Radiocarbon dating of two old African baobabs from India.

The article presents the radiocarbon investigation of the baobab of Jhunsi, Allahabad and the Parijaat tree at Kintoor, two old African baobabs from northern India. Several wood samples extracted from these baobabs were analysed by using AMS radiocarbon dating. The radiocarbon date of the oldest samples were 779 ± 41 BP for the baobab of Jhunsi and 793 ± 37 BP for the baobab of Kintoor. The corresponding calibrated ages are 770 ± 25 and 775 ± 25 calendar years. These values indicate that both trees are around 800 years old and become the oldest dated African baobabs outside Africa.

The demise of the largest and oldest African baobabs.

The African baobab is the biggest and longest-living angiosperm tree. By using radiocarbon dating we identified the stable architectures that enable baobabs to reach large sizes and great ages. We report that 9 of the 13 oldest and 5 of the 6 largest individuals have died, or at least their oldest parts/stems have collapsed and died, over the past 12 years; the cause of the mortalities is still unclear.

Analgesic activities of crude ethanolic extract and various fractions of Adansonia digitata L. grown at the sindh province of Pakistan.

The current study aimed to evaluate the analgesic effects of crude extract and fractions of leaves of Adansonia digitata L. (Malvaceae). Fresh leaves were collected, dried under shade and then powdered. Moreover, powder was usedto extract with Ethanol and concentrated under reduced pressure, followed by partitioning with organic solvents i.e. Hexane, Ethylacetate, Butanol and Aqueous. These fractions were analyzed for analgesic effect at dose of 50, 100, 200; mg/kg body weight by acetic acid induced writhing, tail flick and hot plate analgesic models. No acute oral toxicity was observed and extracts considered being saved at a dose of 50-3000 mg/kg body weight. Orally administered extract of A. digitata showed analgesic activity described by decrease in writhes counts which was contrast to control. Significant (P<0.05-0.001) increased in latency period in hot plate analgesic test when compared Diclofenac sodium (50 mg/kg) which is used as a standard drug. Furthermore, in tail flick test a dose of (50, 100, 200mg/kg body weight) of extracts exhibited significant (P<0.05-0.001) analgesia which is dose dependent when compared to control group. These findings of analgesic testing have revealed that leaves extract of this nutritional plants possess remarkable antinociceptive effect.

Radiocarbon dating of a very large African baobab.

In late 2004, Grootboom, probably the largest known African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.), collapsed unexpectedly in northeastern Namibia. Ten wood samples collected from different areas of the trunk were processed and investigated by accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating. The radiocarbon dates of three samples were greater than 1000 years BP (radiocarbon years before present, i.e., before AD 1950). The corresponding calibrated calendar age of the oldest sample was 1275 +/- 50 years, making Grootboom the oldest known angiosperm tree with reliable dating results. Variations in radiocarbon dates among the wood samples indicated that, morphologically, Grootboom was a quintuple tree, whereas genetically, it was a single individual. Ages of extreme lateral samples revealed that, over the past 500-600 years, Grootbooom had almost ceased growing, providing information about climate changes in central southern Africa. The sudden demise of Grootboom coincided with the spread of the poorly studied baobab disease, which has become epidemic in Namibia.