Traditional Rotheca myricoides is used in traditional medicine to manage
diabetes in the lower eastern part of
Kenya. This area is populated mostly by the
Kamba community. They take this medicine daily by boiling and consuming the leaves. cancer,
malaria,
dysmenorrhea,
sterility, and
impotence. In traditional medicine, European and African cultures used the bark of the species in its powdered form, and a teaspoon is used to treat snakebites. The
Masai used the root bark for
East Coast fever in cattle and diarrhea in their calves. In West Africa, the plant is used for
analgesic and
antipyretic purposes. In Asian countries, this species has been brewed as a tea to relieve swelling and pain.
Recent studies A 2019 study looked at freeze-dried extracts of the
Rotheca myricoides and found that they possess significant
anti-hyperglycemic and antidyslipidemic effects on a
type 2 diabetes rat model. The antidyslipidemic effects included decreased total plasma cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, serum triglyceride and increased HDL-cholesterol. The freeze-dried extracts also lowered the serum
uric levels and
hepatic triglycerides and
hepatic weight. The leaf extract of the species and
DCM and
MeOH extracts shows clear anti-mutagenicity. The antimutagenic properties were seen even at low doses of 0.05 mg/L. In vitro testing found that PHELA inhibited >90% of
SARS-CoV-2 and
SARS-CoV infection at concentration levels of 0.005 mg/mL to 0.03 mg/mL. They also found that PHELA had very strong binding energy interactions with SARS-CoV-2 proteins. == Ecology ==