Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026

Methods for Comparing Nutrients in Beebread Made by Africanized and European Honey Bees and the Effects on Hemolymph Protein Titers
Published on: March 17, 2015
Nutrient composition of selected indigenous fruits from sub-Saharan Africa
Barbara Stadlmayr1, U Ruth Charrondière, Sandra Eisenwagen
1Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Indigenous fruits constitute an important part of human diets in many sub-Saharan African countries, particularly in rural areas and during droughts. In order to promote and expand the utilisation of these fruits, knowledge on their nutritional composition is essential. This review presents the results of a literature research of the nutritional composition of ten selected indigenous fruits from sub-Saharan Africa. Species were selected based on their current importance as well as their future potential for nutrition, processing and cash income generation. Compositional data were compiled and mean values of components per species were calculated. Most papers were compiled for Adansonia digitata (26) and Dacryodes edulis (16), followed by Tamarindus indica (ten), Balanites aegyptiaca (nine), Sclerocarya birrea (nine), Ziziphus mauritiana (nine), Vitex doniana (seven) and Irvingia gabonensis (five), and least for Uapaca kirkiana (three) and Syzygium guineense (three). Fruits were found to be mainly analysed for macronutrients and minerals. Vitamins, apart from vitamin C, were rarely reported. Substantial compositional differences were found among as well as within the different fruit species. The results of this study emphasise the need to generate more high-quality data on a wider spectrum of components of the selected indigenous fruits in sub-Saharan Africa.
Related Concept Videos
Fruit Development, Structure, and Function
Key Elements for Plant Nutrition
Subcellular Fractionation
Differential Centrifugation
Differential centrifugation is...
Absorption of Nutrients
Enterocytes, which are specialized polar epithelial cells, line the mucosa of the small intestinal walls. These cells...
Carbohydrates: Dietary Sources and Requirements
Compounds Essential to Human Function
Inorganic Compounds Essential to Human Functioning
Inorganic compounds essential to human functioning include water, salts, acids, and bases. These compounds are inorganic, i.e., they do not have a carbon-hydrogen bond. Water...
