Research & Professional Inquiries

People Behind the Knowledge

Meet a local point of contact for inquiries in Cameroon.

Traditional Medicine Practitioner / Iboga Researcher / Cultural Practitioner

Background / Experience

Based in Douala, Cameroon, MANJONG is a traditional medicine practitioner with experience in Iboga, traditional plant practices, and the cultural knowledge surrounding them. His work also connects with the wider cultural landscape of Cameroon through Manjong Collections, where he is involved in the trade of Cameroonian cultural artefacts and traditional jewellery. He also maintains connections with Iboga farming activities and people working with the plant in Cameroon.

Assist

He can be approached for questions relating to traditional Iboga practice, Cameroon-based plant knowledge, cultural and ethnobotanical subjects, and practical questions concerning Iboga in Cameroon. He may also assist people seeking knowledgeable local guidance when exploring traditional environments or retreat-related inquiries in the region, including connections concerning Gabon. Professional, research, and other serious inquiries can also be directed through the contact details provided below.

Botanical Knowledge

Botanical knowledge begins with the plant itself. It includes its taxonomy, morphology, geographic distribution, habitat, growth, propagation and relationship with its environment.

Tabernanthe iboga is an accepted species within the genus Tabernanthe. Understanding Iboga therefore means first understanding it as a living plant, rather than viewing it only through the compounds that have made it prominent in modern research.

Traditional & Ethnobotanical Knowledge

Iboga has a long history within Central African traditional practices. Its roots and root bark have particular importance in Bwiti traditions, where the plant is used in initiation and other ceremonial contexts. Traditional uses and preparations have also included medicinal and stimulant applications, with different practices involving different parts of the plant.

These traditions are culturally and geographically diverse. They cannot be fully explained through pharmacology alone. Human knowledge of Iboga also predates modern scientific interest in ibogaine, making the relationship between the plant and the communities that have worked with it an important part of understanding Iboga itself.

Practical Experience

Knowledge of Iboga also develops through direct interaction with the plant. This includes cultivation, propagation, field identification, harvesting, preparation, storage and long-term observation.

Iboga is cultivated in home gardens in parts of Africa, while wild harvesting has traditionally supplied much of the demand. How the plant is harvested can have important consequences: removing only part of the root can allow a cultivated plant to remain alive, while uprooting entire wild plants can damage natural populations. Cultivation and improved propagation have therefore become important areas of interest.

Practical experience has its own value, but it should be distinguished from experimentally established scientific evidence. It represents knowledge developed through repeated observation and direct interaction with the plant and its cultural environment.

Contemporary Scientific Research

Modern scientific research has focused heavily on ibogaine, one of the best-known alkaloids produced by T. iboga. The chemistry of the plant, however, extends well beyond ibogaine.

A plant-metabolomics study detected 30 alkaloids in Iboga root bark, illustrating the chemical complexity of the plant. Research has also examined other iboga alkaloids, including ibogamine, voacangine and coronaridine.

Contemporary Iboga research therefore extends across several fields, including phytochemistry, metabolomics, pharmacology, toxicology, neuroscience and natural-product chemistry. Iboga alkaloids are also being investigated as starting points for the development of new compounds and for therapeutic research.

Beyond Ibogaine

Iboga cannot be understood through ibogaine alone.

The plant can be studied as a botanical species, a part of Central African cultural traditions, a source of traditional and practical knowledge, a complex natural chemical system, and a subject of contemporary scientific investigation.

These perspectives do not have to replace one another. They describe different dimensions of the same subject.

At IBOGA PLANT FORUM, the plant itself remains at the center.