Project Abstract

Project Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p>The genus <em>Indigofera</em>&nbsp;Linn. is a large genus of about 700 species of flowering plants belonging to the sub-family Papilionoideae in the family Fabaceae / Leguminosae. They occur throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Burkill (1995) recognized 60 species while Soladoye and Lewis (2003) recorded 60 species in Nigeria with over 60% abundance in the Northern region of the country with 27 species distributed across the South Western area of the country. <em>Indigofera</em>&nbsp;in Greek means indigo dye which is famous for the natural blue colors obtained from the leaflets and branches of this herb. The most important of the species are <em>Indigoferaarrecta </em>and<em>&nbsp;Indigofera tinctoria.</em></p><p><em>Indigofera </em>spp. display excellent adaptation to a range of environments, and possessdiverse morphological and agronomic attributes, significant to their use as forage and cover crops (Hassen <em>et al</em>., 2006)<em>.</em>&nbsp;Some of these species, <em>Indigofera tinctoria</em>&nbsp;and <em>Indigofera suffruticosa</em>&nbsp;are used to produced indigo dyes while some have medicinal values such as <em>Indigofera articulate</em>&nbsp;used for the treatment of toothache,</p><p><em>Indigofera oblongifolia, Indigofera suffruticosa </em>and<em>&nbsp;Indigofera aspalthoides </em>are usedas anti–inflammatories for treatment of insect stings, snake bites and swellings (Shahjahan <em>et al</em>., 2005); and <em>Indigofera arrecta</em>&nbsp;extract is used to relieve ulcer pain.</p><p>The stem of <em>Indigofera tinctoria</em>&nbsp;is chewed to cure cough and decoction of leaves is used to cure chest pains, epilepsy, nervous disorders, asthma, bronchitis, fever and complaints of stomach, liver, kidney and spleen- especially in Cameroon (Takawira-Nyenya and Cardon, 2005). The twine paste cures dislocation. Also the warm leaves dismiss bruises (Ibe and Nwufo, 2005). Phytochemical investigation of <em>Indigofera</em>&nbsp;species shows that they are rich in organic and fatty acids, flavonoids such as carotenoids and coumarins (Yinusa <em>et al.,</em>&nbsp;2007).</p> <br><p></p>