A Professor of Biochemistry, Ebenezer Farombi, has said regular consumption of bitter kola could promote longevity, citing years of research into the medicinal properties of the indigenous plant.

Farombi, who spoke at the Second Annual Research Week of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), said scientific studies were increasingly providing evidence for some of the health benefits long associated with bitter kola in traditional African societies.

According to him, people who consume bitter kola regularly may be less vulnerable to some diseases because of the plant’s bioactive compounds.

“People who chew it regularly, you are likely going to live long because most diseases and illnesses will be far away from you,” he said.

The don said the traditional use of bitter kola by the Yoruba people as a symbol of longevity had existed long before scientists began investigating its biological properties.

He noted that bitter kola remains an important feature of traditional ceremonies, including Yoruba naming ceremonies, where it is presented while prayers are offered for the long life of a newborn.

“Indigenous knowledge of our forefathers without conducting research associated longevity to consumption of bitter kola,” Farombi said.

Farombi, who said he had worked on bitter kola for several years in collaboration with scientists across different continents, disclosed that researchers had isolated and characterised compounds from the plant with potential therapeutic applications.

He said the research had examined bitter kola’s potential role in protecting the brain and managing conditions including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as its possible effects against inflammation and viral infections.

The professor, however, warned that Nigerians could lose the plant if urgent steps were not taken to conserve it.

He said bitter kola was becoming increasingly scarce because the tree takes decades to mature and produce.

“The people who cultivate bitter kola say those who cultivate the bitter kola don’t live to eat of it,” he said, explaining that the plant could take more than 30 to 40 years before producing.

Farombi therefore called on the Nigerian government to invest in the conservation of bitter kola and other indigenous plants with medicinal value.

He also cautioned against foreign exploitation of Nigeria’s biological resources, saying researchers must protect indigenous knowledge and ensure that discoveries arising from Nigerian plants benefit the country.

“Nigerian government should not allow foreigners to take away what we have,” he said.

The don said Nigeria had the talent, knowledge and natural resources needed to solve many of its problems, but lacked a sufficiently strong system for translating research findings into commercially viable innovations.

He called for a shift from silo-based academic research to multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration, stressing that research should move from knowledge to innovation, enterprise and ultimately societal impact.

“The pathway to national development is not simply the creation of more knowledge,” Farombi said. “We have abundant knowledge in the university system, in research institutes, but there is a value gap in translating the knowledge that we have to innovative products that are able to affect society.”

He said bridging that gap would enable Nigerians to derive greater economic and health benefits from the country’s indigenous resources.