Vachellia xanthophloea (Benth.) P.J.H.Hurter (fever tree): Traditional and present uses, and future potential

Abstract

Background: Vachellia xanthophloea (Benth.) P.J.H.Hurter was traditionally associated with malaria and early pioneers were convinced that the species was the cause of fever and malaria. Even today, the species is commonly known as the “fever tree” throughout its distributional range in eastern and southern Africa. However, there are many other uses, some of them known since prehistoric times. Therefore, the present review compiles existing information about traditional and present uses, and further use potential and applications of V. xanthophloea.

Methods: Documented uses and ethnopharmacological properties of V. xanthophloea were obtained from online databases such as JSTOR, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar as well as pre-electronic literature sources obtained from the university library.

Results: This study showed that V. xanthophloea is a multipurpose species characterized by a variety of ecosystem services and goods such as provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. Vachellia xanthophloea is used as medicinal plant against human and animal diseases in four countries, representing 36.4% of the countries where the species is indigenous. The phytochemical evaluation of the plant revealed that it contains alcohols, aldehydes, alkanes, alkenes, benzene derivatives, carboxylic acids, esters, flavonoids, ketones, phenols, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, triterpenoids and volatile oils.

Conclusions: Being easy to propagate by seed and also fast growing, V. xanthophloea has potential as medicinal plant, source of fodder, fuelwood, timber, tannin, ornamental, live fence, and the species plays an important role in the reclamation of degraded areas.

Keywords: Fabaceae, Indigenous knowledge, Leguminosae, Tropical Africa, Vachellia xanthophloea