Combretum kinkeliba Cut Sheet IPHYM Herbalism Combretum micranthum

Combretum kinkeliba Cut Sheet IPHYM Herbalism Combretum micranthum

Latin name: Combretum micranthum G.

Family: Combretaceae

Common Names: kinkeliba

Parts used: Leaf

Origin: kinkeliba grows in the Sahel - Senegal, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea - where its dried leaves are consumed as a tea

The kinkeliba is known for its diuretic, purifying and digestive properties. It is sometimes recommended as an accompaniment to fasting or dieting, or in case of constipation.

Uses and indications of Combretum - kinkeliba

The kinkeliba is traditionally used to promote the production of bile by the liver and aid digestion.

Composition and pharmacology of Combretum

The kinkeliba contains flavonoids, catechin tannins, combrétines, quaternary amino acids and alcohols acids that seem responsible for cholagogues choleretic properties of the plant. Studies on animals have shown that virtue when bile stasis, ie poor bile flow.

Its soothing infectious diarrhea in Africa can be explained by the antimicrobial effect of the extract against many germs found by in vitro studies

Botanical description of Combretum - kinkeliba

The kinkeliba is a bushy shrub 2 to 5 m high, typical of the African savannah. It commonly grows on stony and dry, especially in Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, Niger. On its branches reddish brown grow small white flowers gathered on the cob. The oval, leathery leaves and thick, pointed at the tip, turn from green to orange over time. They are the ones that are used in herbal medicine.

A little history ...

The kinkeliba has long been used in traditional medicine throughout West Africa for its stomachic and diuretic properties. In his book on plants of Guinea in 1912, Henri Pobeguin notes that "the infusion of the leaves is used by the Malinke and Sousou in cases of bilious fever." The kinkeliba was imported into Europe and then enrolled in the French Pharmacopoeia from 1930.