''Combretum micranthum'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Combretaceae The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, G ...

. It is a shrub known as kinkeliba in

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and the

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

across multiple regional dialects, where it is often found in

tiger bush Tiger bush, or brousse tigrée in the French language, is a patterned vegetation community and ground consisting of alternating bands of trees, shrubs, or grass separated by bare ground or low herb cover, that run roughly parallel to conto ...

and on hills in West Africa. It is used for making tea and has uses in traditional medicine, and is used by many West African Muslims during Ramadan to break their fast. The name kinkeliba is believed to come from the

Fulani language Fula ( ),Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani ( ) or Fulah (, , ; Adlam: , , ; Ajami: , , ), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 36.8 million people as a set of various diale ...

. It is referred to as ''sekhew'' in the

Wolof language Wolof ( ; , ) is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Wolof people in much of the West African subregion of Senegambia that is split between the countries of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, ...

and ŋɔlɔbɛ in the

Bambara language Bambara, also known as Bamana (N'Ko script: ) or Bamanankan (N'Ko script: ; Arabic script: ), is a lingua franca and national language of Mali spoken by perhaps 14 million people, natively by 4.2 million Bambara people and about 10 million ...

Uses

It is used traditionally in Senegal and Mali for fatigue, liver ailments, headache, convalescence, blood disease, weight loss, cancer, sleep problems, and its especially used for fasting by Mourides in Senegal. It is one of the plants of power in Nigerian medicine and is used to treat liver disorders, especially in Senegal and Mali. Kinkeliba means the "health tree" and the French import kinkeliba and call it "tisane de longue vie" or infusion of long life. *The

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

es are quite strong, and are a useful material for building stools, beds, tool handles, etc. *A

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

made by steeping the

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

in boiling

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

is a traditional tonic drink in tropical savannah countries such as Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso. It is believed to be an aid to weight loss and have detoxifying properties. *Among West African Muslims, especially Wolofs, Fulas, and Mandinkas, the leaves, bark, and twigs of Kinkeliba are harvested and sold in bundles during the dry season leading up to and during the month of Ramadan. *Kinkiliba is used daily to brew a strong tea that is mixed with sugar and milk and is drunk with bread at sundown as a means of breaking the daily fast. Kinkiliba is used specifically for this purpose because of its sweet flavor and because it is believed to be an appetite stimulant, as those who have been fasting want to be able to enjoy as much rich food as possible in the evening after eating nothing from sunrise to sunset. *In

, a

decoction Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal medicine systems. D ...

of the leaves is used as a

medication Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to medical diagnosis, diagnose, cure, treat, or preventive medicine, prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmaco ...

for

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

Pharmacological effects

The leaves extract of the plants have been demonstrated to contain a range of polyphenol compounds. These compounds are known for antioxidant activities and have shown potential for the prevention of diabetes. The whole plant is variously used to treat diseases like viral hepatitis and others. In particular, kinkeliba is able to increase urinary secretion and facilitate the evacuation of bile. Almost specific, against hematuric bilous fever. Kinkeliba can be used as a fluid extract for jaundice and gallstones. Thus the wood and the leaves of kinkeliba are used against anemia, tonic, febrifuge due to drinking one liter per day for three days or more, depending on the severity. The leaves, the root and the stem are boiled in water for fifteen to twenty minutes and then left to infuse for a few minutes, adding sugar and milk as desired. It is possible to use a decoction of kinkeliba for cereal porridge for a sick person. Kinkeliba can replace coffee or tea at breakfast. It is also used in the treatment of constipation, stimulation of digestive function and appetite. Treatment of gallstones: stimulating action on biliary function. Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial: soothes people suffering from infectious diarrhea. Urinary disorders: promotes urinary excretion. Complement of weight loss diets.

References

2. Bobvalla Lesly, Cobra
Benefits of Kinkeliba and how to prepare it
(2021- 03- 01)

External links

''Combretum micranthum''
in Brunken, U., Schmidt, M., Dressler, S., Janssen, T., Thiombiano, A. & Zizka, G. 2008. West African plants - A Photo Guide. www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de. *Welch, Cara, et al. "Bioactive polyphenols in kinkéliba tea (Combretum micranthum) and their glucose-lowering activities." ''Journal of Food and Drug Analysis'' (2017). {{Taxonbar, from=Q1245859 micranthum Trees of Africa