Development of Quality Standards of Prosopis africana (Fabaceae) Stem-Bark

Abstract

Prosopis africana (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. (Fabaceae) is the only known species of its genus found in Africa. Almost all parts of the tree are used in medicine namely as remedies for skin diseases, caries, fevers, 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, by using standard experimental procedures to determine the macro and micro morphological characters, as well as other quantitative and qualitative parametres. The results of this study produced vital data that could be useful in setting some diagnostic indices that could be included in the preparation of a monograph of the plant stem bark.

Keywords: Quality standards, development, stem-bark, Mimosoidae