An Exploratory Study on the Diverse Uses and Benefits of Locally-Sourced Fruit Species in Three Villages of Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Abstract

Globally, the potential of indigenous and neglected fruit species is continuously being recognized. In the current study, we explored the uses and benefits of locally available fruit species among the Mapulana people in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. An ethno-botanical survey was conducted using in-depth interviews to record the names of the fruit species, their uses, seasonal availability, and occurrence in three villages, namely, Mokhololine, Motlamogatsane, and Rooiboklaagte B. Forty-one (41) participants aged 23 to 89 years old, identified by community members as knowledgeable on the utilization of fruit species, were interviewed. The frequency of citation (FC), use value (UV), and use report (UR) of the locally sourced fruit species were determined. The study revealed thirty-one (31) indigenous/naturalized plants belonging to 17 families with Anacardiaceae (four species) and Rubiaceae (three species) as the dominant ones. Approximately 48% of the 31 plants had FC of 100%, suggesting their high popularity in the study area. The identified plants had diverse uses that were categorized into six (6) groups and mainly dominated by food (59%) and medicine (34%). Strychnos madagascariensis had the highest (0.56) UV while Berchemia discolor, Parinari capensis, Parinari curatellifolia, and Sclerocarya birrea had the highest (6) URs. Overall, these locally sourced fruit species still play a significant role in the daily lives of the Mapulana people. The identified fruit species have the potential to be considered as alternative sources to meet the dietary requirements and health needs, especially in rural communities.

Medicinal Plants for Mitigating Pain and Inflammatory-Related Conditions: An Appraisal of Ethnobotanical Uses and Patterns in South Africa

“…Several relevant internet search engines were mined for information relating to ethnobotanical documentation of plants used for treating Polori et al (2018) Free State Ethnomedical botany and some biological activities of Ipomoea oblongata 30 Pooley (1993) KwaZulu-Natal Inventory on the trees of Natal, Zululand, and Transkei 31 Pujol (1990) No restriction An account of the herbalist medicine 17 32 Shai et al (2020) Mpumalanga An ethnobotanical survey for locally sourced fruits among the Mapulana people 33 Thring and Weitz (2006) Western pain and inflammatory-related conditions in South Africa in the past few decades. Despite the hits from the initial search, the majority were discarded for diverse reasons such as duplicates and being outside the predefined inclusion criteria (Figure 1).…”

Determinants of Household Income and Willingness to Pay for Indigenous Plants in North West Province, South Africa: A Two-Stage Heckman Approach

“…This link is expressed as "non-use value", which is expected to be weaker than the link based on direct use. It is assumed that the willingness to pay for users is more than for nonusers [24].…”

“…Evidence of trading indigenous plants and their products varies from place to place, such as between different fruits, fruit juice, seedlings, and other by-products [22,23]. Indigenous fruits are sold in both urban and rural markets and provide a substantial income to small-scale farmers [24,25]. However, existing studies have revealed that the trading of fruits collected from the wild is a profitable enterprise [22].…”

Advancing indigenous fruits consumption to promote self-management in ill-health: a critical narrative review

“…This significance of this observation is in both health behaviour and health economics of a people. [20][21][22] It is common knowledge that medical doctors consider affordability of medicines in prescribing treatment.…”