Table 1.

Ethnomedicinal uses of Croton macrostachyus in tropical Africa.

Use	Plant parts used	Country practiced	References
Abdominal pain	Leaf juice or decoction taken orally	Ethiopia, Tanzania	[26, 27]
Abdominal pain	Bark decoction mixed with roots of Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich. taken orally	Ethiopia	[28]
Abortifacient	Seeds eaten	Ethiopia	[29, 30]
Allergies	Pounded leaves rubbed on affected body parts	Ethiopia	[20, 31]
Amoebiasis	Leaf decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[32]
Antidote for snake and scorpion venom	Bark, ground into powder and applied to affected body part	Ethiopia	[33]
Anthrax	Root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[34]
Ascariasis	Bark, leaf, or root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[35, 36]
Atopic eczema	Leaf decoction applied to affected body part	Ethiopia	[20]
Backache	Leaf and root decoction taken orally	Kenya	[37]
Bleeding or blood coagulant	Ashes, bark, and leaf juice applied on affected body part	Ethiopia, Kenya	[31, 32, 38, 39]
Bloat	Leaf juice taken orally	Ethiopia	[26]
Cancer	Leaf and root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia, Kenya	[37, 40]
Cleansing blood circulation system	Leaf decoction taken orally	Kenya	[41]
Cleansing digestive system	Leaf decoction taken orally	Kenya	[41]
Colds	Leaf decoction taken orally	Kenya	[41]
Constipation	Fruit, leaf, or root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia, Tanzania	[16, 30]
Cough	Leaf decoction taken orally	Kenya	[41]
Dandruff	Leaf fluid applied to the head	Ethiopia	[42]
Diabetes	Root decoction taken orally	Tanzania	[43]
Diarrhoea	Bark or leaf decoction taken orally	Ethiopia, Kenya	[44–47]
Diarrhoea	Leaf decoction mixed with Trichilia spp. and Rhamnus prinoides L'Hérit. taken orally	Ethiopia	[48]
Dry cough	Leaf or root decoction taken orally	Kenya	[37]
Dysentery	Leaf decoction mixed with Trichilia spp. and Rhamnus prinoides L'Hérit. taken orally	Ethiopia	[48]
Dysentery	Bark, leaf decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[45, 47, 49]
Dysmenorrhoea	Bark or leaf decoction taken orally	Kenya	[46]
East coast fever	Leaf and root decoction taken orally	Kenya	[37]
Eczema	Leaf decoction applied to affected body part as an ointment	Ethiopia	[17]
Epilepsy	Leaf decoction taken orally	Cameroon, Ethiopia	[36, 50]
Fungal skin infection	Leaf ointment used on affected body parts	Ethiopia	[17, 18, 20, 28, 31, 45, 47, 51]
Gonorrhoea	Bark, fruit, leaf, or root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[31, 34–36, 52, 53]
Gum ailment	Leaf decoction rubbed on gums	Ethiopia	[34]
Headache	Root decoction rubbed on affected part	Uganda	[54]
Hemorrhage	Leaf sap rubbed on affected part	Ethiopia	[34]
Hepatitis	Root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[36]
Insomnia	Leaf decoction taken orally	Cameroon	[50]
Jaundice	Leaf decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[28]
Leprosy	Sap applied on affected body part	Ethiopia	[55, 56]
Malaria	Bark, leaf, or root decoction taken orally or smoke from burnt leaves inhaled	Ethiopia, Kenya	[26, 28, 37, 44, 55–59]
Malaria	Leaf decoction mixed with Allium sativum L. bulb roasted with butter, allowed to brew overnight and taken orally	Ethiopia	[60, 61]
Measles	Fruit, leaf, or root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[55, 62]
Mosquito repellent	Smoke from burnt bark or leaves repel mosquitos	Ethiopia	[38]
Obesity	Leaf and root decoction taken orally	Kenya	[37]
Pneumonia	Bark, leaf, or root decoction taken orally	Cameroon, Kenya	[37, 63]
Protection against witchcraft	Whole plant	Uganda	[64]
Purgative	Fruit, leaf, root, or seed decoction taken orally	Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania	[16, 37, 65, 66]
Retained placenta	Leaf infusion taken orally	Ethiopia	[56]
Rheumatism	Leaf decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[31]
Ringworm	Bark, leaf decoction rubbed on affected body part	Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania	[27, 31, 38, 46, 60, 61, 67, 68]
Skin cancer	Leaf decoction applied on affected part	Ethiopia	[67]
Skin diseases	Leaf and root decoction applied on affected body parts	Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania	[27, 37, 55]
Skin diseases	Fruit decoction mixed with Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J. F. Gmel. applied on affected body parts	Ethiopia	[69]
Skin rash	Mixed with egg yolk and applied to the skin	Ethiopia	[42]
Snake bite	Root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[70]
Sorcery	Leaf and root decoction	Kenya	[37]
Stomach ache	Bark, leaf, or root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia, Uganda	[34, 45, 49, 67, 71]
Struck by lightning	Patient bathed with leaf, fruit, and root decoction	Uganda	[54]
Tape worms	Bark decoction mixed with stems of Glinus lotoides L. taken orally	Ethiopia	[17]
Tape worms	Leaf decoction mixed with Baccharoides calvoana subsp. meridonalis (Wild) Isawumi, El-Ghazaly & B. Nord, Vernonia auriculifera Hiern, and Salvia nilotica Juss. ex Jacq. taken orally	Rwanda	[72]
Tape worms	Bark decoction mixed with Morella salicifolia subsp. mildbraedii (Engl.) Verdc. & Polhill, Olea capensis subsp. macrocarpa (C. H. Wright) Verdc., and Elaeis guineensis Jacq. taken orally	Rwanda	[72]
Tape worms	Bark, fruit, leaf, root, or seeds decoction taken orally	Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda	[16, 29, 34, 35, 52, 55, 71, 73]
Typhoid	Bark, leaf, or root decoction taken orally	Cameroon, Kenya	[37, 62, 74]
Ulcers	Bark powder dressing	Ethiopia	[17]
Venereal diseases	Fruits and root decoction taken orally	Ethiopia	[29, 30]
Warts	Leaf and twig sap applied on affected body parts	Kenya	[68]
Weakness in pregnancy	Patient tie the waist with a tree branch	Uganda	[54]
Wounds	Bark, leaf, and twig sap applied directly on wounds	Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania	[20, 26, 27, 32, 45, 47, 55, 67, 68]
	Leaf sap mixed with coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) milk and applied on wounds	Ethiopia	[44]
	Leaf decoction mixed with Cynoglossum lanceolatum Forssk. and Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustifolia (L. f.) J. G. West applied on wounds	Ethiopia	[17]
Ethnoveterinary medicine
Abdominal pain	Bark decoction	Ethiopia	[75, 76]
Blackleg	Leaf decoction	Ethiopia	[44, 77]
Bleeding	Leaf decoction	Ethiopia	[21]
Bloat	Bark, leaf or twig decoction	Ethiopia	[48, 75, 76, 78]
Colic	Bark decoction	Ethiopia	[75, 76]
Constipation	Leaf decoction	Ethiopia	[77]
Dermatophilosis	Leaf decoction	Ethiopia	[21]
Epilepsy in cattle	Leaf decoction	Ethiopia	[36]
External parasites	Leaf decoction mixed with Trichilia spp. and Rhamnus prinoides L'Hérit. applied topically	Ethiopia	[48]
Fever in cows	Bark, leaf decoction	Kenya	[46]
Mange	Leaf decoction	Ethiopia	[21]
Rabies	Bark decoction mixed with leaves of Juniperus procera Endl., stems of Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter, and roots of Cyphostemma cyphopetalum (Fresen.) Desc. ex Wild & Drummond, Solanum anguivi Lam., and Solanum marginatum L.	Ethiopia	[17]
Rabies	Root and stem bark, chewing and swallowing the juice three times a day	Ethiopia	[23, 35, 38, 48]
Rectum prolapse	Root decoction	Ethiopia	[48]
Ringworm	Leaf decoction applied directly	Ethiopia, Kenya	[21, 68, 78]
Scabies	Leaf decoction	Ethiopia	[21]
Skin diseases (dermatophilosis)	Root decoction	Ethiopia	[48]
Streptothricosis	Leaves pounded and applied on skin surface	Ethiopia	[26]
Swelling of nose in mule	Leaf decoction	Ethiopia	[36]
Tick prevention and control	Bark, leaf, or root decoction used	Kenya	[79]
Warts	Sap applied directly	Kenya	[68]
Wound	Leaf decoction applied directly	Ethiopia, Kenya	[21, 68]
Other uses
Beehives		Kenya, Tanzania	[16, 57]
Firewood		Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda	[16, 40, 80]
Fodder		Uganda	[80]
Pesticide	Leaves mixed with Nicotiana tabacuum L. used as pesticide for maize stalk borers and aphids	Kenya	[57]
Shade		Uganda	[80]
Source of nectar		Kenya	[81]
Water pots, wood carving, tool handles, timber, stools		Cameroon, Ethiopia, Tanzania	[16, 40, 63, 65]