Edible Parts: Oil  Seed  Seedpod
Edible Uses: Oil  Salt

Seeds - boiled or roasted[46 , 299 , 418 ]. They can be ground into a flour and used in making bread[46 ]. The pods are 40 - 50cm long and 5 - 10cm wide, containing 6 - 10 flat, glossy brown seeds up to 7cm long[414 , 418 ]. The seeds are fermented to produce 'ugba'[299 ]. They are boiled for 3 - 12 hours; then the seedcoat is removed. When the cotyledons are cooled to room temperature they are sliced into small pieces of 4 - 5 cm × 1 - 2 mm and washed with water. The slices are boiled for 1 - 2 hours, cooled and soaked in water for 10 hours[299 ]. Then the slices are drained in a basket lined with banana leaves[299 ]. The drained slices are wrapped in blanched leaves of banana or Mallotus oppositifolius and incubated at ambient temperature for 4 - 6 days when prepared for use as a snack or sidedish, or for 7 - 10 days when prepared as a condiment for soups[299 ]. The fermentation is proteolytic and proceeds under alkaline conditions. It is caused mainly by Bacillus subtilis, but other Bacillus spp. are also involved, while other bacteria may be present as contaminants[299 ]. The seeds contain 30 - 36% of an edible oil[317 ]. They are used for the production of 'owala-oil', or 'owala-butter' which is used in food[317 ]. The ash of the seedpods is used as a salt substitute[414 ].

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Abortifacient  Analgesic  Anthelmintic  Antidiarrhoeal  Antiinflammatory  Dysentery  Laxative  Skin


Extracts of the leaf, stembark, seed and fruit pulp have anti-inflammatory and anthelmintic activity, and are used to treat gonorrhoea and convulsions, and also used as analgesic[299 ]. The crushed seeds are taken to acquire an abortion[418 ]. Leaf and stem decoctions are taken against diarrhoea[418 ]. A lotion made from the bark is used as a wash on sores[46 ]. The ripe fruits are applied externally to heal wounds[299 ]. The root bark is used as a laxative, as an enema against dysentery and as a liniment against itch[299 ]. An infusion of the bark is used as an abortifacient[299 ].

Beads  Charcoal  Fencing  Fuel  Lighting  Mordant  Mulch  Oil  Soap making  Soil conditioner  Wood

Agroforestry Uses: Farmers protect this species on farms because of its open crown form that allows substantial light and does not inhibit crop plants grown under its canopy[418 ]. This accounts for the trees use in combination with food crops on farms and particularly in home gardens in south east Nigeria[418 ]. The tree produces a heavy leaf fall and these are used as a mulch[414 ]. Other Uses: The seeds contain 30 - 36% oil[317 ]. They are used for the production of 'owala-oil', or 'owala-butter' which is used in soap and candle production[317 ]. The dried pods are used as fuel[418 ]. The ashes of burnt pods are used as a mordant[303 , 414 ]. The seeds are decorative and are used as beads in necklaces and rosaries[303 ]. The heartwood is reddish brown and not always distinctly demarcated from the whitish or grey sapwood[299 ]. The wood is hard, the grain interlocked and difficult to work[46 , 299 ]. Wood of suitable size can be difficult to find but, when available, it is used for turnery, wheelwright's work, fencing, railway sleepers and general carpentry[46 , 299 ]. Traditionally, it is used to make pestles and mortars[299 ]. The wood is used as firewood and charcoal[418 ]. Pentaclethra macrophylla nodulates and fixes atmospheric nitrogen.

Special Uses

Carbon Farming  Coppice  Food Forest  Nitrogen Fixer