TI: Mineral values of selected plant foods common to southern Burkina Faso and to Niamey, Niger, West Africa.

AU: Smith-GC; Clegg-MS; Keen-CL; Grivetti-LE
AD: Graduate Group in Geography, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
SO: International-Journal-of-Food-Sciences-and-Nutrition. 1996, 47: 1, 41-53; 45 ref.
PY: 1996
LA: English

AB: Wild and cultivated fruits, leaves, nuts, seeds, spices and vegetables from southern Burkina Faso and Niamey, Niger, were analysed for their copper, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc concentrations and compared to imported, exotic reference foods found within the study area. The species analysed covered a broad spectrum of local diet; 33 were wild and 16 were cultivated. The edible wild plants were often the highest in mineral concentrations. 5 species analysed, exhibited consistently high mineral values, specifically, Adansonia digitata, Boerhavia diffusa, Cerathoteca sesamoides, Sclerocarya birrea and Xylopia sp. The latter was particularly high in Zn, an observation which suggests that there may be a solid rationale for local traditions which recommended its consumption during pregnancy and lactation. Respondents indicated that during times of drought, wild plants were not consumed in the volume they once were, due to changes of infrastructure and in famine relief programmes.
DE: minerals-; nutritive-value; zinc-; fruit-; vegetables-; spices-; nuts-; wild-plants; plant-products; mineral-content
GE: West-africa; Burkina-Faso; Niger-
RN: 7440-66-6
BT: Africa-South-of-Sahara; Africa; West-Africa; ACP-Countries; Francophone-Africa; Least-Developed-Countries; Developing-Countries
CC: QQ050; QQ500
CD: Crop-Produce; Food-Composition-and-Quality
PT: Journal-article
IS: 0963-7486
UD: 960401
AN: 961400070