BOTANICAL RECORD
Morinda lucida Benth.
Brimstone tree · Morinda lucida · Rubiaceae
Uses & extracts
Probable identification from photographs: small lobed multiple fruit with circular marks, a long peduncle and simple elliptic leaves with entire margins. JB reports a diameter of 1.5 cm. No independent examination; similar species remain to be excluded.
Precautions
Reproductive-toxicity signal
Animal study
- In male rats, repeated leaf-extract dosing reduced sperm quality and fertility; recovery was observed after withdrawal. Human risk is unquantified. This does not support recommending any homemade medicinal dose.
- Plant part
- Leaf extract
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Moderate
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
Natural pigments
Literature synthesis
- Anthraquinones in wood and bark contribute to yellow-to-red colours.
No chemical analysis of the Odo tree; no measured extraction yield.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: High
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
Kobene: Asante mourning red
Traditional account
- Root bark: red dye for Asante kobene mourning cloths. Use in West African indigo vats is also reported. Busua practice is unverified.
- Plant part
- Root bark
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: High
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
Community, language or informant : Asante
Use for fevers: reported tradition
Traditional account
- The Nigerian study describes traditional use of leaves and bark against malaria. This regional account does not document an Odo practice or validate a treatment.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: High
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
Geographic origin : Southwestern Nigeria
Malaria: mouse-study findings
Animal study
- Leaf and bark extracts reduced parasitaemia in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. The chloroquine control was more active. This model establishes neither human clinical efficacy nor a safe dose.
Does not replace medical diagnosis and treatment of malaria.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Moderate
Claimed effect: Preclinical only
Blood vessels: an isolated-tissue experiment
Laboratory study
- An aqueous extract relaxed rat aortic rings in the laboratory. This ex vivo result does not validate a human hypertension treatment.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Moderate
Claimed effect: Ex vivo; clinical benefit unestablished
Record sources 6
Sources and origins
Antispermatogenic activity of Morinda lucida extract in male rats
- Author or institution
- Y. Raji, O. S. Akinsomisoye & T. M. Salman
- Publication year
- 2005
- Source link
- View source ↗
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1745-7262.2005.00051.x
- Type
- Rat reproductive-toxicology study
- Page, table or passage
- Abstract: sperm, histology and fertility
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Experimental animal signal; magnitude of human risk and a safe human dose are undetermined.
Morinda lucida Benth. — Plants of the World Online
- Author or institution
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- Publication year
- Continuously updated database
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Institutional taxonomic reference
- Page, table or passage
- Accepted name; native range; biome
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Species-level data; does not identify the Odo tree.
Antiplasmodial activity of Morinda lucida Benth. leaf and bark extracts against Plasmodium berghei infected mice
- Author or institution
- O. S. Oladeji, A. P. Oluyori & A. O. Dada
- Publication year
- 2022
- Source link
- View source ↗
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.12.017
- Type
- Experimental mouse study
- Page, table or passage
- Methods and results
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Small animal groups; experimental extracts and doses. Neither a clinical trial nor a human dosage recommendation.
JB — Odo Valley tree, photographs and fruit diameter
- Author or institution
- JB
- Publication year
- 2026
- Type
- Reported observations and supplied photographs
- Geographic origin
- Odo Valley · Busua · Ghana
- Page, table or passage
- IMG_AC083B72-8D08-4177-B334-C626071B5908.jpeg ; IMG_ACC2EFB4-C307-4EE6-BA04-F473916A65B5.jpeg
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Provenance and context
- Photographs supplied and fruit reported as 1.5 cm in the exchange of 20 September 2026. The initial Google Lens suggestion is a lead, not a botanical determination.
Photo capture date unknown. Reported measurement, not independently checked.
Morinda lucida — PROTA
- Author or institution
- C. Zimudzi & D. Cardon
- Publication year
- 2005
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Botanical and ethnobotanical monograph
- Page, table or passage
- Description; uses; properties; management
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Historical synthesis; regional traditions not verified in Busua. Medicinal use does not establish clinical efficacy.
Morinda lucida — relaxation of rat aortic rings
- Author or institution
- R. R. Ettarh et al.
- Publication year
- 2004
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Isolated animal-tissue study
- Page, table or passage
- Abstract: ex vivo experiment
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Ex vivo result; this study does not establish clinical efficacy against hypertension.