Morinda lucida

Family

Rubiaceae

Synonyms

Vernacular names

Brimstone tree (En). Arbre à soufre, oruwo (Fr). Moindo (Po).

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Origin and geographic distribution

Morinda lucida occurs from Senegal to Sudan and southward to Angola and Zambia. It is sometimes planted around villages, e.g. in Benin.

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Uses

The wood of Morinda lucida yields yellow to red dyes. In Nigeria and Gabon the root bark is used to dye textiles into scarlet red. On occasions of national grief or the death of a chief, the Ashanti people of Ghana dye cotton cloths red with the root bark of Morinda lucida. These cloths, called ‘kobene’, are worn as mourning dress by official people and by the family of the deceased. The root is the most important traditional source of yellow dye for textiles in the Kasai Province of DR Congo. It can be used without a mordant. The root is also added to indigo vats in Côte d’Ivoire, to contribute both to the fermentation and reduction process necessary for dyeing with indigo and to get darker blues. In this process it is often combined with leafy twigs of Saba comorensis (Bojer) Pichon (synonym: Saba florida (Benth.) Bullock). In the region of Kasongo in north-eastern DR Congo, young leaves of Morinda lucida are combined with leaves of a Philenoptera species (a source of indigo) to obtain a pale green dye used in basket weaving. The bitter-tasting roots are used as flavouring for food and alcoholic beverages and in Nigeria they are popular as chewing sticks. The wood is excellent for making charcoal, but is also used for construction, mining props, furniture, canoes, poles and fuelwood. The leaves are used for cleaning and scouring, e.g. of calabashes. In West Africa Morinda lucida is an important plant in traditional medicine. Decoctions and infusions or plasters of root, bark and leaves are recognized remedies against different types of fever, including yellow fever, malaria, trypanosomiasis and feverish condition during childbirth. The plant is also employed in cases of diabetes, hypertension, cerebral congestion, dysentery, stomach-ache, ulcers, leprosy and gonorrhoea. In Nigeria Morinda lucida is one of the 4 most used traditional medicines against fever. In Côte d’Ivoire a bark or leaf decoction is applied against jaundice and in DR Congo it is combined with a dressing of powdered root bark against itch and ringworm.

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Production and international trade

In West Africa the roots of Morinda lucida are for sale in local shops and markets, both as dyestuff and medicine, but statistics on quantities involved are not available. Leaves and twigs are sold in markets as a medicinal tonic for young children.

Properties

From the wood and bark of Morinda lucida 18 anthraquinones have been isolated, including the red colorants 1-methylether-alizarin, rubiadin and derivatives, lucidin, soranjidiol, damnacanthal, nordamnacanthal, morindin, munjistin and purpuroxanthin. Two anthraquinols, oruwal and oruwalol, have also been found; these give a yellow colour and possibly are intermediates in the formation of anthraquinones. In addition to anthraquinones, tannins, flavonoids and saponosides have been isolated.
The wood is yellow (hence the name brimstone tree), darkening to yellow-brown in the sapwood and to dark brown in the heartwood. It is medium-weight and hard; it works and finishes well, and it is durable, being resistant to fungi, termites and other insects.
Tests with animals confirm the attributed activity of several traditional medicinal applications of Morinda lucida. Extracts showed anti-inflammatory, antifever and pain-reducing activity in tests with rats and promoted gastric emptying and intestinal motility. Leaf extracts showed in vitro antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum while in several other tests antidiabetic properties were confirmed. Inhibiting effects on cancer tumours in mice have also been reported. A leaf extract gave 100% mortality in the freshwater snail Bulinus globulus at a concentration of 100 ppm.

Description

Evergreen shrub or small to medium-sized tree up to 18(–25) m tall, with bole and branches often crooked or gnarled; bark smooth to roughly scaly, grey to brown, often with some distinct purple layers. Leaves opposite, simple and entire; stipules ovate or triangular, 1–7 mm long, falling early; petiole up to 1.5 cm long; blade elliptical, 6–18 cm × 2–9 cm, base rounded to cuneate, apex acute to acuminate, shiny above, sometimes finely pubescent when young, later only tufts of hairs in vein axils beneath and some hairs on the midrib. Inflorescence a stalked head 4–7 mm in diameter, 1–3 at the nodes opposite a single leaf; peduncle up to 8 cm long bearing at base a stalked cup-shaped gland. Flowers bisexual, regular, 5-merous, heterostylous, fragrant; calyx cup-shaped, c. 2 mm long, persistent; corolla salver-shaped, c. 1.5 cm long, white or greenish yellow, lobes ovate-lanceolate, up to 5 mm × 2.5 mm; ovary inferior, 2-celled, style 8–11 mm long with 2 stigma lobes 4–7 mm long; stamens 5, inserted in the corolla throat, with short filaments. Fruit a drupe, several together arranged into an almost globose succulent syncarp 1–2.5 cm in diameter, soft and black when mature; pyrene compressed ovoid, up to 6.5 mm × 4 mm, dark red-brown, very hard, 1-seeded. Seed ellipsoid, c. 3.5 mm × 2 mm × 0.5 mm, yellowish, soft.

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Other botanical information

Morinda comprises about 80 species and occurs throughout the tropics. In Africa 5 species are found. The comparatively small flowering and fruiting heads on long slender peduncles are distinctive characteristics of Morinda lucida. Other Morinda species also yield yellow and red dyes, but they usually have other more important uses. Many species, including those from Africa, are important medicinal plants, widely applied against various kinds of fevers and infections. The powerful dye from bark and roots of Morinda citrifolia L. is used where traditional textile dyeing is practised in Africa. The root bark of Morinda geminata DC. is used in Côte d’Ivoire to dye traditional cotton cloth bright orange-red and the bark is also added to indigo baths to promote fermentation and to produce darker blue colours. From the root bark of Morinda longiflora G.Don the red anthraquinone colorants 1-methylether-alizarin and rubiadin have been isolated and the leaves and roots of Morinda morindoides (Bak.) Milne-Redh. also contain anthraquinone compounds used for red colouring.

Growth and development

In Côte d’Ivoire flowering of Morinda lucida is from February to May, fruiting from April to June.

Ecology

Morinda lucida grows in grassland, exposed hillsides, thickets, forests, often on termite mounds, sometimes in areas which are regularly flooded, from sea-level up to 1300 m altitude.

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Management

The useful parts of Morinda lucida are mostly collected from wild plants. Only occasionally are plants grown in home gardens. Propagation is possible by seed and cuttings, but no details are known.

Handling after harvest

For dyeing, the root bark or leaves are used fresh, pounded or chopped. For red colours, the fibres to be dyed must first be mordanted with tannin-containing plants and alum. For red and yellow colours, the dye baths are prepared by boiling the root bark or leafy twigs in water for one or two hours before filtering and plunging the textiles into the coloured liquid and boiling it again until the desired shade is obtained.

Genetic resources and breeding

Morinda lucida is widespread in Africa and not in danger of genetic erosion. Germplasm collections are not known to exist.

Prospects

Morinda lucida is an interesting multipurpose species yielding dyes, timber, fuel and traditional medicines. For a reliable evaluation, however, more research is needed on its chemical composition and cultivation possibilities.

Major references

• Abbiw, D.K., 1990. Useful plants of Ghana: West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications, London and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 337 pp.
• Adesida, G.A. & Adesogan, E.K., 1972. Oruwal, a novel dihydroanthraquinone pigment from Morinda lucida Benth. Journal of the Chemical Society: Chemical Communications 1: 405–406.
• Burkill, H.M., 1997. The useful plants of West Tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. Volume 4, Families M–R. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 969 pp.
• Cardon, D., 2003. Le monde des teintures naturelles. Belin, Paris, France. 586 pp.
• Hepper, F.N. & Keay, R.W.J., 1963. Rubiaceae. In: Hepper, F.N. (Editor). Flora of West Tropical Africa. Volume 2. 2nd Edition. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom. pp. 104–223.
• Irvine, F.R., 1961. Woody plants of Ghana, with special reference to their uses. Oxford University Press, London, United Kingdom. 868 pp.
• Miège, J., 1992. Couleurs, teintures et plantes tinctoriales en Afrique occidentale. Bulletin du Centre Genevois d’Anthropologie 3: 115–131.
• Staner, P., 1936. Plantes congolaises à propriétés tinctoriales. In: Ceuterick, F. (Editor). Agricultura. Louvain, Belgium. 39 pp.
• Verdcourt, B., 1976. Rubiaceae (part 1). In: Polhill, R.M. (Editor). Flora of Tropical East Africa. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom. 414 pp.
• Verdcourt, B., 1989. Rubiaceae (Rubioideae). In: Launert, E. (Editor). Flora Zambesiaca. Volume 5, part 1. Flora Zambesiaca Managing Committee, London, United Kingdom. 210 pp.

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Other references

• Asuzu, I.U. & Chineme, C.N., 1990. Effects of Morinda lucida leaf extract on Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection in mice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 30(3): 307–313.
• Aubréville, A., 1950. Flore forestière soudano-guinéenne. Société d’Editions Géographiques, Maritimes et Coloniales, Paris, France. 533 pp.
• Awe, S.O. & Makinde, J.M., 1998. Evaluation of sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum to Morinda lucida leaf extract sample using rabbit in vitro microtest techniques. Indian Journal of Pharmacology 30(1): 51–53.
• Awe, S.O., Olajide, O.A., Adeboye, J.O. & Makinde, J.M., 1998. Some pharmacological studies on Morinda lucida. Indian Journal of Pharmacology 30(1): 38–42.
• Dalziel, J.M., 1937. The useful plants of West Tropical Africa. Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom. 612 pp.
• Koumaglo, K., Gbeassor, M., Nikabu, O., de Souza, C. & Werner, W., 1992. Effects of three compounds extracted from Morinda lucida on Plasmodium falciparum. Planta Medica 58(6): 533–534.
• Makinde, J.M. & Obih, P.O., 1985. Screening of Morinda lucida leaf extract for antimalarial action on Plasmodium berghei berghei in mice. African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences 14(1–2): 59–63.
• Neuwinger, H.D., 2000. African traditional medicine: a dictionary of plant use and applications. Medpharm Scientific, Stuttgart, Germany. 589 pp.
• Obih, P.O., Makinde, M. & Laoye, O.J., 1985. Investigations of various extracts of Morinda lucida for antimalarial actions on Plasmodium berghei berghei in mice. African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences 14(1–2): 45–49.
• Olajide, O.A., Awe, S.O. & Makinde, J.M., 1998. The effects of Morinda lucida Benth. (Rubiaceae) extract on the gastrointestinal tract of rodents. Phytotherapy Research 12: 439–441.

Afriref references

Sources of illustration

• Pauwels, L., 1993. Nzayilu N’ti: guide des arbres et arbustes de la région de Kinshasa Brazzaville. Scripta Botanica Belgica. Volume 4. Jardin botanique national de Belgique, Meise, Belgium. 495 pp.

Author(s)

•	C. Zimudzi Department of Biology, National University of Lesotho, P.O. Roma 180, Lesotho
•	D. Cardon CNRS, CIHAM-UMR 5648, 18, quai Claude-Bernard, 69365 Lyon, Cedex 07, France

Editors

•	P.C.M. Jansen PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands
•	D. Cardon CNRS, CIHAM-UMR 5648, 18, quai Claude-Bernard, 69365 Lyon, Cedex 07, France

General editors

•	R.H.M.J. Lemmens PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands
•	L.P.A. Oyen PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Photo editor

•	E. Boer PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Zimudzi, C. & Cardon, D., 2005. Morinda lucida Benth. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. Jansen, P.C.M. & Cardon, D. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>. Accessed .

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