Nutritional value of wild, leafy plants consumed by the Vhavenda

Nesamvuni, C.; Steyn, N.P.; Potgieter, M.J.

Nutritional value of wild, leafy plants consumed by the Vhavenda

dc.contributor.author	Nesamvuni, C.
dc.contributor.author	Steyn, N.P.
dc.contributor.author	Potgieter, M.J.
dc.contributor.department	CDL Unit, Medical Research Council . P.O.Box 19070, Tygerburg, 7505 South africa. (Formaly at the University of the North)	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2020-06-08T09:59:40Z
dc.date.available	2020-06-08T09:59:40Z
dc.date.epub	2001
dc.date.issued	2001
dc.description.abstract	We investigated the use and nutrient composition of edible wild plants commonly used in Venda. Information on their eating habits was sought from 412 women in the districts of Thohoyandou, Mutale, Dzanani and Vuwani, who were regular consumers of wild, green, leafy vegetables. The ten most commonly used vegetables were identified through a 'grid matrix' test among sixteen randomly selected hawkers selling wild plants in Thohoyandou markets in 1996. The ten plants studied were: delelele mandande, thebe, vowa, mushidzhi, murudi, mutohotoho, delele lupfumo, phuri, nngu, and muxe. Data on plant usage was obtained by means of a questionnaire. Nutritional analysis of the vegetables investigated was conducted by the CSIR. Harvesting was mainly in summer with the surplus stored in either a dried-cooked or dried-raw form for at least six months. Frequency of consumption was once per week per plant with fairly large serving sizes of 180-270 g. Murudi was found to have the highest content of micronutrients, being exceptionally high in folate (418 μg/100 g), vitamin C (37.0 mg/100 g) and betacarotene (9.22 mg/100 g). All the plants examined were good sources of dietary fibre. Vowa, phuri and nngu were also rich sources of vitamin C. Delele mandande was the only poor source of beta-carotene and iron. Health educators should promote the nutritional benefits of wild vegetables in rural communities in order to increase micronutrient intake.	en_US
dc.description.sponsorship	We thank B.E. van Wyk for assisting us in a drafting the manuscript, also for sharing his vast knowledge and expertise with us. We also thank the National Research Foundation for funding the project.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Nutritional value of wild, leafy plants consumed by the Vhavenda. South African Journal of Science (South Africa)	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0038-2353
dc.identifier.journal	South African Journal of Science	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://infospace.mrc.ac.za/handle/11288/595239
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.publisher	South African Journal of Science	en_US
dc.relation.url	http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=ZA2001000223 .	en_US
dc.research.unit	Closed Units	en_US
dc.rights	Attribution 3.0 United States	*
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/	*
dc.subject	Leafy plants	en_US
dc.subject	Nutritional value	en_US
dc.subject	Plants, nutritional value	en_US
dc.title	Nutritional value of wild, leafy plants consumed by the Vhavenda	en_US
dc.type	Article	en_US