garcinia kola

**Garcinia kola** is a plant native to West and Central Africa, most commonly used in traditional medicine. It is not a synthesized pharmaceutical drug but a natural product, with seeds and other parts consumed for their medicinal effects. The primary bioactive compounds found in garcinia kola include biflavonoids such as kolaviron, benzophenones (kolanone, garcinol), vitamin E derivatives (garcinoic acid, garcinal), xanthones, and phytosterols. *Kolaviron* is widely regarded as the most studied and potentially active principle in the seeds, with diverse pharmacological effects including analgesic, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, and antioxidant activities, although robust human clinical trials are lacking[1][7][4][3]. The mechanisms are largely attributed to antioxidant enzyme induction, free radical scavenging, and modulation of multiple signaling pathways, but precise molecular targets remain undetermined. Garcinol may represent another promising compound, especially for anticancer and neuroprotective indications[1]. Garcinia kola is not developed or marketed by pharmaceutical companies and its medicinal use is primarily ethnobotanical[1][4][7].

Other names

bitter kolaGarcinia kola Heckel