ABSTRACT
A study was conducted to identify the general uses and
determine the nutritional components of oil nuts, fruit pulp and leaves of Balanites
aegyptiaca. Information on general uses of the plant (Balanites
aegyptiaca) was collected through household survey using a semi structured
questionnaire. A total of 100 respondents comprising both females and males
were interviewed. The results indicated that 60% of respondents use the leaves
of the plant for soup, 93% of respondents lick the pulp of the fruits and none
of the respondents has ever extracted oil from the nuts. Fresh leaves and dried
fruits of Desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca) were collected from the
study area and their nutritional compositions were determined. The fruits pulp
had 15.57% of moisture, 84.43% of dry matter, 8.87% of ash, 0.97% of crude fat,
6.71% of crude protein, 5.19% of crude fiber, 83.45% of carbohydrate, 348.61%
of energy, 78.26% of nitrogen free extract and 0.453mg/g of vitamin C. However,
the leaves had 61.78% of moisture, 38.21% of dry matter, 8.92% of ash, 1.94% of
crude fat, 30.77% of crude protein, 14.22% of crude fiber, 58.37% of
carbohydrate, 317.11% of energy, 44.16% of nitrogen free extract and 0.490mg/g
of vitamin C. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the fruits
and leaves with respect to nutritional composition except for ash content (p
> 0.05). 12kg of dried nuts was processed to extract the oil. The percentage
of oil extracted from the 12kg of nuts was 44%. Physicochemical properties that
were determined from the oil were moisture content (0.15%), free fatty acid
such as oleic (1.73%), peroxide value (7.96meq/kg) and vitamin C
(52.22mg/g).The experimental design used was completely randomized design
(CRD). In conclusion, the leaves and fruits pulp of the desert date plant
contain some nutritional components for human consumption. I recommend that,
further research should be conducted on the edible oil of the nuts of the
plant.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
Long time ago, the culture of gathering wild plants continued
in many African communities (Teklehaymanot and Giday, 2010). Many rural
communities make good use of wild plants by using them to supplement their diet
which is based on rain fed cultivation of staples such as maize, cassava,
sorghum, millet and wheat. Different kinds of wild consumable plant species
offer a wide range of diet to rural communities. Furthermore, wild foods are
demanded mostly during shortage of food (Harris and Mohammed, 2003). According
to Ogoye-Ndegwa and Aagaard-Hansen (2003), leafy vegetables harvested from the
wild still form part of the diets in many rural households in Kenya. It is also
significant to recognize that today, wild plants and animals form a significant
proportion of the world food basket (Bharucha and Pretty, 2010). It is also
stated that many people in the rural or urban communities use wild foods in
their diet (Bharucha and Pretty, 2010). Many wild edible plants are
nutritionally rich (Ogle and Grivetti, 1985) and can support nutritional
requirements, especially vitamins and micronutrients. It is worth to know that
a good number (Over 500 traditional communities) use about 800 different kinds
of plant species for treating different diseases and as it stands, 80 % of the
world population rely on plant-derived medicine for the first line of primary
health care due to the fact that it has no side effects (Kamboj, 2000). Even
though these wild plants play significant role in the lives of people
especially in the rural communities, it is worrying to know that these wild
resources in general are often neglected and receive little recognition from
developing communities (Scoones, Melnyk and Pretty, 1992). There are so many woody
plants in the Africa continent, however, Balanites aegyptiaca is likely to be
one of the most wide-spread woody plants of the Africa continent (Sands, 2001).
Some of the African countries where the Desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca) is
grown are Ghana, Gambia, Nigeria, Togo, Uganda, Chad, Kenya, Mauritania,
Cameroon and Niger (Booth and Wicken, 1988). The plant belongs to a family
called Balanitaceae and it is usually semi-evergreen with spines, extremely
variable shrub or small tree that has the potential of growing up to twelve
meters (12m) high (Chapagain and Wiesman, 2005). Research shows that the plant
can begin to flower and also bear fruits at the age of 5-7 years and can give
maximum seed production if the tree is 15-25years old (Ndoye et al., 2004).In
terms of habitat, Balanites aegyptiaca can be found in many kinds of habitat,
accepting a wide variety of soil types such as sandy soil to heavy clay
(Abu-Al-Futuh, 1983). Even though the plant could begin to bear fruits and
flowers at the age range of 5-7 years, there is no specific time for flowering
in the Sahel, although flowering most likely takes place in the dry season.
Flowering in Nigeria varies between November and April with ripe fruits
becoming available in December and January and sometimes later, from March to
July. Elsewhere, fruiting and foliage production take place at the peak of the
dry season (Orwa et al., 2009). The flowering time generally occurs during
November – April, while the fruiting takes place during December – July (El
Amin, 1990; El Ghazali et al., 1994; Bein et al., 1996). The fruits of the
plant are yellow and can bear as many as 10,000 fruits yearly on a mature tree
that is in a good environmental condition (Chapagain and Wiesman, 2005).
According to Okia (2010), places where the plants are found include in the wild (83%), on-farm (13.7%), on fallow
land (2.1%) and around homes (0.7%).
The nuts of Balanites aegyptiaca have oil content of 30-60% and
protein content of 20-30%. The oil is non-smoking cooking grade type (Hall and
Walker,1991; Shanks and Shanks, 1991). The kernel meal is used as livestock
feed (Abu-Al-Futuh, 1983). It has herbal medicinal uses (Babagana et al., 2011)
for treatment of diarrhea, stomach pains, epilepsy, jaundice, yellow fever and
syphilis (Ojo et al., 2006).
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
In recent times, there is too low in quantity of edible oils
and fats in the developing countries of the world and more so in Africa (Sam et
al., 2008). In order to overcome this challenge, a lot of research is being
carried out to discover and exploit new sources of oil bearing crops (Sam et
al., 2008).
In developing countries especially in the rural communities
most of the people consume various kinds of wild plant products. It is obvious
that some of these wild plants products are poisonous to be consumed by human
beings. In addition, awareness of economic benefits of these wild plants in the
rural communities is limited. This is confirmed by the report of Abbiw (1990),
that there is a wide information gap for some plant species, but maintains that
only 15% of tropical species have been catalogued and 1% screened for possible
benefits to humanity.
Finally, there is a continuous rise in the price of animal
feeds which is partly blamed on the over dependence on conventional feedstuff
for feed manufacture (Ojewola and Udom, 2005), which has resulted in the
continuous rise in the cost of animal products.
This is because soya bean and groundnuts which are the usual
sources of protein locally in animal feed formulation (Ghadge et al.,2009) are
also used as food by humans (Singh and Singh, 1991).
1.3 JUSTIFICATION
The production of oil seeds is one of the most important agro
industries in the world today. Formulation of food, drugs and cosmetics are
derived from plants and animals oil (Nimet et al., 2011). These oils act as
insulators to the body protective layer or internal organ such as heart and
lung, and also serve as a source of energy to the body in absence of
carbohydrate. (Ochigbo and Paiko, 2011).
Wild plants such as Balanites aegyptiaca contributes greatly
in improving the livelihoods of communities. For example, the plant provides
materials for utensils, construction, and contributes to improve diets and
health, food security, income generation and genetic experimentation (Kumar and
Hamal, 2009). If the seeds are well processed could be a cheaper alternative
source of protein for animals. Edible parts of wild plants (fruits, flowers,
leaves, tubers, inflorescence, roots, rhizome, etc.) are nature’s gift to
mankind; these are not only delicious and refreshing but also provide vitamins,
minerals and proteins (Kumar and Hamal, 2009).
In the light of these, the West Gonja District of Northern
Region of Ghana is naturally gifted with these plants. There are a lot of
several economic benefits that the people in the area could depend on to
improve their lives yet no research has been made to bring to fore the
contribution of the various products of the plant in the study area. It is
therefore appropriate and timely that this research is being conducted with the
hope that the outcome of this study will help to further expand the
uses of Balanites aegyptiaca through exploitation of new uses in the study
area. It is also hoped that the outcome of the research could improve the
financial situation of the people in the study area and Ghana as a whole in the
long run.
1.4 GENERAL OBJECTIVE
To determine the nutritive properties of the oil of nuts,
fruits pulp and leaves of the Desert date (balanites aegyptiaca)
1.4.1 Specific Objectives
i. Identify the general uses of Desert date (Balanites
aegyptiaca) in the study area
ii. Determine the nutritional
components of the oil of nuts, fruits pulp and leaves of the desert date (Balanites
aegyptiaca)
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