Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
liquid, thus preserving vitamins. An emulsion of the fruit pulp may be used to adulterate milk. The
dried pulp is used as a substitute for cream of tartar in baking.
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The seeds are eaten raw or roasted and are used to thicken and flavor soup. Fermentation of the
seed kernels improves the nutritional value. In coastal Kenya and Tanzania, the pulp-coated seeds
are colored and sugar coated and sold as sweets. The seeds are used to adulterate groundnuts and
sometimes as a coffee substitute. The oil extracted from the seed kernels by boiling and distillation
is semifluid, golden yellow, gently scented, and nondrying and has a long shelf life. It is used for
cooking and in the cosmetics industry. The most prominent commercial product is the sun-dried
fruit pulp. Roasting and fermentation of both the fruit pulp and the seeds improve their chemical
composition, and it is believed that the fermented product with decreased tannin content provides a
better ingredient in traditional medicine.
Commerce —
Baobab is a major nontimber forest product (NTFP) that plays a significant role
in the lives of communities in the savanna, and its many products (seeds, oil, leaves, and fruits) con-
stitute a source of income for many rural people in Africa. Baobab products are used in pharmaceu-
tical and cosmetic industries. According to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) report (p. 7),
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baobab is highly sought after in several market segments, such as for
food and beverages (Germany, France, and the Netherlands); botanical remedies (Germany, France,
and the Netherlands); and nutraceuticals as well as natural cosmetics (European Union, United
States, and Japan). Baobab fruit is an ideal candidate in the functional food market as it is very high
in vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals; the powder may be used as a thickener due to its high
pectin and fiber contents. The import value of the product class of rare edible dried fruit, which
includes baobab fruit pulp, grew by 13% in 2003.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on 25 July 2009 the designation of
baobab dried fruit pulp (BDFP) as GRAS, indicating it is a substance that is generally recognized
as safe, which was based on a submission by PhytoTrade in 2008 to that agency. According to the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Sections 201
2
and 409, any substance that is intentionally
added to food as an additive is subject to premarket review and approval by the FDA. This makes
baobab a major article of international commerce. The designation of BDFP as GRAS, through sci-
entific procedures, allows for its use as an ingredient in blended fruit drinks and fruit cereal bars at
levels of up to 10% and 15%, respectively. Similar classification of baobab as a safe food ingredient
exists in the European Union.
ADENIA CISSAMPELOIDES
Botanical Name —
Adenia cissampeloides
Synonyms —
Adenia gracilis
Harms (1897),
Adenia gummifera
(Harv.) Harms (1897),
Adenia
guineensis
W.J. de Wilde (1971)
Related Species —
Adenia lobata
Family —
Passifloraceae
Common Names —
Monkey rope, snake climber, wild granadilla
African Names —
Swahili: mandali, mkengeti; Ashante-Twi (Ghana): homakyem; Ga:
akpeka, peteha (
A. lobata
); Luguru (Tanazania): gale; Digo (Kenya): mgore, mugore, munua nyoka;
Shambaa: ghoye; Zigua: zokambago
Description —
A. cissampeloides
is a dioecious liana, growing up to 30 m long, with a stem
up to 10 cm in diameter, striped bluish-green and older stems often with whitish powder; stems
have simple or 3-fid tendrils 10-20 cm long. Leaves are alternate, simple; stipules 0.5(-1) mm
long, broadly rounded to triangular, irregularly cleft; petiole (1-)1.5-11 cm long; blade entire or
more or less deeply 3(-5) lobed, orbicular to ovate or rhomboid in outline, (1-)3-14 cm long, base
cordate to truncate or cuneate, apex obtuse or retuse, rarely acute, with a single gland at the base,
