Micronutrient Content of Wild Vegetable Species Harvested in Forested and Non-Forested Areas in Southwest Burkina Faso

Abstract

While micronutrient deficiencies are exacerbated by infection, the underlying problems of poor dietary quality, low dietary diversity and inadequate consumption of micronutrient-rich foods must be addressed to improve global rates of malnutrition [5,6]. In the face of dietary transitions [7], increasingly globalized and homogenized food systems [8][9][10][11][12] and unfavorable food environments [5], the nutrition and public health community need to make use of every tool in the tool box to promote healthy diets and reduce rates of micronutrient deficiencies globally [6,13]. Many experts are calling for greater attention to biodiversity of traditional and under-utilized foods as an important tool in the fight against micronutrient malnutrition [14][15][16][17][18][19]. The push for more research on biodiverse foods for nutrition calls for interdisciplinary research that links species and biological information (through proper botanical, species and varietal identification of under-utilized foods) with the nutrient content of those foods. The belief is that better demonstration of the potential of traditional and underutilized for nutrition, will help support their incorporation into nutrition programming and education.Close to three million deaths annually are attributed to insufficient vegetable consumption [20][21][22], and few populations globally meet the FAO/WHO recommended intake of 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per person per day [23,24], including in many Sub-Saharan African countries [25]. In this context, African Leafy Vegetables (ALVs) are an important type of traditional and under-utilized food. Because ALV are often wild, or easy to cultivate, they are readily available and affordable, as well as culturally appropriate [26]. ALVs have been used for generations; however, their use is reported to be declining in many settings, perhaps due to cultural stigmas associated with their consumption [26]. In some settings, there are signs of a reversal of this trend [27]. ALVs are incredibly diverse and represent a major portion of the vegetables consumed in many African settings [26,[28][29][30][31][32]. ALVs are a key source of micronutrients for many populations and in many cases, contain more micronutrients than introduced vegetables such as spinach or cabbage [32]. For example, in South Africa, 20 traditional wild vegetables provide close to 10% of the recommended intake in minerals [33]. AbstractGeneration of improved data on biodiverse foods for nutrition required that nutrient composition data be paired with proper botanical identification of species. This study assessed the nutrient content of ten wild vegetable species within and outside forested area in Burkina Faso. The ten-vegetable species included: Adansonia digitata L., Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del., Boerhavia diffusa L., Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn., Cerathoteca sesamoides Endl., Crataeva religiosa Sieber, Ficus ovata Vahl, Moringa oleifera Lam., Strycnos spinosa Lam. and Vitex doniana Sweet. Additionally, the nutrient content for each ...