Herb library · Herb · Rauvolfia vomitoria
African rauvolfia
A West and Central African shrub whose root is a widely used traditional sedative and blood pressure remedy. The root bark contains reserpine, a prescription drug with real side effects. The plant itself has not been studied on its own in people.
Serious warning
Rauvolfia root is poisonous in large amounts. A 30-year-old woman in France died after swallowing a powder bought online as iboga that was in fact ground root of a Rauvolfia species; her blood held its alkaloids ajmaline, yohimbine and reserpine. The species was not identified, and she was also withdrawing from other drugs.
Traditional use
Holland recorded in 1915 that in Lagos the roots and leaves were used as medicine for children and for gonorrhea, and in Sierra Leone for the itchy skin disease called craw-craw. PROTA, the handbook of Plant Resources of Tropical Africa, records that across its range a root decoction or powder is taken for diarrhea, rheumatism, jaundice and snakebite, and widely for high blood pressure and as a sedative for people with epilepsy or mental illness; that the root is put on the skin for rashes, scabies and wounds; and that in Nigeria the root and leaves are taken for indigestion and as a tonic.
What studies show
- Insufficient
High blood pressure, mental illness and seizures: no study of this plant on its own in people was found. The one small trial in people (2011) tested a Nigerian tea that combines it with bitter orange, for diabetes, and a mixture is not evidence about one herb. Its root bark contains reserpine, and a Cochrane review of reserpine as a purified drug found it lowered systolic blood pressure by about 8 mmHg in four small trials. That is evidence about the drug, not about the root, whose strength varies.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteThe root contains reserpine, a prescription blood pressure drug whose listed side effects include depression, nightmares, fainting and a slow heartbeat. Home preparations of the root carry an unknown dose of it.
- InteractionDo not combine it with blood pressure medicine, antidepressants, antipsychotics or seizure medicine unless your clinician knows; its alkaloids act on the same systems.
- NoteMental illness and epilepsy need a clinician's care; this is not a substitute for tested medicine.
- PregnancyPROTA records that in Nigeria it is taken to cause abortion. Do not use it in pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Roots and leaves used medicinally for children, and in gonorrhoea, Lagos (Dawodu, No. 6, 1899, Herb. Kew). A “Craw craw” medicine Sierra Leone (Scott Elliot, No. 5501, 1892, Herb. Kew).”
Sources
- Genus Rauvolfia: a review of its ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, quality control/quality assurance, pharmacological activities and clinical evidence (J Ethnopharmacol, 2022) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Randomized and double-blinded pilot clinical study of the safety and anti-diabetic efficacy of the Rauvolfia-Citrus tea, as used in Nigerian traditional medicine (J Ethnopharmacol, 2011) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Blood pressure-lowering efficacy of reserpine for primary hypertension (Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2016) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Death related to consumption of Rauvolfia sp. powder mislabeled as Tabernanthe iboga (Forensic Sci Int, 2016) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Reserpine: MedlinePlus Drug Information (opens in a new tab) · MedlinePlus · read September 25, 2026
- Rauvolfia vomitoria — PROTA4U record (uses, properties) (opens in a new tab) · PROTA · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.