Opportunities for domesticating the African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.): multi-trait fruit selection

Simbo, D.J.; Smedt, S. De; Bilcke, Nina Van den; Meulenaer, Bruno De; Camp, John Van; Uytterhoeven, Veronique; Samson, Roeland

doi:10.1007/s10457-012-9568-7

Cited by 29 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The pulp calcium concentration recorded here for Malian provenances averaging between 1,800 mg and 3,000 mg kg −1 was found to agree with the range (1,600–3,090 mg kg −1 ) previously reported in Mali by Simbo et al. (). The regional variation in pulp calcium content can be linked to the area's geographical conditions.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Moreover, the species has several roles in traditional medicine and cultural and religious beliefs, which often consider the tree as sacred (Kamatou, Vermaak, & Viljoen, ). The naturally dry fruit pulp is rich in vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber (Assogbadjo, Chadare, Kakaï, Fandohan, & Baidu‐Forson, ; Gebauer, El‐Siddig, & Ebert, ; Simbo et al., ; Stadlmayr, Charrondiere, Eisenwagen, Jamnadass, & Kehlenbeck, ). The pulp is usually used in the preparation of fruit juice, snacks, sweets, as a fermenting agent in local brews (Gebauer et al., ), porridge, and in food recipes (Sidibé & Williams, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…() reported the influence of soil characteristics on the biochemical composition of baobab parts across three agro‐climatic zones of Benin. In Mali, topsoil characteristics and tree provenance were reported to influence the nutritive composition of baobab fruit pulp (Simbo et al., ). Although baobabs are commonly available in east and southern Africa, information on their nutritional composition is scarce or fragmented.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nutritional variation in baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) fruit pulp and seeds based on Africa geographical regions

Muthai

Karori

Muchugi

et al. 2017

Food Science & Nutrition

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Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is an indigenous fruit tree associated with the Savannah drylands of sub‐Saharan Africa. Local communities mainly utilize the leaves, pulp, and seeds of baobab as a source of food and for income generation. The present study was conducted to determine the nutritive attributes of baobab fruit pulp and seeds across provenances in east, west, and southern Africa and to determine whether the nutrient content varied with the provenance of origin. Pulp and seed proximate composition and mineral element concentration were determined using the AOAC 1984 methods and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP‐AES), respectively. The results showed that there exist significant variation (p < .05) in pulp moisture, protein, fiber, ash, and elemental content among provenances. The highest mean pulp crude fiber (8.68 g 100 g−1 dw) was recorded in Kenya. At country level, Malawi had the highest mean pulp potassium (22.2 mg g−1), calcium (4,300 mg kg−1), magnesium (2,300 mg kg−1), sodium (1,000 mg kg−1), and phosphorus (1,100 mg kg−1) levels. Kenya had the highest mean pulp iron (57.4 μg g−1) and manganese (27.2 μg g−1) content, while Mali had the lowest iron (13.1 μg g−1) and manganese (8.6 μg g−1). At country level, the mean seed calcium content was highest (3,200 mg kg−1) in Malawi and lowest (2,000 mg kg−1) in Kenya. The highest mean iron content of 63.7 μg g−1 was recorded in seeds from Kenya, while the lowest (25.8 μg g−1) was in Mali. Baobab seed mineral and proximate content varied significantly (p < .001) among the selected countries. Overall, baobab fruit pulp and seeds contain significant amounts of nutritionally essential minerals and proximate components but the amounts varied significantly among the selected countries. This variation offers opportunities for selecting provenances to concentrate on during germplasm collection for conservation and domestication of baobab.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nutritional variation in baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) fruit pulp and seeds based on Africa geographical regions

Muthai

Karori

Muchugi

et al. 2017

Food Science & Nutrition

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“…The African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.), which belongs to the Bombacoideae subfamily of Malvaceae, is the best-known of the eight or nine species of the Adansonia genus (Baum, 1995;Wickens and Lowe, 2008;Pettigrew et al, 2012;Cron et al, 2016). Apart from it important role in carbon sequestration the baobab is a top priority species for domestication and cultivation, improving the livelihoods of locals, while contributing to food security and a healthy diet (Simbo et al, 2013). These trees are also a reliable archive for climate change and millennial specimens were recently used as proxies for paleoclimate reconstructions in southern Africa (Robertson et al, 2006, 2016, 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age and architecture of the largest African Baobabs from Mayotte, France

Patrut

Rákosy

et al. 2020

DRCSF

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The volcanic Comoro Islands, located in the Indian Ocean in between mainland Africa and Madagascar, host several thousand African baobabs (Adansonia digitata). Most of them are found in Mayotte, which currently belongs to France, as an overseas department. Baobabs constitute a reliable archive for climate change and millennial specimens were recently used as proxies for paleoclimate reconstructions in southern Africa. We report the investigation of the largest two baobabs of Mayotte, the Big baobab of Musical Plage and the largest baobab of Plage N’Gouja. The Big baobab of Musical Plage exhibits a cluster structure and consists of 5 fused stems, out of which 4 are common stems and one is a false stem. The baobab of Plage N’Gouja has an open ring-shaped structure and consists of 7 partially fused stems, out of which 3 stems are large and old, while 4 are young. Several wood samples were collected from both baobabs and analyzed via radiocarbon dating. The oldest dated sample from the baobab of Musical Plage has a radiocarbon date of 275 ± 25 BP, which corresponds to a calibrated calendar age of 365 ± 15 yr. On its turn, the oldest sample from Plage N’Gouja has a radiocarbon date of 231 ± 20 BP, corresponding to a calibrated age of 265 ± 15 yr. These results indicate that the Big baobab of Musical Plage is around 420 years old, while the baobab of Plage N’Gouja has an age close to 330 years. In present, both baobabs are in a general state of deterioration with many broken or damaged branches, and the Baobab of Plage N’Gouja has several missing stems. These observations suggest that the two baobabs are in decline and, most likely, close to the end of their life cycle.

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“…In crops, similar recognition can be accorded to individual plants that meet the specific expectations or needs of a particular market due to their particular combination of a number of specific genetic traits -an ideotype . To understand all these variations, studies have been conducted on a number of agroforestry trees to evaluate multi-trait variation using characterization web diagrams (Atangana et al 2002;Leakey 2005;Simbo et al 2013). To appreciate the potential, Leakey (2012a) has likened these opportunities to those captured by dog breeders from the genetic diversity of the wolf (von Holdt et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Tree Domestication in Green Market Product Value Chain Development in Africa

Damme

2019

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Internationally, there is increasing interest in acquiring ‘green’ market, organic and/or fair trade products, also sourced from the wild. The latter is expected to come from well-managed (forest) systems. This has led to the development and implementation of programmes designed to reduce deforestation and forest degradation (for mitigation of climate change, and sustainable provision of environmental goods and services) (REDD and REDD+). Crucially, this approach needs to be extended to the many poor, hungry and marginalized smallholder farmers in developing countries so that they can benefit from this increased market interest, but also to allow them to improve their natural resource (management) basis. In this context, agroforestry tree domestication has made considerable progress in the last 20 years, especially in Africa, in providing planting materials of many new tree crops for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries and consumer markets across many agro-ecological zones. Tree domestication is an important element and the first necessary step in the development of sustainable tree production for introduction in agroforestry systems. These trees can then form the basis of Non-Timber Forest Production (NTFP) that can feed into livelihood development. In contrast to wild trees, planted trees can offer a more regular and continuous supply of NTFPs that then feed into local-to-global value chains and highly sophisticated markets that demand higher quality and greater uniformity. Together with research institutes, local farmers are now developing new, more performant cultivars of species of interest. They thus eventually help to create direct benefits from the processing and subsequent marketing of food and non-food products in local, regional and international markets. The latter activities also create business and employment opportunities in local cottage industries. Similarly, through the indirect environmental and ecological services provided by trees, food security can be greatly enhanced as agroforestry may improve the production environment of crops and thus close the yield gap (i.e. the difference between the potential and actual yield) of modern crop varieties. In this way, agroforestry adds income generation to agro-ecological approaches which together reverse the cycle of land degradation and social deprivation whilst at the same time transforming the lives of poor farmers. However, these benefits do not come without some risks: the loss of genetic diversity and local rights over genetic resources, and exploitation by unscrupulous entrepreneurs. Agroforestry developments should therefore focus on better access to ‘green’ business opportunities for poor smallholder farmers in Africa by maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks. KEYWORDS: AGROFORESTRY TREE PRODUCTS; GENETIC DIVERSITY; INDIGENOUS TREE SPECIES; LIVELIHOODS, REDD+

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Opportunities for domesticating the African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.): multi-trait fruit selection

Cited by 29 publications

References 30 publications

Nutritional variation in baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) fruit pulp and seeds based on Africa geographical regions

Nutritional variation in baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) fruit pulp and seeds based on Africa geographical regions

Age and architecture of the largest African Baobabs from Mayotte, France

The Role of Tree Domestication in Green Market Product Value Chain Development in Africa

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