Dracaena arborea

dragon tree

In Congo, leaves or bark from the dragon tree have been used to treat smallpox and chicken pox, roots are used in soap-making, and the plant is said to be useful against evil spirits and snakes.

While it has no anti-diabetic properties, dragon tree can potentially be used to treat one of the effects of diabetes: infertility. A study published in 2013 explored this potential more in depth. Hyperglycemia causes severe damage to testes morphology as well as spermatogenesis. Scientists studied the effects of administering extracts of Dracaena arborea along with sildenafil citrate on hyperglycemic rats and found that this treatment improved testes morphology and reversed the impairment of spermatogenesis, though not entirely. They concluded that extracts from the dragon tree could become a useful component in treating testicular dysfunction caused by diabetes.

Although this plant can grow quite large when planted outdoors, it may also be "tamed" in pots to make handsome indoor or outdoor patio specimens.