Ointment from star apple seeds treats wound, skin infections

By Sade Oguntola - updated: Thursday 09-04-2009

African star appleA common snack many children and adults now like to consume is the star apple. It is a large berry containing 4-5 flattened seeds or some times fewer due to seed abortion. As a fruit in season, it is on display in trays for people to buy. After consuming its pulp, the seeds is either thrown away or used for local games.

The star apple, popularly referred in Yorubaland as agbalumo, is primarily a forest tree species and is found in diverse ecological zones in Nigeria, Uganda, Niger Republic, Cameroun and Cote d’Ivoire. The plant often grows to a height of 36.5 metres though it may be smaller. The plant is a crop of commercial value in Nigeria.

However, there is more to the goodness of star apple than just eating its fleshy pulp. The seeds usually thrown away are a store for several medications that are used for several ailments in the local community for wound dressing and even in the treatment of diseases such as diabetes.

Researchers have found that oils from several plant sources can serve as ointment for maintenance of the skin and management of wounds. In addition to the usual palm kernel oil that many use for treating boils, oils from the seeds of star apple can serve as alternative sources of ointment for treatment of wounds and for skin care.
Quite a large body of evidence suggests that many oils from many plants can be effective to ensure a diseases-free skin as well as to treat wounds. Oils extracted from star apple seeds is no exemption either.

Its assessment on disease causing germs by researchers from the Department of Microbiology, Abia State University, Uturu, Abia State, corroborated the benefit of using oils derived from the seed to ensure a healthy skin.

The study was entitled “The antimicrobial effect of oils from Pentaclethramacrophylla Bent, Chrysophyllum albidum and Persea gratissima on some local clinical bacteria isolates” and recently published in the latest edition of African Journal of Biotechnology.

The findings of Dr. O. C. Ugbogu and Dr. A. R. Akukwe, who carried out the study, was that oil extracted from star apple seeds was able to help slow down the growth rate of many germs that may make a wound difficult to heal. In addition, the use of it did not result to the development of resistance organisms.

Even in comparison with oils extracted from plants like African oil bean seed (Pentaclethra macrophylla) and avocado pear (Persea grattisima), the researchers found it was the most effective.
The African oil bean seed is fermented and consumed especially in Eastern states of Nigeria. Its fermented product, “Ugba”, is used as a food supplement and is consumed alone, mixed with other food ingredients or as a condiment in soups and salads.
The fleshy pulp of the star apple is an excellent source of vitamins, iron and flavours to diets. The roots and leaves are also used for medicinal purposes.

Researchers from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, who assessed its antimicrobial property, declared the oil as effective in the treatment of vaginal and skin infections.

Written in Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine, which was published five years ago, they said its effectiveness in the treatment of vaginal and skin infections is due to such chemical substances as eleagnine and skatole. Eleagnine was especially effective against Candida albicans that cause thrush in women and children.

The African star apple fruit has been found to have highest content of ascorbic acid, about 100 times that of oranges and 10 times of that of guava or cashew.

Researchers from the Departments of Biochemistry and Physiology at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, have substantiated the potential benefit of the use of the seeds in the treatment of diabetes, The potential benefit of the ethanolic extract as an alternative medicine in the treatment of diabetes mellitus was tested in diabetic rats to justify its popular use. Thirty albino rats were used for the study. The rats were divided into six groups, each group consisting of five animals.

The crude extract was dissolved in corn oil before administration to the rats twice daily (morning and evening) for a period of seven days. Results showed that the daily treatment of diabetic rats with ethanolic extract of star apple seed cotyledon twice daily for seven days at between 100 and 200 mg kg orally significantly decreased the blood glucose levels by 11.92 and 12.10 per cent, respectively in the treated induced diabetic rats compared to the diabetic control rats. The more the amount of extract, the more its effect in decreasing the cholesterol blood level, they wrote in 2008 edition of Research Journal of Applied Sciences. Nonetheless, the anti-diabetic effect of the extract was not found to be dose dependent.

The high ascorbic acid content of star apple increases its antioxidant properties, thereby reducing oxidative stress, which experts suggested might account for why some people develop diabetes mellitus.

The fact that extracts of star apple seed helped to lower blood cholesterol level, they said, might be because the seeds have a large concentration of unsaturated fatty acid, which amount to approximately 74 per cent of the total fatty acid.

However, further studies, they said, has to be done to investigate the active compounds, toxicity and possible means by which extract of this plant helps to control sugar and cholesterol level of the blood.