Bitter kola is about 3-5 cm in length. It has an ellipsoid shape. A brown to deep brown peel covers it. This peel is removed before it is eaten. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when it is eaten. It is this bitterness that its name is derived.
1. Bitter Kola Improves Lung
Functions
Bitter kola (Garcinia kola) has been
used for centuries to treat chest colds in traditional medicine, but research
has taken a look and found out why it is effective. A study in the 2009 issue
of The Internet Journal of Pulmonary Medicine, performed on mice, reports that
Garcinia kola improved respiratory function after 28 days of use of a Garcinia
extract.
Written by Simon Adekunle of the
Ekiti State University in Nigeria, the study shows that Garcinia kola works by
dilating the alveolar ducts and sacs in the lungs by improving the strength of
the fibers in the lung tissue. Bitter kola’s beneficial lung properties are
attributed to its high antioxidant content.
2. Bitter Kola Health Benefit for
Malaria
Considerable experimental studies
found the chemical constituents in bitter kola have anti-malaria properties.
That aside, traditional healers have for many years prescribed bitter kola for
the treatment of malaria infections. Researchers who reported that bitter kola
had anti-malaria effect in the 2010 issue of Journal of Medicinal Plants
Research, from a survey of plants used by traditional healers in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, attributed this to its quinones content.
Further more, kolaviron, the
powerful chemical compound found in bitter kola, was reportedly tested on a
malaria parasite and found to inhibit malarial activity.
3. Bitter Kola Benefit for Male
Fertility (Impotence)
Garcinia kola, also called bitter
kola is sometimes believed to cure impotence. Frequent taking of bitter kola
boosts man performance in bed with a woman.
4. Bitter Kola Health Benefit for
Glaucoma (Eye Pressure)
An increase in eye pressure can lead
to glaucoma, according to a report from The New York Times Health Guide.
Researchers at Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria tested the
effectiveness of eye drops that contained 0.5 percent extract of Garcinia kola.
The results of their study, published in the January 2010 issue of Middle East
African Journal of Opthamology, showed that the opthamolic solution that
contained the Garcinia significantly reduced eye pressure when used twice a
day.
5. Bitter Kola Health Benefit for
HIV
Bitter kola is a potent antibiotic
which could be efficacious in the treatment of HIV and AIDS. A researcher with
the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), Mrs. Chinyere Nwokeke
told the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) that bitter
kola could be used in treating opportunistic infections associated with HIV. “Bitter kola is highly recommended
in the treatment of HIV and AIDS because of its antibacterial, detoxification,
and cleansing properties”, she
said.
Mrs Chinyere Nwokeke also said that
the chemical saponin in bitter kola is responsible for its cleansing effect.
Saponin is mainly used as tonic for the liver, it enhances the functions of the
liver and gall bladder.
We should recall that Nigeria's
world renowned Professor, Maurice Iwu during the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) said
bitter kola could be used to prevent EVD. The federal government of Nigeria
through the ministry of health and its agencies could invest funds into
scientific researches to find out more health importance of bitter kola.
Best News on Garcinia Kola
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