Cola acuminata also known as the bissy nut extract was originally endemic to Africa but is now present in a number of tropical countries including Jamaica. Despite its rich history of ethnomedicinal use and promising bioactivity, there still exists limited research on this plant. Exploring and compiling the ethnomedicinal usage, identified bioactivities and isolates of C. acuminata will prove useful in steering future directional research with the hope of reaping the plant’s full beneficial properties. The plant’s traditional use encompass; cancer treatment, an antidote for poisoning, suppressing one’s appetite, increasing alertness, treating migraine and motion sickness, obtaining a state of euphoria in addition to being used in certain traditional practices. Because of the plant’s copious ethnomedicinal use, researchers were led to believe that the low incidence of prostate cancer evidenced amongst Asians could be as a result of phytochemicals present in the bissy nut. Research conducted in our lab confirmed the anti-cancer potential of the plant and recent research has identified a number of secondary metabolites present in C. acuminata which could be responsible for the observed bioactivities. The plant has also shown promise as an anti-microbial agent. This paper confirms the efficacy of the bissy nut plant both as an ethnomedicine as well as warranting further research that may prove useful both in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.
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