Prunus africanum (pygeum) in an arboretum in Uganda
Prunus africanum Summary
- Prunus africanum or pygeum is an endangered species of tree that used to grow across central Africa.
- The bark is used to treat people with benign prostatic hyperplasia, but there are many effective, sustainable alternatives readily available, most notably Serenoa repens (saw palmetto), Urtica dioica (nettle) root, and Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin) seed.
- The people who harvest pygeum are paid a pittance for their work while depleting wild stocks of the tree; profits flow to corporations in Europe and the United States instead.
- The long-term solution to the current exploitative, colonialist system is to support local, cooperative cultivation of the trees (which exists on a very small scale) and development of African extraction facilities not owned by European and American interests (which doesn't exist).
Pygeum: The Endangered African Plum
Pygeum originally grew in relatively isolated, dispersed clusters in mountainous forests across sub-Saharan Africa (Cunningham and Mbenkum 1993). It was relatively rare and scattered in southern Africa, becoming somewhat more common in eastern Africa, and formerly in large, healthy stands in western Africa. But then commercial exploitation of pygeum commenced in 1972, and wild populations rapidly declined (Cunningham 2005). The bark is used principally to make extracts used to treat patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. It takes 15 years for a tree to become sufficiently mature to harvest bark. Harvesting the bark on the main stem is severely damaging to the trees.
In recognition of the rapid decline of the species due to unregulated trade in its bark, the tree was listed in appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1994. This required import and export licenses to trade in the species. Wild harvests did fall some from their highs in the early 1990s, it is clear that levels of export today are still unsustainable.
In recognition of the rapid decline of the species due to unregulated trade in its bark, the tree was listed in appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1994. This required import and export licenses to trade in the species. Wild harvests did fall some from their highs in the early 1990s, it is clear that levels of export today are still unsustainable.
Table 1. Exports of Wild Pygeum Bark from Cameroon
Year |
Bark Exports (kg) |
1976 |
10,000–50,000 |
late 1980s (per year) |
1,500,000 |
early 1990s (per year) |
2,000,000 |
1990–1991 |
3,900,000 |
2002 |
218,000 |
2005 |
1,810,000 |
2006 |
1,293,000 |
Table citations: Cunningham, et al. 1997; Cunningham and Mbenkum 1993
References
Cunningham AB (2005) CITES Significant Trade Review of Prunus africana Pp. 3-30 in Review of Significant Trade in specimens of Appendix-II species. Sixteenth meeting of the Plants Committee, Lima (Peru), 3-8 July 2006. [accessed 25 May 2020]
Cunningham AB, Mbenkum FT (1993) Sustainability of harvesting Prunus africana in Cameroon: A medicinal plant in international trade. People and Plants working paper 2. Paris, France: UNESCO.
Cunningham M, Cunningham AB, Schippmann U (1997) Trade in Prunus africana and the implementation of CITES. Bonn, Germany: German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. 52 pages.
Cunningham AB, Mbenkum FT (1993) Sustainability of harvesting Prunus africana in Cameroon: A medicinal plant in international trade. People and Plants working paper 2. Paris, France: UNESCO.
Cunningham M, Cunningham AB, Schippmann U (1997) Trade in Prunus africana and the implementation of CITES. Bonn, Germany: German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. 52 pages.