What is it about?
Treculia africana is an underutilized plant with potentials for food and nutrition security and as a medicinal food. The leaves of T. africana are rich in carbohydrates, phytochemicals (flavonoids, phenols, cardiac glycosides and anthraquinones) and minerals. These constituents contribute to its antioxidant, antimicrobial and wound healing properties. The stem bark extract is used as a cough remedy and has antimicrobial properties. The water and ethanoic extracts of the root possess antihyperglycaemic properties and also discourage the development of secondary complications of type 2 diabetes. This review paper links the composition of different parts of Treculia africana to their health benefits as well as nutrient composition and quality. It also highlights the cultural aspects, culinary and traditional processing methods for Treculia africana. The search for improved processing machinery for this legume is still on-going
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Why is it important?
Treculia africana possess potential medicinal values and nutritional qualities that should be further explored scientifically and fully harnessed for sustainable food and nutrition security
Perspectives
This paper is a comprehensive update on the present research status on Treculia africana and the next steps required to optimize the benefits of this food crop
Professor Philippa C OJIMELUKWE
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia state, Nigeria
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The traditional and medicinal use of African breadfruit (Treculia africana Decne): an underutilized ethnic food of the Ibo tribe of South East, Nigeria, Journal of Ethnic Foods, August 2021, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1186/s42779-021-00097-1.
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