Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Salt and oil tree is a West African forest tree, Cleistopholis patens. In Ghana it is known in Twi as ɔtwewa. Healers used its bark, and sometimes the leaves and roots.
The bark is fibrous and smells strongly of spice. It was most often boiled into a decoction (a drink made by boiling), or ground into a paste for the skin.
Here is the honest verdict. There are no good human studies of this tree. Almost everything known comes from lab dishes and animals.
Long use in tradition is not proof that a plant works. It is not proof that it is safe either. That point is made once here, and not repeated in every section below.
Nobody has shown how this bark acts in the human body. The ideas below come from test tubes and animals only.
The bark holds alkaloids (bitter plant compounds), including one named cleistopholine. In lab tests it slows malaria parasites and some fungi. Whether that happens inside a person is not known.
The bark and leaf oil has been tested against bacteria and fungi in dishes. Some growth was slowed. Skin and gut effects in people have not been measured.
A few animal studies report less fever and less swelling after bark extracts. Animal results often fail to repeat in people. Treat them as a hint, not an answer.
So the fair summary is this. There is a plausible story, and no proof. No dose, strength or benefit in humans has been pinned down.
Most often this is sold as dried or fresh bark in West African markets. It is rarely found as a packaged supplement.
Common forms include:
- Bark pieces, boiled into a decoction (a drink made by boiling).
- Powdered bark, stirred into water or mixed into pastes.
- Bark or leaf paste applied to the skin.
- A steam or wash made from the boiled bark.
- Distilled essential oil, used in fragrance and lab work.
The essential oil is a very concentrated product. It is not a drink, and swallowing it is not a traditional use.
Market bark is not tested for identity or purity. Mix-ups with other Annonaceae trees, mould and added dirt are real risks.
Healers across the West African forest zone used this bark for a long time. Records come from Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon.
Bark decoctions were given for fever and malaria-like illness. Washes and pastes were used on sores, boils and skin rashes. Some communities used the bark for cough, chest pain and stomach upset.
The tree had everyday uses too. The tough inner bark was twisted into rope and used for tying roofs.
These records describe what people did. They were not safety trials, and they do not tell you how much is safe today.
Stop using it and get medical help if any of the following happen.
- You have a fever with chills, confusion or severe weakness, especially in a malaria area. This is an emergency.
- Your eyes or skin turn yellow, or your urine turns dark.
- You have lasting vomiting, severe stomach pain, or blood in your stool.
- You get a spreading rash, swelling of the lips or face, or trouble breathing. Call emergency services.
- A wound becomes hot, red and swollen, or leaks pus.
See a doctor if a fever lasts more than two days. Also see one if a cough lasts more than three weeks.
In the United States, United Kingdom and European Union it is not an approved medicine. It is not a common supplement either, and no tested product is sold there.
In parts of West Africa the bark is sold openly in markets as a traditional remedy. Market bark is not checked for identity or purity.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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