Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
16
Product Development:
Nutritional Value, Processing
and Utilization of Indigenous
Fruits from the Miombo
Ecosystem
J.D.K. S
AKA
,
1
I. K
ADZERE
,
2
B.K. N
DABIKUNZE
,
3
F.K. A
KINNIFESI
4
AND
B.P.M. T
IISEKWA
3
1
Chemistry Department, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, Zomba,
Malawi
;
2
SADC-ICRAF Agroforestry Project, C/O Division of Agricultural
Research and Extension, Harare, Zimbabwe
;
3
Department of Food Science
and Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
;
4
SADC-ICRAF Project, Chitedze Agricultural Research Station, Lilongwe,
Malawi
16.1 Introduction
Forests and homestead farms are important sources of non-timber products.
These include indigenous fruits, which are consumed by communities and also
sold on rural roadsides and in urban markets to generate income. These fruits
are essential for the food security, health and social and economic welfare of
rural communities (FAO, 1989; Maghembe
et al
., 1998; Dietz, 1999). For
example, the shea butter nut (
Vitellaria paradoxa
), found in the dry savannah,
forests and parklands of the Sudano-Sahelian regions, is used by communities
as a culinary fat or oil, a soap, an ointment and in cosmetics (Boffa
et al
.,
1996). The fat is used in pastry and in confectionery as a cocoa butter
substitute and as a base in cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. The
flavoured pulp of
Theobroma grandifolia
in Brazil is used in juices, ice cream,
liquor, wine-making and jellies (Velho
et al
., 1990). The fruit of
T. grandifolia
is
rich in vitamin C (28.3 mg/100 g) and iron (1.53 mg/100 g) and its seed oil
contains more linoleic acid (83% of the lipids) than cocoa.
In the miombo region of southern Africa, indigenous fruits are largely a
subsistence product obtained during gathering activities (Maghembe
et al
.,
1998; Kwesiga
et al
., 2000). Most of the smallholder farmers in the Zambezi
basin, particularly in Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, are not secure
Search WWH ::
Custom Search