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Bitter Kola: The life saver

Medicinal value of Bitter Kola "O bughi ka akiilu si ada,ka o si ato," is a popular adage in Igboland which implies that u can only verify the sweetness of a pudding when u eat it." The bitter kola sounds palatable when chewed, but doesn't taste as such! known in Yoruba land as Orogbo, in Hausaland as Miji-goro, and in Igboland as Akiilu, bitter kola also known as Garcinia Kola is a tropical flowering plant found mainly in western and central Africa. The nut has an ellipsoid shape, is about 3-5 cm in length and is covered by a brown peel. It is bitter when chewed, hence the name “bitter kola.” Along with kola nut, its consumption was believed to be an exclusive preserve of the elderly people in most traditional African societies because as was said, it helped in increasing life expectancy among the aged. According to one Chief Victor Okafor,  an octogenarian from Ifite-Ani village in Agulu town of Anambra State, “the beauty of life is in bitterness. Thus, the bit