Agbeve Tonic

Nauclea consists of the dried transversely sliced and chopped roots of Nauclea latifolia. A straggling shrub or small tree, 2-3 m high; leaves elliptic or rounded-ovate, acuminate tip, cuneate, rounded or subcordate base, 10-20 cm long, 6-12 cm broad; pedicel 1-2cm long. Used in the treatment of diabetes. The root is febrifuge and tonic. The bark and roots of the plant contain more than 1% of an opioid that is clinically identical to the analgesic drug ‘tramadol’. It can be extracted in a cost-effective way to provide an economical source of this widely used analgesic. Extracts of the plant have exhibited activity against Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus (which are responsible for gastroenteritis in children)