Nutritious underutilized species

African baobab ( digitata L.) Botanical framework What are neglected and Family: Bombacaceae Scientific name:Adansonia digitata L. underutilized species? The term ‘NUS’ – standing for neglected and underutilized species – refers to a category of Common names non-commodity cultivated and wild species, which are part of a large agrobiodiversity portfolio today African baobab, baobab, monkey bread tree, Ethiopian falling into disuse for a variety of agronomic, genetic, sour gourd, cream of tartar tree, upside down tree economic, social and cultural factors. NUS are (English) Baobab, arbre aux calebasses, arbre de mille traditionally grown by farmers in their centres of ans, calebassier du Sénégal (French). Local names diversity, where they support nutrition security and include: mbuyu (Swahili), mwamba (Kamba), olimisiera other livelihood goals of local communities while (Maasail, toega (Moon), Sira (Bambara), mramba (Kiparc), contributing to meet their socio-cultural needs and isimuhu (Zulu). traditional uses. Until recently these species have been largely ignored by research and development, becoming less competitive than well established major crops and losing gradually their diversity and Brief introduction to the associated traditional knowledge. species African baobab occurs naturally in semiarid regions of tropical , including most countries south of the Sahara except Liberia, Uganda, Djibouti, Burundi and Leaves are used fresh as a leafy vegetable or are sun the Central African Republic. In , it is found only in dried, milled and sieved to produce a green powder used the west, and in it is mostly limited to the as a flavouring agent in sauces in many parts of Africa. Transvaal. It is found in diverse ecosystems including Leaves, fruit and seeds are collected and sold by many coastal areas of both eastern and western Africa. The households to local companies. northern limit of its range is where semi-desert scrubland The fruit pulp is either eaten fresh or added to cooked begins. In the east, from to , it is gruels. Avoiding cooking the fruit pulp preserves the typically found in the lowlands, but it occurs in the Nuba vitamins in it. The pulp is also mixed with water or milk to Mountains in . In it also occurs on upland make a drink or used as a supplement mixed with staple plateaus that have otherwise been cleared for cultivation. foods such as corn meal and cassava. Seeds and kernels It occurs in the woodland in , as a component of are widely used, despite the thick hard shell to thicken savannah ecosystems throughout and northern soups, but they are also fermented and used for flavouring South Africa and in both ecosystem types in . or roasted and eaten as snacks. The baobab tree also provides fibre from the bark, used for making rope, fodder for livestock (leaves) and medicinal products made from various parts of the tree and used to treat a variety of Main use and benefits medical problems. Leaf extracts are very effective against How is it generally consumed? dysentery. They are also diuretic, diaphoretic, tonic and generally used against fever, diarrhoea, dysentery, colic, The African baobab is an extremely important indigenous lumbago or ophthalmia, worm and urinary tract fruit tree species for humans and animals in the dry areas infections. They are also effective in the treatment of of Africa. It offers shelter and provides food, fibre and asthma. medicine, as well as raw materials for many purposes. The white pulp is rich in vitamin C and used for making juice. constitute an alternative source of proteins in the The roasted seeds are very nutritious, rich in proteins human diet, with advantages over animal proteins because and fats and this socioeconomically important species is of their low content of saturated fats and absence of essential in the local diet. cholesterol. Nutritional value What is its nutritional value? The leaves, bark and fruit of African baobab are used as food and medicinal purposes in many parts of Africa. The leaves are an excellent source of protein, containing all the essential amino acids, as well as most of the nonessential amino acids. The fruit pulp is particularly rich in vitamin C. The vitamin C content is three times higher than a typically consumed orange (150-499 mg/100 g vs 46 mg/100 g). With the Daily Allowance of Vitamin C of 60 mg/day, 10 g of fruit pulp would provide 25% of the recommended amount of vitamin C per day. African baobab fruit is also a good source of calcium Los pequeños with 100 g of fruit providing 116 to 370 mg calcium agricultores producen la depending on the source (RDA for calcium is 500 mg/ mayoría de los alimentos. day). The iron content of the fruit pulp ranges from 1.7 to 9.1 mg (with the iron requirement being 18 mg/day). It is also rich in pectins (up to 56% water soluble pectinsNuestra visión es la de by weight), soluble fibres are an important component ofun mundo en el cual our diet. las comunidades de The seed is lower in protein (16.60 g/100 g) than pequeños agricultores de soybean (36.70 g/100 g) and cowpea (23.10 g/100 g) but higher than maize (8.90 g/100 g). Total sugar is lowlos países en desarrollo (2.52 g/100 g) but starch content of (22.60 g/100 g) isson prósperas y higher than the 18.44 g/100 g reported for soybean. sostenibles.

Growing and harvesting How easy is it to grow? How is it harvested? The species is deciduous and is commonly without leaves for as long as eight months of the year. The leafless twigs contain chlorophyll and the trees can continue growing slowly during this time using water stored in the large trunk. Under good conditions trees grow very quickly in the early years, reaching 2 m in two years and up to 15 m in 12 years under good conditions. Baobab trees are thought to live for up to 1000 years or more. When the fruits seem dry and hollow they are mature. Fruits can be collected from the crown of standing trees by using a hook to cut the hanging fruits or by climbing into the crown. It is not recommended to collect from the ground. Uses of the species differ in different areas, with uses Preserving and ranging from keeping bees in the hollowed trunks in some processing areas to storing water in areas where people are nomadic. Can it be preserved, keeping its value? Rural people have used many criteria to differentiate baobab individuals in traditional agroforestry systems, Dry fruits are collected and seeds are extracted by hitting including characteristics of leaves, fruits, bark and the the fruit on a hard surface in order to break it. The mixture whole tree. For example, in rural areas of people of seeds and pulp is then soaked in water for up to 6 favour baobab trees that are considered female (fruit hours to remove the pulp by gentle squashing and floating producing), have delicious leaves, sweet or slightly acid in water. Floatation also separates dead seeds, with those fruit with yellowish pulp and good texture, capsules with that float being discarded: this is in general about a third high pulp yield and bark that is easily harvested. of the total. Seeds can then be dried in the sun for two days. Some local beliefs that guide the selection of trees for harvesting include the following: hairy leaves are always The seed of this species displays orthodox seed storage tasteless; trees that do not produce fruit always have tasteless behaviour. Dry seeds can be stored for up to 4 years at leaves; long, medium-sized fruits have sweet pulp; and trees room temperature without significant loss in viability. with early or late fruit maturity always produce sweet pulp. Baobab products show promise for use in a new generation of foods and drinks; they have high nutritional value and useful processing properties, e.g. high pectin COMPILED BY: and fibre content, and there are a variety of claims of Adriana Alercia, Bioversity International health benefits from consuming them. REFERENCES: The content was largely drawn from material developed by Other uses the SAFORGEN Food Tree Species Working Group, through a collaboration between Bioversity and the Forest Research Center What else can be done with it? of INIA (Spain). The roots are used as a tonic indicated for the treatment Assogbadjo AE and Loo J. 2011. Adansonia digitata, African of malaria. The fruit pulp is used in healing and baobab. Conservation and Sustainable Use of Genetic Resources of Priority Food Tree Species in sub-Saharan Africa.Bioversity strengthening children, treating diarrhoea, dysentery and International (Rome, Italy). inflammation of the intestine and liver. The seeds are Agroforesty Tree Database. World Agroforestry Centre. http://www. used in the treatment of dental caries, gingivitis, malaria, worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/AF/index.asp measles and gastritis. The sap is given to stop tooth Millenium Seed Bank Project, Kew. Seed Leaflet No. 109 decay. The gum used as a disinfectant for wounds and in January 2006. www. kew.org/msbp the treatment of toothache. PHOTOS: Culture Cover, page 3: Bioversity International\Y. Wachira Are there any specific taboos, specific cultural adaptations, historical perspective? Bioversity International is a member of the CGIAR Baobab trees have great significance for many peoples Consortium. CGIAR is a global in Africa. There are many legends about the tree and research partnership for a food although in many areas mature trees are protected and secure future. highly valued, people in southern Benin consider the species diabolical and eliminate seedlings and saplings Bioversity International Via dei Tre Denari 472/a from their fields. 00057 Maccarese (Fiumicino) Rome, Italy [email protected] www.bioversityinternational.org