Abstract
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is increasingly becoming a commercially important underutilized tree crop worldwide. Due to its multi-purpose use and market demand the tree and its processed products are been traded in many towns and villages. Despite its potential, major setbacks are the lack of knowledge on its uses and nutritional potential within the Ghanaian context. This study reviews and exposes the beneficial potential of tamarind whiles studying with empirical data its nutritional composition for proximate analysis. Indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized to many regions of the world, the tree is seen in over 50 countries. Within Ghana and other parts of the world, tamarind is distinctively called by different vernacular names either referring to the tree or its product. Almost every part of the tree is used in one way or the other from food including beverage drinks, jams, and curries, to pharmaceutical, textile, timber, fodder, and as a fuel source. It is rich in vitamins, minerals and other proximate elements. Proximate composition of locally sourced fruit pulp showed high levels of fats and oils 51.39% and fibre 15.10% while other parameters like protein, ash, vitamin C and moisture were similar to test results from other countries. The tamarind plant has undoubtedly great potential based on its benefits, and uses. Key words: Tamarind, Tamarindus indica, Ghana, multipurpose, benefits, nutritional potential, medicinal, proximate composition.
Highlights
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree that belongs to the family Fabaceae with Subfamily Caesalpiniaceae (Stege et al, 2011)
The plant is believed to be indigenous to tropical Africa and described by some botanist as a pan-tropical species which stretches from Senegal to Eritrea, from Sierra Leone to Cameroon, from Ethiopia and Somalia to Mozambique (Bhadoriya et al, 2011)
Consumers choose diets based on the associated nutritional and health benefits instead of taste (Katan and De Roos, 2004). This current study shows a good nutritional potential in tamarind pulps especially in fats, fibre and protein as compared to other test results
Summary
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree that belongs to the family Fabaceae with Subfamily Caesalpiniaceae (Stege et al, 2011). According to Abubakari and Muhammad (2013), the tamarind tree was long ago introduced into and adapted to India such that it has often been reported been indigenous from there They added that, it was apparently from this Asiatic country that it reached the Persians and the Arabs who called it “Tamar Hindi” Hailay et al (2020) in a study in Ethiopia found that the sweet tamarind trees produced significantly more fruit pulp, seed, seed size and weight than the sour trees. They observed that tamarind fruit vary from curved to straight. As a traditional food source plant in Africa, tamarind has a great potential to improve human nutrition, boost food security, promote rural development, enhance revenue and support sustainable land care
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
