Dacryodes edulis
is a
fruit tree
in the
Burseraceae
family native to
Africa
. Its various regional names include
safou
(
Republic of the Congo
,
Democratic Republic of the Congo
and
Angola
),
messa, plum
(
Cameroon
),
atanga
(
Equatorial Guinea
and
Gabon
),
ube
,
elumi
(
Nigeria
),
[2]
[3]
African pear
,
bush pear
,
African plum
,
nsafu
,
bush butter tree
, or
butterfruit
.
Description
edit
Dacryodes edulis
is an
evergreen
tree
attaining a height of 18?40 meters in the forest but not exceeding 12 meters in
plantations
.
[4]
It has a relatively short
trunk
and a deep, dense crown. The bark is pale gray and rough with droplets of
resin
. The leaves are a compound with 5-8 pairs of leaflets. The upper surface of the leaves is glossy. The
flowers
are yellow and about 5?mm across. They are arranged in a large
inflorescence
. The
fruit
is an
ellipsoidal
drupe
which varies in length from 4 to 12?cm. The skin of the fruit is dark blue or violet, whereas the flesh is pale to light green. The tree flowers at the beginning of the rainy season and bears fruits during 2 to 5 months after flowering.
There are two variants of
Dacryodes edulis
:
D. e. var. edulis
and
D. e. var. parvicarpa
. The fruit of
D. e. var. edulis
is larger and the tree has stout, ascending branches.
D. e. var. parvicarpa
has smaller fruit and slender, drooping branches.
Habitat and ranges
edit
The preferential habitat of
D. edulis
(Safou)is a shady, humid
tropical forest
. However, it adapts well to variations in soil type, humidity, temperature and day length. The natural range extends from
Angola
in the South,
Nigeria
and
Sierra Leone
in the West and
Uganda
in the East. It is also cultivated in
Malaysia
.
Oil composition from fruits of two cultivars of African pear in Cameroon
edit
The oil of fruits of
D. edulis
is a rich source of
fatty acids
and
triglycerides
. The fatty acid compositions of fruit pulp oil of 2 cultivars of
D. edulis
(cultivars 1 and 2, grown in Cameroon) were determined. Fruits significantly differed in mass, length, thickness of pulp and mass of kernel, but contained similar amounts of oil (64.7 and 62% in cultivars 1 and 2, respectively, with ratios of oil:fruit of 1.4 and 1.54, respectively). The fatty acids (
palmitic
,
oleic
,
stearic
,
linolenic
and
linoleic acids
) and triglycerides compositions of oils of both cultivars were similar (although cultivar 1 was richer in palmitolino-olein (18.5 compared with 14.1%) and cultivar 2 was richer in dipalmito-olein (24.6 compared with 16.2%)).
[5]
D. edulis
has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.
[6]
The main use of
D. edulis
is its
fruit
, which can be eaten either raw, cooked in salt water or roasted. Cooked flesh of the fruit has a texture similar to
butter
and is often eaten on bread. The pulp contains 48% oil and a plantation can produce 7-8
tons
of oil per
hectare
. The fat content of this fruit is much higher compared to fruits such as apple, guava, and pawpaw.
[7]
It is also rich in
vitamins
. The
kernel
can be used as fodder for
sheep
or
goats
. The
flowers
are useful in
apiculture
.
The
wood
of
D. edulis
is elastic, greyish-white to pinkish. The wood has general use for tool handles, and occasionally for
mortars
, and is suitable for
carpentry
.
The seed of
Dacryodes edulis
is rich in different proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, crude fibres, appreciable amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. It is also rich in essential amino acids such as
Lysine
, Phenylalanine, Leucine,
Isoleucine
. It contain a considerable amount of fatty acids such as palmitic acids, oleic acids, and linoleic acids.
[8]
Physicochemical analysis suggested that the seed have valuable functional attributes of industrial interest.
[9]
The important natural product,
gallic acid
, is found in significant quantity in the seed of
Dacryodes edulis
.
[10]
The vasomodulatory properties of the seeds have been reported.
[11]
Medicinal uses
edit
Nomenclature
edit
The name of the
genus
comes from the
Greek
word for
tear
,
dakruon
. This is a reference to the resin droplets on bark surface of its members. The species name
edulis
means edible.
References
edit
- ^
"
Dacryodes edulis
"
(PDF)
.
worldagroforestry.org
.
- ^
Bascom, William R. (Jan 1951). "Yoruba Food".
Africa
.
20
(1). Cambridge University Press: 47.
doi
:
10.2307/1156157
.
JSTOR
1156157
.
S2CID
149837516
.
- ^
"
Dacryodes edulis
"
.
zipcodezoo.com
.
- ^
Information page
Archived
2007-09-28 at the
Wayback Machine
at World Agroforestry Centre
- ^
Kapseu, C.; Tchiegang, C. 1996 Fruits Paris 51(3): 185-191
- ^
National Research Council (2008-01-25).
"Butterfruit"
.
Lost Crops of Africa: Volume III: Fruits
. Vol.?3. National Academies Press.
doi
:
10.17226/11879
.
ISBN
978-0-309-10596-5
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-03-31
. Retrieved
2008-08-01
.
- ^
Omogbai B. A., Ojeaburu S. I. Nutritional Composition And Microbial Spoilage Of Dacryodes edulis Fruits Vended In Southern Nigeria.
http://www.scienceworldjournal.org/article/view/8457
- ^
Annotated Bibliography of Safou (1990-2004) - International Centre for Underutilised Crops (ICUC) - Google Books
. Retrieved
2014-08-08
? via
Google Books
.
- ^
Iyawe, Hanson (2009).
"Toxicants And Physicochemical Characteristics Of The Seeds Of African Black Pear (Dacryodes edulis)"
.
African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
.
9
(7): 1561?1569.
- ^
Anyam, J. N.; Igoli, J. O.; Igoli, J. O.; Tor-Anyiin, T. A. (2016).
"STUDIES ON Dacryodes edulis III: ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF GALLIC ACID FROM METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF RAW (UNTREATED) SEEDS OF Dacryodes edulis AND ITS ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES"
.
Journal of Chemical Society of Nigeria
.
41
(1): 6?9.
- ^
Amadi, PU; Agomuo, EN; Adumekwe, CW (11 July 2020). "Modulatory properties of cardiac and quercetin glycosides from Dacryodes edulis seeds during L-NAME-induced vascular perturbation".
Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology
.
31
(5).
doi
:
10.1515/jbcpp-2019-0116
.
PMID
32653874
.
S2CID
220499594
.
- ^
Conrad, Omonhinmin A.; Uche, Agbara I. (2013).
"Assessment of in vivo antioxidant properties of Dacryodes edulis and Ficus exasperata as anti-malaria plants"
.
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease
.
3
(4): 294?300.
doi
:
10.1016/S2222-1808(13)60072-9
.
PMC
4027312
.
External links
edit