This presentation describes a study to identify plants and plant parts that show potential as sustainable harvested ‘super-foods’. This included both wild foods traditionally used in Southern Africa (with a focus on the communal areas of the Wild Coast, Eastern Cape South Africa), as well as potential foods not traditionally used , but with high nutritional values. The methods used included development of a data base of wild food utilized in Southern Africa, with a focus on the communal areas of the Eastern Cape (literature review and personal observations); collation of available nutritional data (macro and micro nutrients) into a database for wild food plants for southern Africa. To assist in ranking nutritional values, two nutritional indices were used: the % Complete Food Index and the Nutritional Density Index). This report develops a definition of a ‘superfoods’ based on number of criteria. Species that have been successfully commercialized, marketed as nutritional supplements, and that provide direct benefits to communities, such as Maroela and Baobab, serve as role models for the development of wild foods enterprises in the communal areas of the Wild Coast The results of this study show that there are a significant number of wild food plants have exceptionally high nutritional profiles and could qualify as a ‘super-food’. Food plants were grouped according to the plant part used, these included: wild leafy vegetables, fruits, and seeds and nuts.The wild leafy vegetables, commonly known as ‘wild spinach’,are cosmopolitan weeds that have been part of the traditional diets of many Africans. Of these, a number of Amaranth species have been identified that fit the nutritional profile of a ‘super-food’. Commonly used wild foods are often tree fruits, this study identifiedthe following wild fruits as having high potential for commercial harvesting, these include:Wild plum (Harpephyllum caffrum), two Red- milkwoods, (Mimisops Cafra and M. obvata), Num-num (Carissa Macrocarpa), Dune myrtle (Eugenia Capensis) and two Kei Apples (Dovyalis caffra, and D. rhamnoides. The third category of wild foods considered are seeds and nuts: trees identified for this group included the pods of Boer-bean trees (Schotia afra, and S. brachypetala),andthe valuable oils of the Natal and forest mahogany (Trichilia emetica, and T. dregiana) as well as the high oleic oil contained in the Coastal Red-milkwood (Mimusops caffra).

1. SUPERFOODS FROM THE FORESTS
Dr. Derek Berliner
Eco-logic consulting
CEPF SMALL GRANTS
INVESTMENT IN THE MAPUTALAND-PONDOLAND-ALBANY
HOTSPOT

2. WILD FOODPLANTS AS ‘SUPERFOODS’:
ARE THERE PLANTS THAT CAN BE SUSTAINABLEY HARVESTED
AND USED TO SUPORT COMMUNITY CONSERVATION ON THE WILD COAST

3. AIMS
• Identify plants that show potential as
superfoods’.
• Potential for sustainable harvested wild
non timber forest products
• Provide tangible economic incentives for
communities to conserve forests
(potential conservation spin- offs )

4. Context 1
Need to find income generating activities associated with
proposed community protected areas for the Wild Coast
One of the key threats to
conservation in communal areas
such as the Wild Coast is the
lack of economic benefits
associated with the creation of
protected areas on the Wild
Coast (Berliner, & Desmet, 2007;
Berliner 2009)

5. Growing market trend for wild
‘superfoods’
A number of wild plant foods have been successfully
commercialised with significant benefits for local communities
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Baobab fruit
Marula nut oil
Kigelia fruit
Trichelia oil
Cape Aloe
Hoodia
Amaranth (marog)

6. Two Southern African wild plants that has been
commercially marketed, as a ‘superfood
Baobab fruit powder

7. Marula nut oil.
Both are wild grown, sustainably harvested and
benefit local communities

8. LA Times Predicts: Hot nutrition trend for 2009 -- the baobab?
“ a superfruit should have a hard-to-pronounce name, be
unfamiliar to Westerners, come from far, far away and have been
used in native medicine. It should also be expensive”

9. • This project was essentially a desktop study , but its implementation, could
make significant contribution to following CEPF funding outcomes :
Outcome:
Superfoods from the forest project : outcomes
Forest conservation
and rehabilitation
incentivized
Improved
resilience to
climate change
Economic
activities
associated with
PA (Job
creation)
`Intermediate Outcomes
x
Outcome 1:
The conservation status of undercapacitated and emerging protected areas
in priority key biodiversity areas
strengthened
xxx
Outcome 2:
Conservation areas expanded and landuse management improved in 22 priority
key biodiversity areas through innovative
approaches that sustain biodiversity and
ecosystem services
xxx
Outcome 3:
Maintain and restore ecosystem function
and integrity in the Highland Grasslands
and Pondoland Corridors.
xx
x
xx
xxx
xxx

10. Potential outcomes and benefits
• Improved livelihood security
• Improved incentives for conserving and
rehabilitating degrading forests
• Improved documentation and appreciation of
indigenous knowledge, in particular use of
wild food products
• Climate change adaptation

11. Methods
• Literature review on wild plants utilized in the
communal areas of the Eastern Cape
• Personal field observations
• Development of a search-able database of
nutritional values of wild food plants for South
Africa
• Development and ranking of two nutritional
indices that provide aggregated values of macro
and micro nutritional contents of wild foods

12. Nutritional indices
• % Complete Food Index
– A measure of the extent to which plant food
meets overall dietary requirements , as measured
against recommended daily allowances (RDA) for
the main macro and micro nutrients
– Sum (Value of nutrient x /RDA for nutrient x)
, (with maximum value of 100% , in cases where
the nutrient exceeds the RDA)

13. Nutritional indices
• Approximate Nutrient Density
– A measure of the total nutrients provided in a
food relative to its energy value.
– For example, foods that are high in energy but
low in nutrients (e.g. starches) will have a low
nutritional density, as large amounts of the food
need to be eaten before basic nutrient
requirement can be satisfied.

14. Table 1 Example of the evaluation indicators used: Nutrient Density and %Complete Food Index. Table shows indicators for six wild fruits. The RDA is
the recommended daily allowances as given by World Health Organization. See text for methods
GENUS
SPECIES
ASH_g_100g
PROTEIN_g_100g
FAT_g_100g
CARBOHYDRATE_g_100g
CRUDE_FIBER_g_100g
Ca_mg_100g
Mg_mg_100g
Fe_mg_100g
Na_mg_100g
K_mg_100g
Cu_mg_100g
Zn_mg_100g
Mn_mg_100g
P_mg_100g
Thiamin_mg_100g
Riboflavin_mg_100g
Nicotinic_acid_mg_100g
Vit_C_mg_100g
sum
ENERGY_kj_100g
Nut density index
Complete food index %
Confidence factor (%)
Eugenia
capensis
Harpephyllum
caffrum
Sideroxylon
inerme
Phoenix
reclinata
Carissa
bispinosa
Podocarpus
falcatus
1
0.9
0.4
27.7
1.4
0.8
0.7
0.2
9.1
1.7
47
23.7
0.6
5.73
254
0.14
0.14
2.3
4.3
4.4
17.3
1.5
46.4
41.7
1.18
0.7
0.7
1.2
14
1.8
20.6
19.8
0.81
10.3
261
0.23
0.43
1.2
3
0.3
17.6
5.2
46
20.1
1.6
11.5
460
0.98
0.2
13.3
0.12
17
0.06
0.09
0.55
14.8
633.88
529
1.2
10
90
3.9
3.2
0.7
46.3
9.8
50.6
79.2
182
67
1329
0.33
0.76
0.81
33
0.03
0.02
1.16
25.9
0.05
0.08
0.32
10.6
368.52
292
1.3
7
90
10.3
0.04
26.7
1.67
66.5
209
0.14
0.04
31.8
0.11
0.03
0.39
107
474.78
496
1.0
15
90
70.7
427.93
172
2.5
10
85
482
0.1
0.2
1807.81
858
2.1
2
95
1.13
579.15
357
1.6
10
90
RDA
50
65
300
25
1000
400
18
2400
3500
2
15
400
1000
1.5
1.7
20
60

15. Database of wild foods nutritional values
The work of Wehmeyer
(1986), assessed over 350
southern African wild food
plants for macro nutrients
(protein, fiber, carbohydrat
es, energy) and micro
nutrients (minerals and
vitamins).
This was digitized into a
relational database

16. Methodology summarised

17. Results
The results of this study show that there are a
significant number of wild food plants have
exceptionally high nutritional profiles and could
qualify as a ‘superfood’.

18. Wild vegetables
• The wild leafy vegetables, commonly known
as ‘wild spinach/Marog/imfino ’, are
cosmopolitan weeds that have been part of
the traditional diets of many Africans.
• Of these, a number of Amaranth species have
been identified that fit the nutritional profile
of a ‘superfood’

19. fruits
• The following wild fruits as having high potential
for commercial harvesting:
• Wild plum (Harpephyllum caffrum),
• Two Red- milkwoods, (Mimisops Cafra and M.
obvata),
• Num-num (Carissa Macrocarpa),
• Dune myrtle (Eugenia Capensis)
• Kei Apples (Dovyalis caffra, and D. rhamnoides

20. Seeds and nuts
• Pods of Boer-bean trees (Schotia afra, and S.
brachypetala
• valuable oils of the Natal and forest mahogany
(Trichilia emetica, and T. dregiana)
• high oleic oil contained in the Coastal Redmilkwood (Mimusops caffra).

21. Vit c content of selected fruits

22. Established products
Carrisa fruits: jams
, dehydrated
powder, juices etc
Trichelia oil
Skin butter to nourish and
revitalise.
Conditioning hair care
products.
Soaps.
Wood polish

23. Potential products ?
Red milkwood seed oil
• The oleic acid (OA) content of Transvaal Red
milkwood (M. zeyheri) seed oil is high (about
85% of lipid yield)
• Compares well with the 70–78% oleic acid in
Sclerocarya birrea (Marula tree) kernel oil
• Likely that the coastal Red milkwood (M.
Cafra) seeds have the same properties ??

24. Can red milkwoods provide a NTFP that can provide the necessary
incentives to reverse there degradation ?

25. Social benefits
• Small to medium enterprises based on
sustainable harvest of no-timber-forestproducts
• Partnerships with community trusts
• Job creation and stimulation of local economy
• Provide tangible benefits from the creation of
protected areas

26. Conservations benefits?
NTFP have the potential to provide local communities
with economic incentives to conserve forests
Currently scarp and coastal forest rapidly degrading
mostly due
- Slash and burn agriculture
- Non sustainable harvesting, bark, medical plants, Illegal
timber harvesting
- Invasive aliens
- Goats

27. Loss of Scarp Forests
Invasive alien
plants rapidly
colonize fallow
cleared lands.
These areas
provide a foothold for invasive
plants to spread
into surrounding
grasslands and
forest

28. Forest degradation caused by Chromoleana and creeper spread
Is climate change stimulating this ?

29. 17 estuaries with
mangroves, three have
lost all mangroves and 5
have had significant loss
Prime causes : mangrove
flooding (climate change
, change in flow regime)
and over harvesting

30. Shifting sands in dune forests

31. …they enter forest to feed on fallen red milkwood fruit

32. Way forward
• Detail chemical analysis of targeted superfoods for nutritional
content and for possible anti- nutritional compounds (such as
oxalic and phytic acid)
• Investigation into the development of storage methods
, processing and end products
• Markets, and links to distributors (Phytotrade etc)
• Mapping and inventorying of target wild plant stocks and
potential volumes of sustainably harvested products.
• Investigation into techniques of sustainable management
, harvesting and impact mitigation
• Set up joint management agreements
• Set up community partnership organizations