VERNONIA or BITTER KEAF NDOLE EWURO ONUGB KONGO BOLOLO AFRICAN FOOD AND MEDICINAL PLANT FEVER DIABETES INTESTINAL PARASITES INFECTIOUS DIARRHEA ENTERITIS

VERNONIA AMYGDALINA, BITTER LEAF NDOLE, EWURO, ONUGBU, KONGO BOLOLO, FOOD PLANT

FRESH OR PREPARED LEAVES ARE APPRECIATED IN AFRICA

They are the subject of intensive cultivation around large cities and many people grow a few plants of vernonia in their garden for family consumption.

The leaves are rarely eaten raw (like a salad) because they are too bitter (unless it is for treatment), several fairly simple processes must be used to eliminate some of the bitter substances:
- soaking in several baths of cold water or lukewarm or boiling,
- crushing with a pestle followed by pressing of the crushed leaves, sometimes adding a little water to eliminate the bitterness present in a kind of slightly green foam with a soapy appearance. Do not add oil which prevents the elimination of bitter principles.
These green leaves do not keep long unless they are frozen. They can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days.

Vernonia leaves are cooked in soups, stews, or accompany meat, vegetable and fish dishes like spinach or other edible leafy plants.
They are offered on the markets fresh or partially prepared (example: in the form of balls of crushed or fragmented leaves).

The leaves can be dried, ground into powder and then incorporated into the diet as needed.

VERNONIA LEAVES ARE DIETARY AND NOURISHING:
- they provide proteins,
- dietary carbohydrates,
- mineral salts (including iron salts)
- and substances which strengthen immunity, reduce the effects of type 2 diabetes, protect the liver, facilitate digestion and help eliminate some intestinal parasites.

VERNONIA AMYGDALINA, BITTER LEAF, NDOLE, EWURO, ONUGBU, KONGO BOLOLO, MEDICINAL PLANT

As we said above, the active substances of Vernonia amydalina have been described but not yet well studied.
However, we can rely on some recent studies and the experience of numerous traditional practitioners in Africa to discuss certain medical applications.

AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF VERNONIA AMYGDALINA LEAVES: fresh leaves crushed and mixed with a little water, infusion or decoction of leaves are useful:

- in the case of seasonal VIRAL INFECTION such as influenza,
- in the case of GASTRO INTESTINAL DISORDERS (diarrhea, digestive pain),
- in the case of HEPATIC DISORDERS (hepatitis, constipation, difficulty digesting fats),
- in the case of type 2 DIABETES (fatty diabetes or adult-onset diabetes),
- in association with drug treatment for malaria,
- to reduce the quantity of INTESTINAL PARASITES in both adults and children,
- to accompany anticancer chemotherapy, especially that using doxorubicin which can cause heart problems,
- to clean wounds or burns in the absence of modern antiseptics.

THE MARROW OF THE SMALL BRANCHES AND THE ROOTS OF VERNONIA AMYGDALINA;
These parts of the plant contain a higher concentration of active substances but are also very bitter and sometimes difficult to tolerate.

The small branches of vernonia serve as a chewing stick to cleanse the mouth and clean the teeth through a mechanical and antibiotic effect.

USE IN ANIMALS

Veronica leaves can treat SMALL LIVESTOCK INFECTED BY INTESTINAL PARASITES (goats and sheep), experiences in India have been conclusive.
You should give food containing vernonia leaves every month for a few days, for example. Intestinal parasites are largely eliminated, but animals become reinfected through grazing, hence the need for regular treatment.
In Africa, livestock naturally feed on Vernonia leaves when they are accessible to them.

Let us quote this extract from an IRD scientific article on CHIMPANZES of Tanzania by Michael A. Huffman:

<< By ingesting the pith of young shoots of V. amygdalina, chimpanzees meticulously remove the outer bark and leaves to better chew the exposed pith from which they extract an extremely bitter juice and fiber residue. The amount of marrow ingested in a simple attack is relatively small, ranging from 5 to 120 centimeters x 1 centimeter. The entire process, depending on the amount ingested, varies in time, from less than a minute up to 8 minutes. It has been observed that an adult subject, found in the vicinity of an individual busy chewing pith or swallowing Vernonia leaves, does not seem eager to ingest pith. On the other hand, young chimpanzees have occasionally been seen tasting the marrow thrown away by their sick mother. In this way, individuals in the group are exposed to the extremely bitter behavior and taste of the marrow from a very young age.

In Mahale, the use of V. amygdalina has been reported in all months of the year except June and October (end of the dry season), demonstrating that the plant is available all year round. However, use by chimpanzees is highly seasonal, despite being available all year round. They use it most often during the months of the rainy season, in December and January, when parasitic reinfection by intestinal worms is the greatest >> .

OTHER USES OF VERNONIA AMYGDALINA, NDOLE, EWURO, ONUGBU, KONGO BOLOLO

This shrub is a reforestation plant, which can grow even on very damaged land.

They can be made into bushy hedges and Vernonia wooden posts can be used to demarcate plots of land because they are quite resistant to termites.

Vernonia amygdalina is a honey plant that produces very good honey.

CULTIVATION OF VERNONIA AMYGDALINA

IT IS AN EASY PLANT TO CULTIVATE, in warm tropical and equatorial regions, propagation is done by sowing seeds or by cutting small branches when you want to preserve a particularly interesting variety.

Market gardening professionals prefer to renew their plantations every year or two, favoring cuttings which produce good-sized leaves more quickly on plots irrigated and enriched with natural fertilizers.

In the gardens you can let these small trees grow and pick the leaves as you wish.

OTHER SPECIES OF VERNONIA

There are other species and varieties in Africa used as a food and medicinal plant.

Several varieties of Vernonia calvoana present in the highlands of Cameroon are wild and sometimes cultivated.

We can find in the scientific literature other species close to Vernonia amygdalina and used in the same way:
Vernonia hymenolepis or sweet bitter leaf (high plateaus of Cameroon and Nigeria),
Vernonia colorata (South Africa),
Vernonia cinerea (in Kenya),
Vernonia poskeana (in Zimbabwe),
Vernonia appendiculata (in Madagascar),
Vernonia perrottetii (in Sierra Leone).

Vernonia galamensis is native to East Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, its oilseeds are used which give a very drying oil usable in the paint and coatings industry, it contains between 40 and 80% vernolic acid, it is unfit for consumption.