

Mostuea is one of only three genera of flowering plants belonging to the small family Gelsemiaceae. Mostuea and Gelsemium were formerly placed in the family Loganiaceae, while Pteleocarpa was placed variously in the families Icacinaceae, Cardiopteridaceae, Boraginaceae, and others, before the description of the Gelsemiaceae was altered formally to accommodate it in 2014. Mostuea is native to Africa and South America. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the roots of certain Mostuea species are used as ritual aphrodisiacs and entheogens in West Tropical Africa.

Strychnos icaja is a species belonging to the plant family Loganiaceae, native to West Tropical Africa. It is a very large, tropical rainforest liana which may attain a length of 100 m (330 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limbe Botanic Garden</span> Botanical garden in Cameroon

Limbe Botanic Garden or Limbe Botanical Gardens (LBG) is the principal botanic garden of Cameroon. It was created in 1892, during the German colonial era, in Victoria, between the ocean and Mount Cameroon. Initially with an agronomic intent, it has become one of the main recreational and tourist attractions of the South-West Region.

Apocynaceae alkaloids are natural products found in the plant family of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae).

References

  1. ↑ "Voacanga africana". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2008-04-05.
  2. ↑ "Leeuwenberg et al Agric. Univ. Wagenigen papers" . Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  3. ↑ Maurice M. Iwu (2014). Handbook of African Medicinal Plants. CRC Press. p. 330. ISBN   978-1-4665-7198-3.
  4. ↑ Elliot, G. F. Scott (February 1, 1894). "On the Botanical Results of the Sierra Leone Boundary Commission". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 30 (206): 64–100. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1894.tb02390.x .
  5. ↑ Frederick R. Irvine, Woody Plants of Ghana: With Special Reference to their Uses, Oxford University Press, 1961.
  6. ↑ "New alkaloids".
  7. 1 2 "The Invention of Voacanga africana as a Ceremonial Psychedelic | Environment & Society Portal". www.environmentandsociety.org.
  8. ↑ Hussain H, Hussain J, Al-Harrasi A, Green IR (September 2012). "Chemistry and biology of the genus Voacanga". Pharmaceutical Biology . 50 (9): 1183–93. doi: 10.3109/13880209.2012.658478 . PMID   22834977.
  9. ↑ "Voacanga Ibogaine Production Guide". August 28, 2015.
  10. ↑ González B, Fagúndez C, Peixoto de Abreu Lima A, Suescun L, Sellanes D, Seoane GA, Carrera I (July 2021). "Efficient Access to the Iboga Skeleton: Optimized Procedure to Obtain Voacangine from Voacanga africana Root Bark". ACS Omega . 6 (26): 16755–16762. doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c00745. PMC   8264847 . PMID   34250335.
  11. ↑ "Voacanga Africana - tropical native tree of Africa - Covex". www.covex.com.
  12. ↑ "Voacanga africana (PROTA) - PlantUse English". uses.plantnet-project.org.
  13. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and its Applications by Christian Rätsch, 341-342
  14. ↑ Kikura-Hanajiri, R.; Maruyama, T.; Miyashita, A.; Goda, Y. (2009). "Chemical and DNA analyses for the products of a psychoactive plant, Voacanga africana". Yakugaku Zasshi. 129 (8): 975–82. doi: 10.1248/yakushi.129.975 . PMID   19652504.

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