Guilandina bonduc is a climbing plant with stems up to 15 metres long that are usually armed with robust prickles.
The plant is commonly used as a medicinal herb in the areas where it grows, being mainly harvested from the wild.
The seeds are often sold in local markets.
The plant is occasionally cultivated for its seed oil.

Known Hazards

The plant is believed to be poisonous in large doses.

Habitat

Thickets, roadsides, near seashores from near sea level to 200 metres in southern China.
Found in a variety of coastal habitats, including back mangal, but especially in disturbed sites, also inland chiefly in secondary forest up to 800 metres.

Cultivation Status

Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of lowland tropical areas.
Succeeds in any moderately fertile, well-drained soil.
Requires a position in full sun.
Bonduc nut can be found flowering and fruiting throughout the year.
The seeds float and retain their viability in both fresh and salt water for extended periods, which explains its presence in coastal areas throughout the tropics.
In tropical Africa the plant has become naturalized around inland villages, probably as a result of the seeds being transported for medicinal use and for use in popular board games.
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Edible Uses

The oil from the seeds is used for cooking.

Medicinal

Bonduc nut is considered to be an important herb in traditional medicine in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands, with broadly similar uses in each area.
Little research has been carried out into any active medical constituents, apart from the seed and roots, where several compounds have been identified.
The plant contains the febrifuge bonducine.
The seeds are antibacterial, anticancer, antifungal, antiviral, febrifuge, hypocholesterolemic, hypoglycaemic, mildly purgative, stomachic and tonic.
Bonducin, a bitter extract obtained in generous quantities from the seed cotyledons, is commonly known as ‘poor man’s quinine’ because it is used as a treatment for malaria.
The powdered kernel of the seed is taken with water to treat diabetes mellitus.
The seeds are used to soothe stomach disorders.
The seed contains about 20% oil that is especially rich in linoleic acid (68%) and has vesicant properties. The oil is used to treat rheumatism.
The leaves are an ingredient of a famous cough formula.
Throughout the distribution area of Caesalpinia bonduc in Africa its leaves, bark and roots are used to cure fever, headache and chest pain and as an anthelmintic. In West Africa the plant is used as a rubefacient and as a tonic in the treatment of jaundice, diarrhoea and skin eruptions. At the Kenyan coast the seed and decoctions of the leaves and roots are taken to treat asthma and complications during menstruation, to avoid miscarriage, and as eye-drops to treat internal blood clots in the eye.

Agroforestry Uses

In Sierra Leone and Ethiopia bonduc nut is planted as a live fence.

Other Uses

The seeds are widely used as beads for necklaces, bracelets, rosaries etc, as marbles, and are also used as weights and as counters in board games.
An oil obtained from the seed is used in cosmetic preparations.

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 12 - 24 hours in warm water prior to sowing. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until large enough to plant out.
Softwood cuttings in sand in a frame.