The Herb God of Gods.

The Herb God of Gods.

Mulungu (Erythrina mulungu, E. spp) is a leguminous tree from several species in of trees in trade for medicinal use from the Erythrina genus. The common name “Mulungu” is an early Bantu name referring to the highest ‘God of gods’. Mulungu (E. mulungu) is native to Brasil in the cerrado and caatinga ecosystems.

The Erythrina genus has many medicinal species distributed through the world, especially Brazil and Africa, and is known to contain a range of medicinal compounds including pterocarpans (isoflavonoids), alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, triterpenes, saponins, gallic and caffeic acids. Generally, Mulungu is known to be used in traditional medicine to calm the central nervous system, as well as for insomnia and depression. 

E. mulungu is regarded by several indigenous tribes of Brazil as one of the primary hypnotic plants, and this activity has been confirmed in scientific investigations with antidepressant, anxiolytic and anticonvulsant properties also found. 

Although the plant has been noted to have a large number of possibly active alkaloids, two have been brough forward as being the compounds of interest for their abilty to elict antiepileptic and anxiolytic effects: (+)-erythravine and (+)-11-α-hydroxy-erythravine alkaloids. 

In clinical studies, E. mulungu has shown mixed results. One study compared Passiflora, Mulungu (E. mulungu) and placebo on their effects on anxiety of level of patients undergoing oral surgery, finding no benefit for Mulungu. However, another study found Mulungu to exert an anxiolytic effect for patients undergoing oral surgery without significant changes to physiological parameters (blood pressure, oxygen saturation and heart rate). 

#biodiversity #medicinalplants #ethnobotany #brazil #anticonvulsant #mulungu 

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