Medicinal Plants of Sudan and Their Uses – Part 1

Medicinal Plants of Sudan and their uses – part 1 is from the paper ‘Gems from traditional north-African medicine: medicinal and aromatic plants from Sudan’ by Hassan K HALID, Wail Elsadig A BDALLA, Haider A BDELGADIR, Till O PATZ, b and Thomas E FFERTH.
Below are the results of a research/study looking at the various medicinal plants of Sudan and their uses.

Table I. Medicinal plants from different vegetative regions of Sudan and their medicinal uses
Common medicinal plant species of the desert
Latin name	Local name	Family	Habit	Medicinal use
Boscia senegalensis	Kursan;	Capparaceae	Shrub/	Anti-rheumatic, against gonorrhea and
(Pers.) L+am.	Mukheit		Small tree	urinary tract inflammations16;
				Anthelmintic, eye wash;17
				against tuberculosis15
Cadaba farinosa Forssk.	Surreh	Capparaceae	Tomentose shrub/small tree	Taenifuge, gargeled for tonsillitis15
Fagonia cretica L.	Umm	Zygophyllaceae	Spinescent glabrous herb	Against muscular pains;16 Antispasmodic,
	Shuwaika			antipurgative;17 against heart burn14
Ziziphus spina-christi L.	Sidir	Rhamnaceae	Spinescent tree	Antispasmodic, against gonorrhea;15,16
				anti-purgative,17
Common medicinal plant species of the semi-desert
Acacia oerfota (Forssk.)	La’ot	Fabaceae	Spinescent shrub	Anti-rheumatic;17
Schweinf.		(Mimosoideae)		against snake, against swelling & scorpi-
				on bites15,16
Acacia senegal (L.)	Hashab	Fabaceae	Spinescent small tree	For stomach ulcers, anti-diarrheal18
Willd.		(Mimosoideae)
Balanites aegyptiaca (L.)	Higleeg	Balanitaceae	Spinescent tree	Purgative;16,17,18 wound healing;16 anti-
Del.				rheumatic;14
				anti-diabetic17;
				anthelmintic15,16
Calotropis procera (Ait.)	Ushar	Asclepiadaceae	Ashy woody shrub	Against scorpion bites and jaundice 15;
Ait.f.				healing thorn injuries17;
				anti-rheumatic 18
Capparis decidua Forssk.	Taundub	Capparaceae	Spinescent glabrous	Against jaundice 14,15,17;
			deciduous shrub	to treat swelling 15;
				against headache 16;
				anti-rheumatic 15,17
Leptadenia pyrotechnica	Marakh	Asclepiadaceae	Glabrous mostly	Anti-rheumatic 17,18
(Forssk.) DC.			leafless shrub	diuretic17
Maerua crassifolia	Sarah	Capparaceae	small pubescent	Anti-rheumatic17
Forssk.			evergreen tree
Salvadora persica L.	Arak	Salvadoraceae	small evergreen tree	Detergent for mouth, facilitates digestion
Senna alexandrina Mill.	Senna	Fabaceae	Glabrous	Laxative14,18;
(Cassia senna L.)	Mekka	(Caesalpinioideae)		against gastro-intestinal disorders “GID”18
Ziziphus spina-christi L	Sidir	Rhamnaceae	Spinescent tree	Antispasmodic15,16;
				anti-purgative17
				against gonorrhea15
Common medicinal plant species of the thorn savannah and scrub
Acacia senegal (L.)	Hashab	Fabaceae	Spinescent small tree	Against stomach ulcers, anti-diarrheal18
Willd.		(Mimosoideae)
Acacia seyal Del.	Talih	Fabaceae	Spinescent tree	Anti-rheumatic, mouth detergent18
		(Mimosoideae)
Albizzia amara (Roxb.)	Arrada	Fabaceae	Deciduous tree	Against jaundice, mouth inflammation
Boiv.		(Mimosoideae)		and chest pain15
				wound healing17
Balanites aegyptiaca (L.)	Higleeg	Balanitaceae	Spinescent tree	Purgative15,16,17;
Del.				wound healing16;
				anti-rheumatic14,
				anti-diabetic17;
				anthelmintic15,16
Cadaba glandulosa	Kurmut	Capparaceae	Glandular many-branched	Against swelling14,15,17;
Forssk.			shrub	anti-rheumatic16
Calotropis procera (Ait.)	Ushar	Asclepiadaceae	Ashy woody shrub	Anti-rheumatic, mouth detergent18
Ait.f.
Dalbergia melanoxylon	Abanous	Fabaceae	Deciduous multi-stemmed	Anti-rheumatic15;
Guill. & Perr.		(Papilionoideae)	tree	against heart pain16
Sclerocarya birrea	Hemaid	Anacardiaceae	Ashy glabrous tree	Anti-spasmodic, anti-diarrheal15;
(A.Rich.) Hochst.				Anthelmintic; wound healing18
Common medicinal plant species of the deciduous savannah
Acacia seyal Del.	Talih	Fabaceae	Spinescent tree	Anti-rheumatic, mouth detergent18
		(Mimosoideae)
Albizzia amara (Roxb.)	Arrada	Fabaceae	Deciduous tree	Against jaundice, mouth inflammation
Boiv.		(Mimosoideae)		and chest pain15;
				wound healing17
Combretum hartmannia-	Habeil	Combretacea	Glabrous medium-sized tree	Against jaundice15,17
Senegalensis(Desr.) A.	Mahogany	Meliaceae	Deciduous tree	Anti-malarial, against hepatic inflamma-
				tion, sinusitis, skin diseases, GID and
			trachoma18
Terminalia brownie	Sobagh,	Combretaceae	Tree	Against cough and bronchitis17;
	Shaff			anti-rheumatic18
Common medicinal plant species of the flood region
Acacia polyacantha	Abu Sineina	Fabaceae	Spinescent tree	Against jaundice and bilhariasis15
		(Mimosoideae)
Acacia seyal Del.	Talih	Fabaceae	Spinescent tree	Against jaundice15,16
		(Mimosoideae)
Balanites aegyptiaca (L.)	Hegleeg	Balanitaceae	Spinescent tree	Anti-rheumatic mouth detergent
	Habeil	Combretaceae	Glabrous medium-sized tree	Purgative15,16,17; wound healing16;
				anti-rheumatic14; anti-diabetic17
				anthelmintic15,16
Hyphaene thebaica (L.)	Doum	Arecaceae	Tree	Against splenomegaly, alimentary
		(Palmae)		system disorders and bacterial eye
				infections18

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	Table II. The most important plants used in traditional Sudanese medicine. Selected examples of isolated compounds from these plants are compiled in Electronic Supplementary Material.
	Latin Name	Local name	Folkloric Uses	Reference
1	Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex	Garad, Sunt	The fruits are burned and the fumes are inhaled to treat colds	43,44,45
	Del. (Fabaceae, subfamily:		and pharyngitis. The fruit macerates are used as anti-septic.
	Mimosoideae)
2	Acacia senegal (L.) Willd.	Hashab	Stem exudates (gums) are used as demulcents and against	46
	(Fabaceae, subfamily:	Samug Arabi	diarrhoea and ulcers.
	Mimosoideae)
3	Acacia seyal Del.	Talih	Stem fumigant is used against rheumatic pain.	47,48
	(Fabaceae, subfamily:
	Mimosoideae)
4	Adansonia digitata L.	Tabaldi	The fruits are used as a cold beverage, andare added to	49
	(Bombacaceae)	Gongelez	yoghurt for treatment of diarrhoea and amoebic dysentery.
5	Aloe sinkatana Rey.	Sabar	The leaf juice is used in treatment of skin diseases,	50
	(Liliaceae)		constipation, anthelmintic and haemorrhoids. The leaves are
			also used to treat fever, diabetic, tonsillitis and inflammation of
			the colon.
6	Ambrosia maritima L.	Damsisa	The herbs are used in treatment of urinary tract infections and	51
	(Asteraceae)		elimination of kidneystones, whereas the leaves are used as
			anti-diabetic and anti-hypertensive.
7	Azadirachta indica J.Juss.	Neem	The leaves are used to treat skin diseases, helminthiasis and	52,53
	(Meliaceae)		malaria.
8	Balanites aegyptiaca (L.)	Heglig ,	Fruits are uses to treat dysentery and constipation. The seed oil	54
	Del. (Balanitaceae)	Laloub	is used to treat tumors and wounds.
9	Boscia senegalensis (Pers.)	AL Khirusan	The roots are used to treat bilharzia, the leaves are used as a	55
	Lam. ex Poir. (Capparaceae)		poultice for muscular pains and the fruits are used in
			treatment of tuberculosis.
10	Boswellia papyrifera (Del.)	Luban	Manufacture of incense, an ingredient in plasters and	56
	Hochst. (Burseraceae)		pastilles.
11	Capsicum frutescence L.	Shata	The fruits are used as a food spice and stomachic whereas the	57
	(Solanaceae)		fruit macerate is used as anti-rheumatic.
12	Citrullus colocynthis (L.)	Handal	The fruits are used as anti-diabetic, purgative and for making	17,58
	Schard. (Cucurbitaceae)		tar, which is used as an anti-scabies treatment.
13	Croton zambesicus Mull-Arg.	Habat El	The fruits are used as an anti-malarial treatment.	59,60,61
	(Euphorbiaceae)	Malook
14	Cucurbita maxima L.	Garah Aslai	The seeds are used as an anthelmintic and to treat skin
	(Cucurbitaceae)		diseases.
15	Cymbopogon commutatus
	(Poaceae)
16	Cymbopogon nervatus	Nal	Antispasmodic
	(Poaceae)
17	Cymbopogon proximus	Mahareb	The leaves are used to treat gout, renal colic, helminthiasis,	64,65
	(Hochst. ex A. Rich) Stapf.		and inflammation of the prostate.
	(Poaceae)
18	Grewia tenax ( Forssk.) Fiori.	Godeim	The fruits are used to treat malaria and iron deficiency	66
	(Tiliaceae)		anaemia.
19	Guiera senegalensis	Gubeish	The leaves are used as anti-hypertensive and anti-diabetic.	67,68,69
	J.F.Gmel. (Combretaceae)
20	Hibiscus sabdariffa L.	Karkade	The sepals are used as hot and cold beverages and to treat	70,71
	(Malvaceae)	Angara	hypertension, colds, and fever and with other plants to treat
			malaria.
21	Khaya senegalensis (Desr.)	Mahogny	The stem bark is used to treat malaria, hepatic inflammations	72,73
	A. Juss. (Meliaceae)		and enteriogasteritis. The leaves are used to treat skin
			diseases and trachoma.
22	Lawsonia inermis L.	Henna	The leaves are used as anti-pyretic, for treatment of urinary	74
	(Lytheraceae)		tract infections, skin diseases and alopecia.
23	Nauclia latifolia Sm.	Karmadoda	The roots are used for dysentery and as a tonic whereas the	75,76
	(Rubiaceae)		bark is used for abdominal colic.
24	Ocimum basilicum L.	Rehan	The leaves and stems are used in treatment of jaundice,	77
	(Lamiaceae).		ascitis, spasm, parturition pain and scorpion stings.
25	Phoenix dactylifera L.	Balah,	The fruits are used to treat constipation branchial asthma and	78
	(Palmae/Arecaceae)	Tamur	tonsillitis. The pollen grains are mixed with bee-honey and
			ginger to increase fertility.
26	Ricinus communis L.	Khirowi	The seed oil is used as a purgative and hair tonic and the whole	79,80
	(Euphorbiaceae)		seed is ingested as a contraceptive. The leaves are used as a
			poultice in treatment of abscesses.
27	Salvadora persica L.	Arak	The fruits are used to treat hypertension, stomach-pain and	81,82
	(Salvadoraceae)		wounds, whereas the leaf-fibers are used to treat eye-infection.
28	Senna alexandrina Mill.	Sena Maca	The fruits are used as laxative and to treat gastroenteritis.	83,84,85
	(Fabaceae, subfamily
	Caesalpinioideae)
29	Sesamum indicum L.	Simsim	The seed oil is used alone or in combination of other drugs to	86,87
	(Pedialiaceae)		treat tumours, skin diseases, alopecia, cough, colds,
			tonsillitis and fever.
30	Solanum nigrum L.	Inab Eldeeb	The fruits are used for gastroenteritis and colic pain.	88
	(Solanaceae)
31	Solenostemma argel (Del.)	Hargel	The leaves are used as an antispasmodic, carminative and as an	89,90
	Hayne (Asclepiadaceae)		anti-diabetic.
32	Tamarindus indica L.	Ardeb	The fruits are used in treatments of constipation, malaria and	91
	(Fabaceae, subfamily		jaundice.
	Caesalpinioideae)
33	Terminalia brownii Fresen.	Shaf	The stem and branch fumigants are used to treat rheumatic and
	(Combretaceae)		back pains.
34	Trigonella foenum-graceum	Hilba	The seeds are used as antidiarrheal, anti-spasmodic, anti-	92,93
	L. (Fabaceae, subfamily		amoeba dysentery and anti-diabetics. The seeds are also used
	Papilionoideae)		as a food additive and to increase secretion of lactating
			mothers and to facilitate expulsion of the placenta.

 

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