Nutritional Contribution of Some Senegalese Forest Fruits Running across Soudano-Sahelian Zone

Abstract

As a good food supply for the local people in various Senegalese regions, the forest fruits are becoming very important. They are using between foods or main condiment for dishes in many part of Africa. These fruits represent non negligi-ble sources of vitamins, carbohydrates and minerals. Instead of more commercialized species such as Adansonia digi-tata L., Detarium senegalensis J. F. Gmel., Saba senegalensis (A.DC.) Pichon, Tamarindus indica L., this article fo-cused on nutritional values of other fruits with little interest or neglected. These species were Ficus gnaphalocarpa, L., Cordyla pinnata (Lepr. ex A.Rich.) Milne-Redh and Icacina senegalensis, harvested in soudano-sahelian zone; while Sarcocephalus latifolius (Sm.) E. A. Bruce belongs to Sudanese zone. The fruit pulps were isolated and freeze dried before analysis. The results showed that acidity, vitamin C and total minerals were significantly different from one fruit to another. S. latifolius with the highest acidity content (402.43 mg/100 g) and best vitamin C content if 1488 mg/100 g were found. Also as results, S. latifolius provided high protein content nearby the 20%. The caloric contributing (kcal/100 g) were 102.5, 177 and 132 respectively for F. gnaphalocarpa, C. pinnata, and S. latifolius. The ash contents were the same for all species (4.5%), indicating the richness in mineral elements. Furthermore, all species in this study were good sources of iron, copper and zinc. However, small amounts of sodium were noticed in all samples. Analysis of total sugars and their profile showed that I. senegalensis and C. pinnata were more appreciated. These results pre-dicted the useful incomes for forest fruits in human being. Lot of medicinal virtues has been recognized from these fruits. The increase in value and the preservation of the biodiversity are necessary particularly for C. pinnata which presents a serious threat because of the strong income for wood production.