Comparative cross-sectional quantitative study of health status among consumers of bitter kola in Igbuzor community living in Oshilmili North Local Government area of Delta state.

Background: The use of bitter kola as plant medicine is common among Africans for centuries, yet there is little or no scientific evidence to demonstrate that its use provides health benefits. The purpose of this study, therefore, is ascertain whether or not bitter kola provides any health benefits to its regular users. Methods: A study sample of n=274 adults living in Igbuzor town in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State of Nigeria was selected using simple random sampling technique. Likert Scale was used as data collection tool. The data analysis was carried out using SPSS computer software. Results: The results show that irrespective of gender n=139 regular users agreed to excellent and good health while ingesting bitter kola in comparison to n=37 non-regular users who agreed to the same statements (see table 3 & 4). The results further show that both genders n=142 (94.66%) male and n=110 (95.65%) female respondents agree that they ingest better kola for its health benefits (see table 5). Conclusion: This study found that regular users of bitter kola enjoy better health than non-regular users and that both regular and non-regular user agrees to the medicinal properties of bitter kola. These research findings help to remove the assumptions about the health benefits of bitter kola and replaced them with actual research evidence.