Nutritional analysis of selected wild edible vegetables of the Vhembe region, South Africa

Mokgaetji Georginah Mokganya,Lindelani Fhumudzani Mushaphi,Martin Potgieter,Milingoni Peter Tshisikhawe,Stephen Amoo

doi:10.47577/tssj.v26i1.5224

Mokgaetji Georginah Mokganya, Lindelani Fhumudzani Mushaphi + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v26i1.5224

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Abstract

For rural communities, wild edible plants play a paramount role as foods, which improve their nutritional livelihood and combat food insecurity. The prevalence of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Fe, and Zn from eight wild edible vegetables were studied. The micronutrients have the highest deficiency prevalence in human in the Vhembe region of the Limpopo Province, South Africa whereas trace elements studied in this research play indispensable roles in the maintenance of health and disease states of humans and domestic animals. Plant samples (leaves), free of infections, were obtained from street hawkers located between Levubu and Makhado in the province. Analysis of Fe, Zn, b-carotene and quantification of Vitamin C was achieved by following methods which are explained in the methodology section with slight modifications. Amaranthus Hybridus L. contained high amounts of 226±3.06 mg/100g and 15.5+/-3.52 mg/100g of Fe and Zn respectively. Solanum retroflexum was found to have the highest amount of Vitamin A (b-carotene) of 10.91 mg/100g DW , while Amaranthus thunbergii contained the highest (69.11mg/100g DW) amount of Vitamin C. There is a chance of blending wild edible vegetables for consumption. The blending of Solanum retroflexum and Amaranthus thunbergii is therefore recommended as it promotes Vitamin A and Vitamin C contents in the diet of humans.

Highlights

It has been estimated that over a billion people rely on wild vegetables to combat food insecurity and improve their nutritional status (Aberoumand, 2011)
The eight vegetable species contained Vitamin C ranging from 10.11 mg/100 g dry weight (DW) to 69.11 mg/100 g DW (Table 2)
Of note is the high Vitamin C concentrations found in the leaves of A. thunbergii Moq. and A. hybridus L. with values of 69.106 mg/100 g and 43.299 mg/100 g, respectively

Summary

Introduction

It has been estimated that over a billion people rely on wild vegetables to combat food insecurity and improve their nutritional status (Aberoumand, 2011). Hunger and malnutrition threaten millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and the estimation percentages of inhabitants still experiencing food insecurity stand at approximately 20% (Jansen van Rensburg et al., 2004). Wild edible plants are imperative dietary supplements providing trace elements, vitamins, and minerals (Lentini and Venza, 2007). The vegetables are good sources of Vitamin A and C (Steyn et al., 2001), as well as minerals (Almekinders and Boef, 2000), fibers (Schippers, 2002), carbohydrates (Gruben and Denton, 2004), and proteins (Ahmed, 2006). Iron is a mineral element found in every cell of the body (Mamaboleo et al, 2018) and it is considered very crucial because it forms part of blood cells(Abbaspour et al, 2014)

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