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Gnetum Africanum: a Wild Food Plant from the African Forest with Many Nutritional and Medicinal Properties

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Gnetum Africanum: a Wild Food Plant from the African Forest with Many Nutritional and Medicinal Properties JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL FOOD J Med Food 14 (11) 2011, 1289–1297 REVIEW # Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2010.0327 Gnetum africanum: A Wild Food Plant from the African Forest with Many Nutritional and Medicinal Properties Fadi Ali,1 Mafu Akier Assanta,2 and Carole Robert1 1PharmAfrican, Le´vis, Que´bec, Canada. 2Food Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saint-Hyacinthe, Que´bec, Canada. ABSTRACT Gnetum africanum is a forest liana that grows abundantly in Central Africa, South America, and tropical and subtropical Asia. Its leaves are eaten as a vegetable, either raw or finely chopped and cooked; they are also widely used as an ingredient in soups and stews and are much in demand for their nutritional and therapeutic properties. In the latter application, various fractions of G. africanum are used medicinally to treat many different illnesses. Many studies have also shown that the chemical composition of the leaves of this plant gives it significant nutritional properties, and its high fiber, protein, and calorie content support these claims. Several molecular compounds related to the families of stilbenes, glycosylflavones, and flavonostilbenes have been isolated and identified in the leaf extract of this plant. These molecules give the plant its interesting properties and biological activities. KEY WORDS: African forest Gnetum africanum nutritional value therapeutic properties vegetable wild food plant INTRODUCTION To ensure and enhance the continued survival of G. africanum, studies have been undertaken on its selection, netum africanum Welw. is a shade-loving climbing genetic improvement vegetative propagation, and manage- gymnosperm liana that grows in dense equatorial for- G ment ex situ.6 The goal of these studies is to ensure not only ests and preforest fallow. The common names of this species that Gnetum remains available in the future but also that the in the three local languages of the Democratic Republic of new varieties to be cultivated will be genetically superior. the Congo are mfumbwa (in Kikongo), longongia (in Lin- Reports have been published on the production of genetic gala), and banvale (in Azande). The seeds of this plant are material from 85 different sources for future selection and eaten cooked, and its edible leaves are sold in markets. The genetic improvement with a view toward large-scale pro- leaves of G. africanum are green vegetables with a high duction of plant material with a broad genetic base. nutritional value. Gnetum is the sole genus in the family Gnetaceae and comprises about 30 species, most of them lianas distributed IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF GNETUM in the tropical regions of Asia, South America,1 and Central 2 G. africanum and G. bucholzianum are of great importance Africa. The plants are dioecious: the males produce catkins to many forest communities and have many different ver- Downloaded by Canada A& Agri-Food from online.liebertpub.com at 02/09/18. For personal use only. of stamens, and the female produce catkins of ovules barely 3 nacular and commercial names. For example, in the Central protected by an envelope. African Republic, Gabon, Congo, the Democratic Republic In Africa, two different species of Gnetum are found: G. of the Congo, and Angola, both species are called KoKo africanum and Gnetum bucholzianum. They are distributed locally.7 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, G. afri- in the tropical rainforests from Nigeria through Cameroon, canum is called mfumbwa or fumbwa in the Kikongo lan- the Central African Republic, and Gabon and the Demo- 4 guage, and in Angola the leaves are also called m’fumbua or cratic Republic of the Congo to Angola. These two species fumbua. In the English-speaking part of Cameroon the local are so similar that it is hard to distinguish them except by the name is eru, whereas in the French-speaking part it is okok. shape of their leaves and the characteristics of the male 5 Lastly, in Nigeria, the Igbo tribe calls the leaves of this plant reproductive organs. ukase, and the Efiki/Ibibio tribe calls them afang.Inthepast, G. africanum was known as ‘‘wild spinach’’ in English. Manuscript received 1 December 2010. Revision accepted 15 May 2011. G. africanum grows abundantly in many different habi- tats: fallows, abandoned farmland, secondary forest, and Address correspondence to: Dr. Mafu Akier Assanta, Food Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 3600 Casavant Boulevard West, Saint- dense forest. In complex rainforests, Gnetum vines tolerate a Hyacinthe, QC, Canada J2S 8E3, E-mail: [email protected] very wide variety of supports, such as large and small trees, 1289 1290 ALI ET AL. dead trees, young shrubs, and other climbing plants, such as CFA francs 1,060,800,000–1,560,000,000 ($US 1,500,000– rattans, as well as other plant hosts. Gnetum grows luxuri- 2,200,000). According to Food and Agrcultural Organiza- antly and produces large amounts of leaf biomass. tion statistics from 2002, a total of 44.427 tons of G. In the wild, Gnetum grows and forms underground roots africanum (eru), valued at CFA francs 591,017,000, were or tubers in which the plant stores its food reserves. These sold in 1997, and 50% of the volume exported from Africa tubers can survive for many years, even when the vegetation comes from Cameroon.11 This large volume of trade pro- and Gnetum vines above have been cleared and the soil vides many young people in Cameroon and neighboring surface has been laid bare. Authors report that certain local countries with well-paid jobs. For example, monthly sales tribes in eastern Cameroon and in the Democratic Republic for one of the merchants who works full-time in the of the Congo eat these tubers as wild yams, especially Gnetum trade in Idenau reaches CFA francs 450,000 during the dry season.7 When the vines are cut, the buds on (roughly $US 750).6 these tubers are often damaged, and it can take some time before the new buds produce new vines. In some cases, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION overly aggressive harvesting of the vines injures the tubers and roots, which thus become more vulnerable to fungi and The average chemical composition of G. africanum is rot. The effects of intensive harvesting clearly interfere with shown in Table 1. This composition varies depending on the regrowth and renewal of the stock of Gnetum leaves. variety of Gnetum analyzed. The plant is rich in fiber (28– Also, when Gnetum vines are being harvested, the trees 37%) and protein (13–18%). Its mineral content is 2–9%. on which they grow are often cut down, causing serious However, its fat content depends on the variety. It is on the damage. Thus, harvesting Gnetum in the wild is not a sus- order of 2–10% for the Asutan, Oron, Ikom, and Welw. tainable method. Moreover, many of the forests where varieties and 0.5% for Koko (Table 1). Gnetum grows are suffering substantial degradation from The carbohydrate content of the plant is high for the first uncontrolled, illegal harvesting of timber, as well as from four varieties listed (38–44% dry matter [DM]). However, farming, road construction, and other kinds of economic the Koko variety has a low percentage of carbohydrates (5% development activity.8 DM on average). The stem appears to contain more minerals G. africanum leaves are an important commercial food and proteins than the leaves, but the leaves contain more fiber than the stems.15 Also, the amount of vitamin C in the commodity in Africa, where gathering Gnetum leaves for 14 sale at local and regional markets is a daily activity. Because leaves of G. africanum has been estimated at 113 mg/100 g. the two species of Gnetum are evergreens, their leaves can be harvested throughout the year, which has considerably CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION increased the volume exported in recent years. OF G. AFRICANUM Cameroon exports Gnetum to Nigeria, Gabon, and The criteria for evaluating the nutritional value of plants Congo through the two ports of Idenau and Kribi. After refer to their protein composition in amino acids and lipid being exported, Gnetum leaves are transported to the large composition in fatty acids. The vitamin, antioxidant, and border cities and sold in the markets. In order to meet the mineral contents for which most tropical plants are known high demand, harvesting of Gnetum has extended into the as a good source are also taken into account. most remote regions. Each year, an estimated 600 tons of this product, valued at 1.8 billion CFA francs on the local Proteins market ($US 3,000,000), pass through only the port of Idenau.9 Besong et al.10 have estimated the total annual G. africanum is an abundant source of protein, especially income from this trade between Idenau and Nigeria at for its content in essential amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, Downloaded by Canada A& Agri-Food from online.liebertpub.com at 02/09/18. For personal use only. Table 1. Chemical Composition of Different Varieties of G. africanum Chemical composition of G. africanum (% of dry matter) Humidity (%) Variety Source (wet weight) Ash Fiber Fat Protein Carbohydrate Reference Asutan Leaves 13.0 3.0 28.6 6.7 17.9 43.8 Isong et al.12 Oron Leaves 14.0 2.0 34.2 9.6 15.5 38.7 Isong et al.12 Ikom Leaves 12.0 3.0 37.8 2.4 12.8 44.0 Isong et al.12 Welw. Leaves and stem 73.2 6.74 33.0 7.53 15.2 37.5 Eyo et al.13 Leaves 73 — 25.5 15.2 37.4 Mensah et al.14 Koko Leaves — 4.6 87.8 0.3 7.2 0.2 Popovich et al.15 a Liana — 8.7 59.3 0.6 21.5 10.1 Popovich et al.15 a Average — 6.65 73.6 0.45 14.4 5.2 Popovich et al.15 a Afang Seeds 31.6 1.2 0.8 3.1 17.5 87.6 Ekop16 aTotal dietetic fiber.
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