The plant contains a large number of alkaloids related to the anti-addiction medication ibogaine, including some of the only known naturally occurring CB1 receptor antagonists.
One of the plant's alkaloids, voacangine, has been used as a precursor in the semi-synthesis of ibogaine.
 While small amounts of ibogaine are found in Voacanga Africana root bark, they do not occur in sufficient quantity to have medicinal or psychoactive effects.
Extracts from the plant are also used in the production of vinpocetine, a medication used to treat Alzheimer's disease, and vinblastine, used to treat leukemia.

The 1998 Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants by Christian Rätsch included an entry on the Voacanga genus, which claimed that various members of the genus are used in West Africa for their psychoactive effects.
Since 2007, more specific, unsubstantiated rumors have circulated that the bark and seeds of the tree are used in Ghana as a poison, stimulant, and ceremonial psychedelic due to an edit made to a Wikipedia article about the plant by a Ghanaian businessman who linked to a website advertising the seeds.
A 2009 study by the National Institute of Health Sciences in Tokyo, Japan found that the Voacanga africana seed products sold online consisted of a mix of chemically distinct products.
The plant contains a large number of alkaloids related to the anti-addiction medication ibogaine, including some of the only known naturally occurring CB1 receptor antagonists. One of the plant's alkaloids, voacangine, has been used as a precursor in the semi-synthesis of ibogaine.  While small amounts of ibogaine are found in Voacanga Africana root bark, they do not occur in sufficient quantity to have medicinal or psychoactive effects. Extracts from the plant are also used in the production of vinpocetine, a medication used to treat Alzheimer's disease, and vinblastine, used to treat leukemia.
The 1998 Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants by Christian Rätsch included an entry on the Voacanga genus, which claimed that various members of the genus are used in West Africa for their psychoactive effects. Since 2007, more specific, unsubstantiated rumors have circulated that the bark and seeds of the tree are used in Ghana as a poison, stimulant, and ceremonial psychedelic due to an edit made to a Wikipedia article about the plant by a Ghanaian businessman who linked to a website advertising the seeds. A 2009 study by the National Institute of Health Sciences in Tokyo, Japan found that the Voacanga africana seed products sold online consisted of a mix of chemically distinct products.
Voacanga africana