Potential Vegetable and Medicinal Uses of Traditional Crops in South Africa

African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review

“…[10] Eight AIVs had high iron, calcium and zinc contents [51] Solanum nigrum and Corchorus are rich in microelements, including iron, calcium, magnesium and copper. [52] mineral content in ALVs is much high than in most conventional exotic leafy vegetables [11] Toxic metals such as cadmium can be exposed to humans via Tulbaghia violacea consumption [53] The ALV dish contributed 11.6-15.8 mg Fe and 1.4-3.7 mg Zn [54] ALVs are low in fat and high in folate which prevents chronic diseases [13] Most of the ALVs are rich in vitamin A and, to a lesser extent, iron [3] ALVs have pharmaceutical properties [55] Pest and disease control PCR-based methods can detect and identify mycotoxins in ALVs based products [56] Three subgroups exist among aphids species attacking Amaranthus and Solanum nigrum [57] Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungus [AMF] affect the growth of Cucumis myriocarpus [58] Mycotoxins are also present in ALVs [59] Planting methods Seed priming with biostimulants reduces abiotic stress during the emergence of Ceratotheca triloba plants. [60] Germination of Brassica rapa, Citrullus lanatus and Solanum retroflexum seeds is optimal when sown close to the soil surface.…”

“…Consumption of ALVs can be enhanced by the combined efforts of agriculturalists and nutritionists [87] South Africa Urban consumers ALVs should be considered as a source of both food and medicine [55]…”

Plectranthus: A review of ethnobotanical uses

“…Those of Plectranthus punctatus (Mooney, 1954;Tadesse, 1967;Scott, 1979) and Plectranthus edulis (Lukhoba and Mathenge, 1993) are eaten in Ethiopia and Kenya, respectively. Tubers of Plectranthus rotundifolius are a popular food in South Africa and research is currently underway to see if they can be cultivated for use as a domestic crop (Venter et al, 2000), whereas in Tropical Asia, the tubers of Plectranthus parviflorus are popular (Ramachandran and Nair, 1981;Purseglove, 1987). In India, the fruits of Plectranthus parvifolius are also eaten (Ramachandran and Nair, 1981).…”

Bioactive components in Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterraenea (L.) Verdc) as a potential source of nutraceutical ingredients

“…Bambara groundnut (BGN) is an under-exploited African leguminous crop that has rich nutritional profile and is utilized in folk medicine because of its health benefits (Venter, Van den Heever, Allemann and Viljoen, 2000;Na, Kensese, Mossanda, Ji-Yoon and Young-Joon., 2004;Koné, Paice and Touré, 2011;Okafor, 2012;Yao, Kouassi, Erba, Scazzina, Pellegrini and Casiraghi, 2015). Many phytochemicals which are biologically active components have been reported in BGN (Pale, Nacro, Vanhaelen andVanhaelen-Fastre, 1997, Okpuzor, Ogbunugafor, Okafor, andSofidiya, 2010;Ademiluyi and Oboh, 2012;Nyau, Prakash, Rodrigues and Farrant, 2015a).…”