Traditional & Medicinal Uses :
The seeds have opioid analgesic activity.
The seeds are also chewed as a tonic and a stimulant.

Chemical Profile :
Akuammidine, akuammine, pseudo-akuammigine and akuammicine are opioid compounds, having significant analgesic activities.
Akuammine and dihydroakuammine, are two indolomonoterpene alkaloids displaying affinity for opioid receptors.
Akuammine has strong sympathomimetic and local analgesic activities. It causes marked and lasting hypotension in dogs, without affecting respiration. In higher doses it causes a strong inhibitory effect on intestinal peristaltic movements. At such doses it also has hypertensive activity with a weaker, but longer lasting effect than yohimbine.
Akuammigine shows clear sympatholytic activity and antagonizes the effect of adrenaline on the heart, vessels and regulatory centre of the circulation system. Akuammidine has hypotensive, skeletal muscle relaxant and local analgesic activities. It acts selectively as a sympatholytic, unaccompanied by parasympatholytic effects. It inhibits the irritability of the sympathetic nervous system and opposes akuammine. Pseudo-akuammigine acts as an indirect reversible and competitive parasympathomimetic. In low doses it excites and in high doses it inhibits the central nervous system, respiration, contraction of the skeletal muscles and contraction of the smooth muscles. It increases hexobarbital-induced sleeping time and has local analgesic, anti-inflammatory, cholinesterase-inhibiting and hypotensive activities.
A new indole alkaloid, picranitine, has been isolated from the seeds of Picralima nitida, along with five known indole alkaloids picratidine, akuammine, pseudoakuammine, akuammicine and akuammidine.
The seeds are particularly rich in alkaloids (3.5