Pepperfruit : its benefits

Scientific Name : Dennettia tripetala

Family : Annonaceae

Description :  Pepper fruit tree, is a well-known Nigerian spicy medicinal plant. It is an indigenous

medium sized or small woody shrub. It is commonly found in the rain-forest and occasionally in the savanna. The tree grows up to 12m-15m in height and 0.6m in girth, with a dense compact crown. The wood is soft, white coloured and prone to termite attack. It has a fibrous bark which has a strong

scent. The leaves are 3 – 6 inches long by 1.5–2.5 inches broad, elliptic to ovate, shortly acuminate broadly connate to rounded at the base. The flowers are light brown outside, reddish inside and usually in small clusters on the young or older wood. The fruits are green at first but eventually turns reddish pink when ripe with finger-like carpel constricted between the seeds.The wood is white

and soft which yields a good fuel wood. It is a pungent, pepperish, spicy medicinal plant that is characterised by greenish appearance when unripe but tends to be reddish or pinkish in colour when ripe. Pepper fruit tree thrives mainly in the Savannah and rainforest zones while the fruit usually ripens between April and May.

Benefits:  Pepper fruit seeds are essential for preparing food for newborn mothers immediately after childbirth as the spice aids uterus contraction. Pepper fruit can be used together with, piper guinense, utazi for hot soup preparations for new mothers. The fruit reduces the risk of blindness caused

by glaucoma. Edible mature pepper fruit is mostly chewed raw but can also be used for food preparations and for preparing herbal medicines. Both the fruits, leaves, roots and barks of the Dennettia tripetala plant are distinguished by their strong pungent, spicy and pepperish taste, fragrance and aroma (Achinewhu et al, 1995). Both the fruits, leaves and roots of the pepper fruit are useful for medicinal purposes Iwu (1989). Moreover, Egharevba et.al. (2015) also support that this fruit is effective for ethnomedical (traditional medical) purposes. Pepper fruit contains both volatile and essential oils. The taste, aroma and pungency of this fruit are as a result of its constituent of volatile and essential (oleoresins) oils.

This peppery taste tends to stimulate people when they chew it. The leaves, fruits and roots of the pepper fruit can be used for producing herbal medicines for treating gastrointestinal diseases such as stomach upset, diarrhoea, vomiting and worm infestation.