BITTER LEAF A WONDERFUL HEALING PLANT

Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina)
A wonderful healing plant
Health & Fitness By KEMI ILORI

I have news for you; they have just discovered bitter leaf and its health benefits in America!!!  A close friend who lives in America sent me an email detailing this discovery.

I just sighed and shook my head. You wonder why?  It is ridiculous that these ancestral knowledge that resides here with us is neither researched nor acknowledged, but is being discovered elsewhere.  My feelings were however assuaged when I read through and discovered that a Nigerian had done the work and acknowledged his grandmother as the source of his curiosity on the healing powers.  We are lucky that Ernest B. Izevbigie found himself in a place where he had the capability to do the kind of wonderful work that he has done on bitterleaf.  I applaud him.  I will continue to advocate for funds for research locally here in Nigeria so that our credits do not always go outside. 

Last month, I had written an article about green leafy vegetables and I promised to select two such vegetables with medicinal properties and write about them.  Bitterleaf which is scientifically known as Vernonia amygdalina is the first I have decided to write about.  Bitterleaf is nothing short of a wonder vegetable plant.  My choice is because this potent medicinal vegetable is ubiquitous in our land.  It is cheap and affordable for everyone.  A bunch of bitterleaf will cost as little as N20 (N50 in the city).  The local names are ewuro (Yoruba), onugbu (Ibo), oriwo (Edo), chusar doki (Hausa).  It is sad but true that less and less people are eating bitterleaf soup.  The modern life of today makes rice and stew the most popular food on the menu.

The slightly bitter taste of bitterleaf soup is a turn off for some people.  It is very important that the average homekeeper in Nigeria, trains her children to enjoy bitterleaf soup!  In Cameroon, bitterleaf soup is a popular staple called Ndole.  Bitterleaf is well eaten in West and Central African countries.  For me, egusi soup without bitterleaf is like the popular cliche “tea without sugar”.
What do you get when you eat bitter leaf?

The traditional use of bitterleaf as a remedy for an assortment of disorders is well documented.  Its is both internal and external.  This herb tackles diseases that keep Western medicine reeling.  We will look at some of the medicinal effects of bitterleaf individually;
Antidiabetic: One of the most popular uses of bitterleaf in traditional medicine is in the treatment of diabetes. Teas containing bitter leaf (V. amygdalina) are used throughout West Africa for the management of diabetes and other metabolic diseases associated with the liver (Leonard, 2002).  Scientific research has reinforced this traditional use of bitterleaf by showing that it has hypoglycaemic properties (i.e. blood sugar level reducing properties).

Dental use:  The stick of bitterleaf is a very good chewing stick which helps to prevent Gingivitis and toothache. Whilst the bitter taste may make it unappealing to many for everyday use; a person with embarrassing gingivitis may benefit from using it.  The relief from toothache ia also a very good incentive for using bitterleaf chewing stick.

HIV/ AIDS: The squeezed leaves of fresh bitterleaf has been found to be effective in treating the persistent fever, headache, joint pain in AIDS.
Anti cancer: I was particularly delighted to find out about the anti-cancer activities of bitterleaf.  This is because of the uncurable stigma associated with cancer.  To thing that a food plant can help to cure it is wonderful.  I will quote directly from Ernest B. Izevbigie. “This plant is called Vernonia Amygdalina,” Izevbigie said.”When I was growing up in Nigeria my grandmother would use some of this herb for everything from stomach pains to headaches, but up until now no-one was able to show the mechanism for action or how this herb works.But, using the scientific method, we proved that the plant’s extract can slow cancer growth and even kill cancer cells.” Izevbigie, who began working with the plant in 2000, exposed a very diluted amount of the plant’s extract to an MCF-7 breast cancer cell and marveled at the cell’s reaction.he growth of the cancer cell.That, in itself, is significant.But if you add a little more, even a moderate amount, it completely killed it.”

Antimalarial: Bitterleaf has potent antimalarial properties.  In addition to killing the plasmodium that causes malaria, it also kills worms, i.e it has antihelmintic properties.  It was observed that wild chimpazee in Tanzania, eat bitterleaf to get rid of worms and other parasite diseases. If you are a beer drinker or heavy on alcohol in general; then do not joke with your bitterleaf intake.  Iwalokun et al in 2006, carried out research which showed that bitterleaf helps in reversing alterations due to liver damage.  There are more properties that space does not permit me to mention (like the cholesterol lowering property of bitterleaf).  The foregoing shows that bitterleaf is indeed a wonder plant.  I love bitterleaf soup and I recommend it to everyone.