Ethnobotany and analysis of food components of African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) Benth.) in the transitional zone of Ghana: implications for domestication, conservation and breeding of improved varieties

Abstract

African locust bean is an important non-timber leguminous tree species for food security in Sahelian zones of Africa. Despite its multipurpose uses by local inhabitants, not much is known about its nutritional importance and ethnobotany in Ghana. For this, one thousand farmers randomly selected from five towns in the transitional zone of Ghana were surveyed using participatory rapid appraisal tools and techniques. The major uses of the plant in the survey area include food, medicine and firewood. Men are involved in the collection of the fruits and women process the seed into “dawadawa”, a protein rich condiment. Folk names of the plant in the study area means a mother or helper indicating the importance of the plant in nutrition and food security. The leaf, bark, root and fruit of the plant are used to treat various medical problems including fever, diarrhoea, stomach problems, boils and burns. Bad odour, limited market access, lack of elite genotypes, bush fires and tedious labour operations were the main constraints of African locust bean production in Ghana. Results on the stages of domestication show that African locust bean is in early stages of domestication which suggest that the respondents are aware of the food value and have a sense of ownership of the crop. Proximate composition of the pulp and the dehulled seed was determined using the official method of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists revealed that the pulp contains 2.47 % ash, 2.15 % protein, 1.33 % fat, 6.9 % fibre and 74 % carbohydrates. The dehulled bean contains 3.91 % ash, 20.93 % protein, 26.33 % fat, 4.92 % fibre and 34.18 % carbohydrates. These findings justified urgent need to domesticate, conserve natural populations and to develop improved varieties to ensure food and nutrition security and health in Africa.