Voacanga africana 25 grams: dried root bark
Voacanga africana is a small tree, usually three to four metres tall, with pale brown bark and glossy, opposite leaves that can reach some thirty centimetres. Around February to April it produces strongly scented white to yellow flowers, followed by fruits filled with many small brown seeds. The botanist Otto Stapf described the species in 1894; it belongs to the dogbane family. Its range runs through tropical Africa, with West Africa, Congo and Tanzania as the main areas.
The bag holds 25 grams of broken root bark: pale brown, curled pieces that are clearly recognisable as bark. The whole plant is rich in alkaloids, but the distribution differs sharply between its parts. Root bark holds by far the most at 5 to 10 percent, against 4 to 5 percent in the stem bark, around 1.5 percent in the seeds and 0.3 to 0.45 percent in the leaves. Voacamine is the principal alkaloid; voacangine, voacangarine, voacorine, vobtusine and tabersonine have also been described. Voacangine is chemically related to ibogaine and is used in laboratories as a starting material for its semi-synthesis.
Traditional use and preparation
In West Africa healers long used the bark as a stimulant, and hunters carried the root on long expeditions; the seeds had a role in ritual. Little has been recorded about the exact preparations, since that knowledge stayed inside the practitioners' own circles. Literature on traditional use mentions an infusion made from roughly 10 to 15 grams of root bark or powder with hot water poured over it. Given the high alkaloid content that is a generous amount: start small, take your time and do not combine it with anything else.
Storage and points to note
Keep the bag well sealed in a cool, dry and dark place, out of reach of children. This product is meant for adults. Do not use it during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and consult your doctor if you take medication or have any heart or circulatory condition. The bark is sold as a botanical product, not as a medicine, and how you use it remains your own responsibility.
Avalon Magic Plants also stocks Voacanga africana seeds in 10 gram packs. Harvesting seed leaves the tree standing, which makes it a more sustainable option than bark or root; between 2005 and 2013 Ghana shipped an average of more than 600 tonnes of these seeds a year. The same category also holds Sutherlandia frutescens, Gotu Kola and Acorus calamus. Every order leaves in discreet packaging.
