Hog plum (African plum)
Quick Facts
- What it is: Hog plum is the tart yellow fruit and leaf of the tropical tree Spondias mombin, known in Yoruba as iyeye.
- Main uses: Short bouts of diarrhoea, Minor wounds and skin sores, Sore throat gargles, Fever, Fruit eaten as food
- Active ingredients: Ellagitannins (geraniin, galloylgeraniin), Ellagic acid, Caffeic and chlorogenic acid, Quercetin and rutin, Saponins, Vitamin C in the fruit
- Forms: Fresh fruit and juice, Dried leaf tea, Leaf poultice, Bark decoction, Leaf powder capsules, Liquid extracts
- Time to effect: Unproven; traditionally judged over one to several days, and it may do nothing.
- Side effects: Mostly stomach upset from strong brews; the serious issues are pregnancy, diabetes medicines and allergy.
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What is Hog plum (African plum)?
What is hog plum?
Hog plum is the fruit and leaf of Spondias mombin, a tall tropical tree. The fruit is small, yellow and sharply tart. Yoruba speakers call the tree iyeye.
The ripe fruit is an everyday food in West Africa. People eat it fresh or drink it as juice. Healers used other parts too, mainly the leaves and the bark.
Those parts were brewed into teas, boiled into washes, or crushed onto the skin. The same plant can therefore be a snack or a strong herbal brew. The two are not the same thing.
Here is the honest verdict on evidence. Good human trials are almost absent. Most claims rest on test tube work and animal studies.
Long traditional use is not proof that a remedy works. It is also not proof that it is safe. Please read the rest of this page with that in mind.
One point matters more than the others. Leaf and bark preparations have been used to bring on labour. Anyone who is pregnant should stay away from them.
How does Hog plum (African plum) work?
How might hog plum work? No one has shown how it works in the human body. The proposed actions all come from the laboratory bench.
The leaves are heavy in tannins. In test tubes, these tannins slow the growth of some bacteria and fungi. Whether that happens inside a person has not been shown.
Tannins also bind to proteins in the gut lining. In animals, this appears to firm up loose stools. That is a plausible reason for the old use in diarrhoea, not proof of it.
The most important lab finding is about the womb. In strips of animal uterus, leaf extracts made the muscle contract. Animal work also points to effects on fertility and on pregnancy.
That finding fits the traditional use in labour. It is also the main reason for the pregnancy warning on this page.
Other lab work reports antioxidant activity. Plant polyphenols (plant chemicals that mop up reactive molecules) are the likely reason. Antioxidant readings in a dish rarely translate into a health effect in people.
Animal studies have also reported lower blood sugar and lower blood pressure after leaf extracts. Doses were high and the animals were not human. Treat these as leads, not as results you can rely on.
What forms does Hog plum (African plum) come in?
How is hog plum sold? Most often as food. You will find the fresh fruit, frozen pulp, juice and jam in West African and Caribbean markets.
Medicinal forms use the leaf or bark. Common ones are:
Dried leaf for tea or decoction (a boiled brew).
Fresh leaf crushed into a paste for the skin.
Bark decoction used as a wash or gargle.
Leaf powder in capsules, sold online as a food supplement.
Liquid leaf extracts and tinctures.
Leaf extract also turns up in some skin creams. Labels rarely say how much plant material is inside. Strength is often unknown, so a weak tea and a strong extract are not interchangeable.
Where it comes from:
Where does its use come from? Spondias mombin grows across West Africa and has been used there for centuries. In Yoruba tradition the tree is iyeye, and its leaves were a common household remedy.
Healers brewed the leaves for fever, stomach upset and diarrhoea. Crushed leaves were laid on cuts, boils and burns. Bark decoctions were used as mouth rinses and body washes.
The best recorded use is in childbirth. Leaf preparations were given to speed up slow labour and to help expel the afterbirth. Some communities also used them to end a pregnancy.
The tree travelled with the slave trade to the Caribbean and Latin America. There it is known as jobo or yellow mombin. Similar uses were recorded, including for skin problems and gut complaints.
In all these settings the fruit stayed a food first. The medicine was made from leaf, bark and root.
Who should avoid Hog plum (African plum)?
- Do not use hog plum leaf, bark or root preparations if you are pregnant, or if you think you might be. Animal studies show the leaf contracts the womb, and it was traditionally used to bring on labour.
- Do not use leaf or bark preparations to start or speed up labour at home. Labour care belongs with a midwife or doctor.
- Do not use leaf or bark preparations if you are trying to get pregnant or having fertility treatment.
- Do not use leaf or bark preparations while breastfeeding, as there is no safety data.
- Do not give leaf, bark or root preparations to babies or children.
- Avoid leaf products if you take insulin or diabetes tablets, unless your doctor has agreed. Your blood sugar could drop too low.
- Avoid the plant if you have ever reacted to mango skin, cashew shells or poison ivy, which are in the same plant family.
- Avoid regular strong leaf tea if you have anaemia (low iron in the blood), because tannins block iron uptake.
- Do not use leaf products in the two weeks before planned surgery, because of the possible blood sugar effect.
- Never use hog plum in place of prescribed treatment for infection, malaria or diabetes.
When should you see a doctor?
When should you see a doctor? Stop the remedy and get medical advice if any of these happen.
Diarrhoea lasts more than two days, or there is blood in the stool.
You show signs of dehydration (too little water in the body), such as dark urine, dizziness or a dry mouth.
A fever goes above 39C, or any fever follows travel in a malaria area.
A wound turns red, hot, swollen or starts to leak pus.
You feel shaky, sweaty or confused, which can mean low blood sugar.
Call emergency services for swelling of the lips, face or throat, or for trouble breathing.
If you are pregnant and have taken a leaf or bark preparation, contact your midwife or doctor the same day. Cramping, bleeding or reduced baby movements need urgent care.
Is Hog plum (African plum) legal where you live?
In the United States, hog plum fruit is an ordinary food, and leaf products are sold as dietary supplements, not as approved medicines. In the UK and EU, the fruit is a food, and no hog plum medicine is licensed. It is a common market food across West Africa and the Caribbean.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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