Olufunke
The two vegetable species for consideration are also amaranths in the genus celosia. Celosia argentea is known as sokoyokoto (plant that makes husbands robust) while Celosia trigyna is known as ajefowo (a soup preparation you eat and break the plate in ecstasy).
Celosia trigyna is a large plant that uses the canopies of herbs as support in the wild while Celosia argentea is an erect plant cultivated commercially.
The leaves of C. trigyna are ovate to lanceolate (spear-like). The flowers are clustered in terminal and axillary inflorescences called spikes. Plants of C. argentea can be as tall as two metres; the inflorescences are spikes, silvery-white to pink or sometimes red found throughout tropical Africa. It is an important pot-herb in West Africa.
Celosia argentea
Personally, this is not my favourite; the only time I buy it is when I am not able to get Amaranthus hybridus (efo tete). When I was observing the National Youth Service Corps scheme in Plateau State, I had a fresh supply of it because it was planted in front of my hut, grown as an ornamental plant! I had to convince my colleagues that it is a vegetable and not an ornamental plant. They started eating with me when I began cooking it.
In a study by Vanitha Varadharaj and Jayalakshmi Muniyappan of Vels university, Department of Biochemistry India, the seed paste of C argentea were found to cure ovarian and uterine disease. The plant is well known for its efficacy as remedy for cold, gastro-intestinal disease, rheumatoid arthritis and as a fertility-regulating agent in China. It is well used in India folk medicine to cure diabetes mellitus. The stem, leaf, flower and seed of C argentea are used by traditional Yao communities of China for the treatment of hemorrhoids, leucorrhea and profuse uterine bleeding.
In Riau province, Sumatra (Indonesia), antibacterial assay of extracts of 144 species of C argentea were tested and found to have activity against cough and jaundice. The conclusion of the study is that the Celosia species possess anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-ageing, anti-malarial, anti-plasmodic, hepato-protective and immune-stimulating activities in conformity with a large number of related studies.
The flowers and seeds are astringent, haemostatic, ophthalmic, parasiticide and poultice. They are used in the treatment of bloody stool, haemorrhoid bleeding, uterine bleeding, leucorrhoea, dysentery and diarrhoea. As a parasiticide it is l effective against Trichomonas, a 20 per cent extract can cause Trichomonas to disappear in 15 minutes. The seed is hypotensive and ophthalmic. It also has an antibacterial action, inhibiting the growth of pseudomonas. It is used in the treatment of blood-shot eyes, blurring of vision, cataracts and hypertension but should not be used by people with glaucoma because it dilates the pupils.
The leaves are used in the treatment of infected sores, wounds and skin eruptions. The whole plant is used as an antidote for snakebites. The roots are used in the treatment of colic, gonorrhoea and eczema. They are used in poultices in China on infected sores, wounds and skin eruptions and in India, it is mixed with honey on inflamed areas and painful afflictions such as buboes and abscesses. In Kenya, the water in which the leaves, flowers and stems have been boiled is used as a body-wash for convalescents by the Masai. In Ethiopian folk medicine, the seeds are used for diarrhoea and the flowers are used to treat dysentry and muscular troubles. In Asia, the flowers are considered medicinal for conditions whose symptoms include discharge of blood, for example, dysentry, haemophythysis and menstruation. The seeds contain an oil. This oil is used for diarrhoea in Zaïre and, in Asia, it is considered antiscorbutic and anthelminthic.
The dietetic value was well proven by prisoners-of-war in Japanese hands in Thailand (1942–45), who ate it as spinach with good results against beri-beri and pellagra.
Celosia trigyna
Celosia trigyna is a plant used in traditional medicine to treat several conditions such as sores, chest pains, diarrhoea and menstrual cramps in many countries in Africa. It is consumed by the local people in Nigeria as soups, sauces and stews.
The plant is used in traditional medicine. It has shown anthelmintic properties in humans and methanol extracts of the whole plant have shown acaricidal properties. The leaves and flowers are used to treat diarrhoea. The pulped leaves are used to treat costal pains, chest troubles, stomach-ache and urethral disorders. The plant is included in several medicinal preparations used to treat women’s disorders and diseases, including ovarian troubles in DR Congo and excessive menstruation in Ethiopia.
In Sierra Leone, C. trygina is used for the treatment of heart complaints, whereas in northern Nigeria it is used to treat pustular skin eruption. In Ghana, it is applied to sores and boils. The leaves and flowers are used to treat diarrhoea. The plant is eaten by livestock but reports on its acceptability are contradictory.
In a study by Eboh et al. of the Biochemistry Department, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, it was concluded that Celosia trigyna could be explored for the prevention and management of hyperuricaemia (elevated levels of uric acid) conditions. The leaves have a widespread reputation as an anthelmintic, particularly for children and it is especially effective against tapeworm. In Ivory Coast, the sap is administered to infants for this purpose. The plant is reported to contain kosotoxin which accounts for its anthelmintic action.
In Congo, the pulped leaves are applied over scarifications to relieve costal pains, and in Ghana in cataplasm (a plaster of poultice) for chest troubles and by mouth for stomach, liver and urethral disorders. The plant is said to be diuretic and haemostatic and it is used in West Africa, to hasten childbirth. In Ivory Coast, it is known as ‘medicine for wives’, perhaps, as in Congo, to treat ovarian trouble and in Ethiopia for excessive menstruation.
A study indicates C. trigyna to be efficacious in the management of gastric ulcers. The leaves and flowers are used in Ethiopia and Ivory Coast in enemas to treat diarrhoea. The powdered leaves are taken in Sudan for diarrhoea and in Tanganyika for sharp stomach pains. The leaf-sap is prepared as a collyrium (eye lotion) in several areas for treating ophthalmias in northern Ghana.
A dye reported as red or black is obtained from the plant which, in Tanganyika, is used to dye leathers. The seed contains a fatty oil and a quantity of potassium nitrate. The whole plant is rich in saponins and a trace of flavones have been recorded.
I have yet to savour Celosia trygina as a pot herb! I hope to update you when I do.
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