What is Bush tea / Gambian tea bush?

Bush tea is a shrub from West Africa. Botanists call it Lippia multiflora. In Ghana, the Twi name is saa nunum.

The dried leaves are brewed as a daily tea. People drink it for calm, sleep, colds, fever and high blood pressure. The leaf oil is also rubbed on skin or burned to keep mosquitoes away.

Here is the honest verdict. Nearly all the research sits in test tubes and animals. Human trials are few, small, and weak.

So its effects in people are not proven. The one exception is the oil as a mosquito repellent, which has been tested on people in the field.

Long use in a tradition tells you that people valued the plant. It does not tell you the plant works. It also does not tell you it is safe.

How does Bush tea / Gambian tea bush work?

No one has shown, in good human trials, how bush tea acts in the body. What follows is a proposal, not a proven path.

The leaf gives off a strong scented oil. In test tubes, this oil slows some bacteria and fungi. Whether drinking the tea does that inside you is not known.

In rats, leaf extracts have lowered blood pressure and relaxed blood vessel tissue. Animal results often fail to repeat in people. Treat this as a lead, not a result.

In animal studies, extracts have also calmed activity and eased pain signals. Linalool, one of the main scent compounds, has a calming effect in such tests. That may explain the old use as a bedtime drink.

The mosquito effect is the clearest part. Field tests on human skin show the oil keeps biting mosquitoes off for a few hours. That is a surface effect, and it says nothing about drinking the tea.

What forms does Bush tea / Gambian tea bush come in?

You will meet it in a few forms: - Loose dried leaves, sold in West African markets and shops - Tea bags, often labelled bush tea or Gambian tea bush - Leaf powder, sometimes in capsules - Essential oil, steam-distilled from the leaf - Creams, soaps and coils sold as mosquito repellents

The tea and the oil are not the same thing. The oil is many times stronger. It is meant for the skin or the air, not for swallowing.

Strength of loose leaf varies widely. There is no standard grade for this plant.

Where it comes from:

Bush tea has been drunk across West Africa for generations. It is common in Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Benin and The Gambia. Written records of its use go back to colonial-era plant surveys.

Healers and households kept it for several jobs: - A warm evening drink for rest and sleep - A steam or drink for colds, cough and fever - A daily tea for high blood pressure - Burned leaves or oil to drive off mosquitoes - A wash for skin complaints

In Ghana it is known as saa nunum in Twi. It has also been grown as a cash crop for export tea and for its oil.

This is a record of custom, not a record of testing. It is written here to explain where the plant stands, not to suggest you treat yourself with it.

What does Bush tea / Gambian tea bush help with?

• High blood pressure: This is the best-known traditional use, and it is the one with the least human proof. In rats, leaf extracts have lowered blood pressure. Vessel tissue in the lab relaxed when exposed to the extract. No good human trial backs this up. A cup of tea is not a blood pressure treatment. Never stop or cut a prescribed blood pressure medicine to try it.
• Trouble sleeping and restlessness: Tradition treats it as a mild evening calmer. The drink is often taken warm before bed. In mice, extracts have reduced movement and extended sleep. Linalool behaves the same way in such tests. There are no sleep trials in people. Any calm you feel may come from the warm drink and the routine.
• Colds, cough and fever: Households used it as a hot drink or steam for chest and head colds. In test tubes, the oil slows some bacteria and fungi. That does not mean it clears an infection in your body. No human trial has tested it for colds. Warm fluid and steam ease symptoms on their own, whatever is in the cup.
• Mosquito bites: This use has the strongest human evidence of any on this page. Field tests put the leaf oil on skin and counted bites. It kept mosquitoes off for a few hours. Protection was shorter than from standard repellents such as DEET. That matters where malaria is common. In a high-risk area, do not rely on a plant oil alone. Use a proven repellent and a treated bed net.
• Stomach upset and cramps: Traditional use covers gas, cramps and loose stools. In animal gut tissue, extracts have relaxed muscle. Similar scented oils, such as peppermint, do calm cramps in people. No one has tested bush tea this way in humans. So this stays a plausible idea, not a finding.

Which foods are rich in Bush tea / Gambian tea bush?

The compounds in bush tea are not nutrients. You do not need them from food. Linalool, thymol and carvacrol also turn up in basil, thyme and oregano, in small, harmless amounts.

What are the side effects of Bush tea / Gambian tea bush?

• Drowsiness
• Stomach upset or nausea
• Heartburn from the strong, thyme-like taste
• Loose stools when taken strong
• Low blood pressure signs, such as dizziness on standing
• Skin rash or redness from the oil
• Allergic reaction in people sensitive to mint-family plants

Good to know:

As an ordinary brewed tea, it is usually well tolerated. Most reported effects are mild and settle when you stop.

The essential oil is a different matter. It is concentrated, and thymol and carvacrol can burn skin and the gut lining. Swallowing it can cause real harm.

Side effect data comes from custom and scattered reports. There is no large safety study in people. Stop and seek advice if anything new or odd starts.

How much Bush tea / Gambian tea bush should you take?

• Recommended daily: Typical labels on packed bush tea suggest one to three cups a day. A cup is usually made from about one to two grams of dried leaf. That is the label figure, not advice for you. The right amount for any one person has never been studied. Leaf strength varies a great deal between batches. Essential oil is not for swallowing at any amount.
• Best time of day: Timing is not set by any evidence. Tradition favours the evening, because the drink is seen as calming. If it makes you drowsy, keep it away from driving and work. If it keeps you awake, move it earlier in the day.
• With or without food: Either is fine. It is drunk as a plain beverage, hot or cold. Two small points. Tannins in the tea can reduce iron uptake from a meal. If you take iron tablets or run low on iron, leave a gap of about two hours.
• Time to effect: Be honest with yourself about this: it may do nothing at all. Any calming feeling from a hot drink comes within an hour. The claimed blood pressure effect has no proven timeline in people, because it has not been shown in people. The oil as a repellent works at once and fades within a few hours.
• How long to take it: In West Africa, many people drink it as an everyday beverage for years. That is custom, not a safety finding. No study has tracked long-term drinkers. If you are using it for a symptom, do not let it run on and on. A problem that lasts more than one to two weeks needs a doctor, not a longer course of tea.