''Rinorea dentata'', commonly known as kuntze, is a species of
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
in the family
Violaceae
Violaceae is a family of flowering plants established in 1802, consisting of about 1000 species in about 25 genera. It takes its name from the genus ''Viola'', the violets and pansies.
Older classifications such as the Cronquist system placed t ...
. It is found in the tropical rainforests of
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
. It is particularly common in the
Omo Forest Reserve
Omo Forest Reserve is a preserved area of tropical rainforest in the Nigerian state of Ogun, in the south-west part of the country. It is located about northeast of Lagos and east of Ijebu Ode. This nature reserve covers an area of . The averag ...
in
Ogun State
Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...
, Nigeria.
Description
''Rinorea dentata'' is a large shrub or small tree growing up to high. It is an understorey tree growing in dense, shady locations in forests. The trunk is very hard, earning the plant the name “Oloboroho” (stone plant) in the
Yoruba language
Yoruba (, ; Yor. '; Ajami script, Ajami: ) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern Middle Belt, and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the Ethnic group, ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speake ...
.
[
]
Uses
The wood of this plant is used as a chewing stick for oral hygiene, and extracts have been used for anti-microbial and anti-malaria purposes as a folk remedy in humans, and as a veterinary remedy for aiding parturition in livestock. Researchers found that the plant contained novel cyclotide
In biochemistry, cyclotides are small, disulfide-rich peptides isolated from plants. Typically containing 28-37 amino acids, they are characterized by their head-to-tail cyclised peptide backbone and the interlocking arrangement of their three ...
s, but further research is needed on the efficacy of these extracts.[
]
References
dentata
{{Violaceae-stub