Development of Quality Standards of Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. Stem Bark

Abstract

Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. (Mimosoidae) is the only known species of its genus found in Africa. Almost all parts of the tree are used in medicine. Remedies for skin diseases, caries, fevers and eye washes are obtained from the bark. They are used as diuretic and for the treatment of gonorrhoea, tooth and stomach-ache, dysentery and bronchitis. It is therefore considered worthwhile to establish quality standard for the stem bark. Pharmacognostic standardization was carried out on the pulverized stem bark and its anatomical section, to determine the macro and micro morphological characters, quantitative and qualitative profiles. The results of this study produced vital data that could be useful in setting some diagnostic indices for the identification and preparation of a monograph of the plant stem bark.

Keywords: Prosopis africana, anatomical indices, physicochemical, morphological characters, microscopical,  macroscopical