Abstract
A literature survey revealed that several wild indigenous Southern African fruits had previously not been evaluated for their proximate and amino acid composition, as well as the total energy value (caloric value). Fourteen species including Carissa macrocarpa, Carpobrotus edulis, Dovyalis caffra, Halleria lucida, Manilkara mochisia, Pappea capensis, Phoenix reclinata, and Syzygium guineense were analyzed in this study. The nutritional values for several species such as C. edulis, H. lucida, P. reclinata, and M. mochisia are being reported here for the first time. The following fruits had the highest proximate values: C. macrocarpa (ash at 20.42 mg/100 g), S. guineense (fat at 7.75 mg/100 g), P. reclinata (fiber at 29.89 mg/100 g), and H. lucida (protein at 6.98 mg/100 g and carbohydrates at 36.98 mg/100 g). Essential amino acids such as histidine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and valine were reported in all studied indigenous fruits. The high protein content in H. lucida was exhibited by the highest amino acid quantities for histidine. However, the fruits are a poor source of proteins since the content is lower than the recommended daily intake. The jacket-plum (Pappea capensis), on the other hand, meets and exceeds the required daily intake of lysine (0.0003 g/100 g or 13 mg/kg) recommended by the World Health Organization.
Highlights
The Food Agricultural Organisation [1] estimates that only 10,000 of the 300,000 known plant species have been used for human food since the origin of agriculture
This study presents the research findings based on the proximate values, amino acids, and energy content of the selected wild edible indigenous fruits of Southern Africa
The botanical information of the identified wild indigenous Southern African plants is presented in Table 1, as presented in Sibiya et al [45]
Summary
The Food Agricultural Organisation [1] estimates that only 10,000 of the 300,000 known plant species have been used for human food since the origin of agriculture. About 150–200 of these have been commercially cultivated, with only rice, wheat, maize, and potatoes supplying 50% of the world’s caloric intake. This indicates that many plants with the potential to improve food and nutrition security are not yet mainstreamed [2]. According to Duguma [5], the use of wild indigenous fruits could combat malnutrition and improve food security. Most foods from the wild play an important part in supplying nutrition to communities during periods of food scarcity as they can be consumed as snacks in emergency demands
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
