Micronutrient and Phytic acid Contents of Wild Edible Fruits Collected from Temcha Watershed of Amhara Region (Ethiopia) to Combat Hidden Hunger

Abstract

Abstracts Background: Locally available and easily accessible, underused complementary foods including wild edible fruit species are affordable and potentially more acceptable than other options to address the problem of ‘hidden hunger’ or micronutrient deficiency. Study aimed to collect and determine the nutritional composition of wild edible fruits with its bioavailability collected from Temcha watershed. Methods: Semi structured interviews were administered to collect all wild edible plants and its associated knowledge through the participation of informants systematically selected from six sub districts in the study area. Mineral and pyhtate content and molar ratio of phytate to mineral ratio were determined using standard methods. Results: Based on the total use value of all wild edible plants, the top 18 wild edible fruits were selected for dietary analysis. The zinc contents of the analyzed fruits were ranged in between 0.06 ± 0.02 mg/100g -88.89 ± 0.42 mg/100g. The iron content of the analyzed fruits were ranged in between 5.84 ±0.00 mg/100 g – 148 ± 0.93 mg/100g and the calcium contents were in between 53.25 ± 0.45 mg/100g – 1280 ± 0.77 mg/100g. The phytate content of each fruits were ranged in between 6.9 ± 0.00 mg/100g – 51.4 ± 0.04 mg/100g. Conclusions: Combination of Ficus sycomorus and either of all wild edible fruits satisfy the daily-recommended allowance of calcium for male and female age 10-18 (1300 mg/100 g). Almost all WEFs provides optimum amount of iron for Children up to 10 years required 11.6 – 17.8 mg / day except Embelia schimperi, Ficus sur, Rossa abyssinica, Rubus studinary & Ximenia americana. The different amount of zinc (0.66 - 89 mg /100 g) contributes to control progressive stunting in children in the study area. The phytate concentrations of wild edible fruits do not have a negative impact on the bioavailability of calcium, iron and zinc. The micronutrient content of wild edible fruits provided a lot of contribution for the study area communities and those who shared similar feeding culture elsewhere in the country. Key words: Micronutrients, temcha watershed, wild edible fruits,

Ethnobotany of an Indigenous Tree (Piliostigma Thonningii (Schumach.) Milne-Redh) ) in the Arid and Semi-Arid Areas of South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

“…This also goes along with the general nding in Ethiopia that the fruit is the dominant parts of wild edible plants (Asfaw & Tadesse, 2001;Balemie & Kebebew, 2006;Teklehaymanot & Giday, 2010;Molla et al, 2011;Addis et al, 2013). P. thonningii is relevant to household food security to supplement the staple food in normal times, to ll seasonal food shortages, and for ghting poor micronutrient intake or otherwise called hidden hanger (Reta et al, 2019). Similar studies in Africa show that the fruit and seeds of P. thonningii are nutritious and contain the primary metabolites like protein, starch, fat and lignin (Jimoh & Oladiji, 2005;Egharevba & Kunle, 2010;Deshi et al, 2014;Jemiseye et al, 2019).…”