Abstract
The African continent harbours many native species with nutraceutical and pharmaceutical potential. This study reviewed underutilised crops in South Africa to determine their potential as food and herbal medicinal crops. Over 5,000 species have been identified and earmarked for their medical attributes in formal and informal setups. Researchers, plant breeders and policymakers have mostly ignored the development potential of these crops. Consequently, their value chains are poorly developed. In South Africa, there is a wide range of neglected and underutilised crops, which were historically popular and used by communities; however, over the years, they have lost their status within farming systems and been relegated to the status of neglected and underutilised. Recently, driven by the need to transition to more sustainable and resilient food systems, there has been renewed interest in their potential as food and herbal medicinal crops to establish new value chains that include vulnerable groups. They are now gaining global attention, and their conservation and sustainable utilisation are now being prioritized. The review confirmed that several of these crops possess nutraceutical and pharmaceutical properties, highlighting their potential for development as food and herbal medicines. However, current production levels are too low to meet the requirements for industrial development; research and development should focus on all aspects of their value chain, from crop improvement to utilisation. A transdisciplinary approach involving a wide range of actors is needed to develop the identified neglected and underutilised crops’ potential as food and herbal medicinal crops and support the development of new and inclusive value chains.
Highlights
Rural communities within South Africa (SA) practise rainfed subsistence agriculture and generally derive low economic returns from farming activities (Beddington et al, 2011)
To fulfil the objectives of this research, the methodology of the current study was structured into four phases, namely 1) a general review of key terms and definitions to be used in the review 2) a mixed-methods review of the literature to establish the current status of food and herbal medicinal plants and identify gaps to their mainstreaming, 3) systematic review to quantify the amount of knowledge on a) diversity of functional food and herbal medicinal Neglected and underutilised crop species (NUS) b), pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals properties, and c) priority Neglected and underutilised functional medicinal crop species (NUFMS) and 4) proposed production strategy for priority underutilised functional food and herbal medicinal crops
There is an array of terms used in defining the medicinal properties of crops, each with a different meaning and context, and this has tended to work against NUFMS
Summary
Rural communities within South Africa (SA) practise rainfed subsistence agriculture and generally derive low economic returns from farming activities (Beddington et al, 2011). Unemployment and food and nutrition insecurity are concentrated within these communities (Shackleton et al, 2008) These communities are plagued by the coexistence of NUS as Functional Medicinal Crops undernutrition (i.e., thinness, stunting and underweight) and overnutrition (i.e., overweight and obesity) or diet-related noncommunicable diseases (Tsegay et al, 2014; Govender et al, 2016; Thow et al, 2018; Dakora and Belane, 2019). It is argued that current agricultural activities within these communities are too mainstream and lack the necessary innovation to allow rural economic development Given these challenges, there is a need to embrace a new paradigm that promotes context-specific best-bet agricultural technologies that can perform under climate change and meet market demands for sustainable and healthy diets. One strategy could be to diversify cropping systems to include multipurpose food and herbal medicinal plants with nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and economic potential
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