Croton mubango — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Bark

The bark of young twigs is used as a flavouring.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant.

Africa, Angola, Central Africa, Congo DR,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A tropical shrub or small tree in the Euphorbiaceae family.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seed.

Medicinal Uses

A decoction of the bark is taken to treat gastritis and painful periods. Combined with the seeds of Monodora myristica, the bark is eaten to treat abdominal pain and expel intestinal worms. The powdered bark in palm wine is taken to treat oedema. The bark pulp is rubbed onto the gums and teeth to treat toothache, and is also applied to haemorrhoids, hernias, skin eruptions and painful joints. The body is rubbed with a bark maceration as a tonic. Young fruits soaked in palm wine are taken as a laxative. A decoction of the root, combined with the roots of Mundondo (Chlorocodon spp.) and Tylopliora conspicua, is used as a drastic purgative. The powdered root, or a root maceration, is taken to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. The leaves are eaten to ease pain. A leaf infusion is used as a body wash to treat fever. A stem bark decoction is taken to treat abdominal pain, fevers, enlarged spleen and tuberculosis. When mixed with the leaves or stems of Mobiro (Adoiia lobata), it is an excellent anthelmintic remedy. Preliminary screening showed the presence of flavonoids, sterols, triterpenes, saponins and reducing sugars. Stem bark extracts showed weak antibacterial and anti-amoebic activities in vitro. Methanolic, dichloromethane and aqueous stem bark extracts showed antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. At a daily oral dose of 200 mg/kg, the dichloromethane extract, the petroleum-ether, chloroform, ethyl-acetate and residual water-soluble fractions showed antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium berghei. In-vitro antibacterial screening of the stem bark extract showed no activity against enteropathogens.

Other Uses

The white wood is hard and firm, but cracks easily. No uses are recorded for it. The scented flowers are very attractive to bees.

Notes

There are about 750 Croton species. The leaves are used in medicine.

Names & Synonyms

Mubango mbango, Nbangu nbangu, Saku

References (5)

Latham, P., 2004, Useful Plants of Bas-Congo province. Salvation Army & DFID p 99
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 191
Okigbo, B.N., Vegetables in Tropical Africa, in Opena, R.T. & Kyomo, M.L., 1990, Vegetable Research and development in SADCC countries. Asian Vegetable Research and development Centre. Taiwan. p 38
Schmelzer, G.H., 2007. Croton mubango Müll.Arg. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 15 October 2009.
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew