Abstract
Sea buckthorn is a medicinal plant occurring throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Considered as a “superfood” given the nutritional properties of its berries, the latter have a large international market potential, particularly in China and Europe. Although sea buckthorn grows widespread in northern Pakistan, it is a neglected species there. Fruit marketing is severely hampered by low raw product quality, varying prices, and low local demand. During 2017–2018 a total of 111 collectors and 17 commission agents were interviewed from Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan using semi-structured questionnaires. The results provide comprehensive information about the current situation from collection to post-harvest management of sea buckthorn fruits including the analysis of vitamin C under different sun and shade drying conditions. The findings are complemented by an analysis of the underlying supply chain. Fruit sale prices were low for the collectors (1.82 US$ kg−1) since mostly poor households are involved in the harvest and sale. Traditional sun drying and storage conditions were inappropriate resulting in a decrease of chemical fruit quality and thus negatively affecting the sales price of produce. Supply chain analyses showed that the non-coordination among actors and lack of infrastructure affect the efficiency of the targeted sea buckthorn production at large. The study also shows the urgent need to set appropriate food quality standards, to increase communication among stakeholders, and to intensify training offers especially for collectors of sea buckthorn fruits.
Highlights
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L., Elagnaceae) is a shrub whose fruits are rich in vitamins and several other bioactive substances [1,2]
Local collectors of sea buckthorn berries were unaware of effective, yet sustainable, harvesting/drying techniques that preserve the quality for the harvested fruits
Current sun drying of berries is inappropriate as vitamin C concentrations drop dramatically, which calls for effective extension activities such as drying facilities
Summary
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L., Elagnaceae) is a shrub whose fruits are rich in vitamins and several other bioactive substances [1,2]. The species is a well-known medicinal plant containing carotenoids [3], tocopherols, ascorbic acid or vitamin C [4], vitamin K, the vitamin B complex [5], phytosterols [6], polyphenolic compounds [7], polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), organic acids [8], coumarins, triterpenes [9], and zinc [10]. In Pakistan, it is traditionally known as a medicinal plant, as field observations and deskwork suggest, knowledge on its use as a food crop is restrained due to limited awareness of producers and consumers. In the local harvest calendars of farmers in the Karakoram Mountains, sea buckthorn is the last fruit crop ripening between September and November, whereby collection is still possible until January [11,12]. Some berries are harvested and dried for sale, while branches and bark are used as fuel (source of cooking and heating during the winters), and leaves are browsed by livestock as observed during our field survey
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