A savanna shrub whose root is widely known in Nigerian traditional medicine for its reputed effect on male vigour and libido.
Fadogia agrestis (family Rubiaceae, the coffee family) is a woody herb or shrub with many stems rising from a woody base. It grows in savanna woodland and meadows from Mali to northern and southern Nigeria and on to Sudan. Records compiled by PROTA4U list many medicinal uses. The root is used for diarrhoea and dysentery, stomach troubles, pain and venereal diseases, and in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso a root decoction is taken generally for diarrhoea and stomach-ache. The rootstock is recorded as a genital stimulant. The leafy twigs are used for kidney complaints, as a diuretic, and for malnutrition and weakness. In Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso it is known by many local names, among them abunare in Brong, furo saba in Dyula and nagbitenga in Moore.
Sources: PROTA4U database (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), which compiles records from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de Genève, FAO EcoCrop and other botanical databases.
Root preparations are used across West Africa, particularly Nigeria, for fertility and libido; also studied for antimicrobial activity, alongside safety concerns at high doses.
A shrub of savanna woodland.