Safou is a nutrient-rich fruit that offers health benefits: it is abundant in unsaturated fatty acids, mineral salts (potassium, copper, and magnesium), and vitamin C. The safou (Dacryodes edulis) is an oily fruit native to the forests of the Congo basin, with significant economic value for countries in the region (Awono et al., 2002), due in part to the integration of safou trees in agroforests with cocoa or coffee plants for shading.

Safou possesses several preventive and therapeutic properties; therefore, it can cure various illnesses such as: Constipation, Cancer, Osteoporosis, Blood Lipids, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Anxiety. The skin of safou, called the pulp, and the tegument covering its kernel are edible.

The virtues of safou tree leaves

As mentioned above, the safou tree is a medicinal plant. In an aqueous decoction, the leaves are used to treat stomach aches.

Safou is extremely renowned for its nutritional and medicinal properties. Indeed, the small fruit helps to treat a wide array of ailments and diseases including cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and cancer.

In aromatherapy, it is used to treat rheumatism through massages. In traditional pharmacopoeia, the safou tree contributes to the treatment of various diseases such as wounds, anemia, dysentery, digestive tract disorders, toothaches, earaches, and leprosy.

Corneille Kinsala Nsoki CKS, Phytotherapist