Boabab - “The Tree of Life"
By
YesLearners
On
May 13, 2018
In
Spinach
The name Adansonia digitata was
given by Linnaeus, the generic name honouring Michel Adanson who had been first
decribed Baobab in the eighteenth century at Senegal. Darwin documented baobab
trees on the St Jago in the Cape Verde Islands in 1832 and he commented on
their size and longevity. Adansonia
digitata L. is the most widely spread of the Adansonia species on the
African continent which belongs to the family of Bombacaceae a sub family of
the Malvaceae. Adansonia species comprises of 8 different species with large,
spectacular, nocturnal flowers. One of these species is the A. digitata L, it occurs throughout the
drier parts of Africa. A second species is restricted to North-Western
Australia (A. gibbosa) and the remaining six species are endemic to Madagascar.
The African baobab is known by a very large number of local names: Monkey bread
tree, Ethiopian sour gourd, Cream of tartar tree, Senegal calabash fruit,
Upside-down tree, boab, boaboa, bottle tree, upside-down tree.
(source:
Shutter stock images)
(Source: twistedsifter.com)
India’s
folklore holds several theories regarding baobab’s arrival to our country.
Hindu myths allege that the trees came into creation when the demons and gods
churned the sea. This swelling and swirling created nine jewels, one of which
was the baobab tree. Today, locals still refer to the majestic specimens as kalpvriksha or the wish-fulfilling tree.
Today 33 countries in Africa have some of the oldest strains of the tree, but
no botanist can say about its real land of origin. Indeed, the subject of
baobab’s origin is controversial, speculating and disputing topic for
centuries. Recent DNA dating technology provide some insight to scientists on
the issue: A 2009 study published in “Molecular Ecology” reveals that the most
likely origin is somewhere in West Africa. Baobab trees possess incredible
features due to its evolutionary history their roots, for instance have
undergone centuries of refinement to possess the ability to store water. They
can thrive in the harshest desert conditions.
Today, baobabs grow mostly throughout tropical Africa, southern
Arabia, Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Barbados and Hawaii. Baobabs
are widely distributed in belts across Africa. The baobab tree is an icon of
the African savannah, a symbol of life and positivity in a landscape where
little else can thrive and can have a lifespan of up to 5000 years. The baobab
is a prehistoric species which predates both mankind and the splitting of
the continents over 200 million years ago. Native to the African savannah
where the climate is extremely dry and arid the Baobab has adapted to
its environment and its nutrient-dense fruit in the dry season is a fortunate
for existence of life. This is how it became known as "The Tree of
Life".
Availability of Baobab in India
Baobabs
are a rare sight in India. Savanur, a small town located in the Haveri District
of Karnataka, boasts of its three majestic baobab trees reputed to be the
oldest in the country. Each of them is allegedly over 5,000 years old (without
tree rings, none can say for sure), and the girth of one tree measures an
impressive 18 meters. A few baobabs grow in Madhya Pradesh’s ruined city,
Mandavgad. Outside the Vasai fort in Maharashtra, one can behold an ancient
tree growing amidst the fort’s stoic, 15th century facades. One or
two baobabs grow in Gujarat’s cities of Kutch, Bhanagar and Baroda. In Chennai,
a single baobab tree grows in the Theosophist Society Gardens, a site dedicated
to biological preservation. Despite the baobab’s usefulness, the tree faces
extinction in India and other parts of the world. Bihar’s Sanjay Gandhi Biological
Park maintains one tree as part of its conservation efforts to preserve the
baobab. Baobab known in India in different names, Goraksi,Gorak-amli (Hindi), Aane
hunase (Kannada), Baubab (Marathi), Chitrala (Sanskrit), Aanipuliya maram
(Tamil), Brahma malika (Telegu).
Baobab trees can reach up to 30 metres high and up to
a huge 50 metres in circumference. The baobab tree is undoubtedly one
of nature's most iconic images. Its majestic presence is
familiar to anyone who has spent time in rural Africa - but it is
also well known all across the world thanks to its starring roles
in Disney’s Lion King (it is Rafiki the monkey’s tree), Avatar (The Tree
of Souls), Madagascar and the famous children's novel The Little Prince..
Importance
of Baobab:
The Baobab tree has large whitish flowers which open at
night. The fruit which grows up to a foot long, contains tartaric acid and
vitamin C and can either be sucked or soaked in water to make a refreshing
drink. They can also be roasted and ground up to make a coffee-like drink. The
fruit is not the only part of the Baobab that can be used. The bark is pounded
to make rope, mats, baskets, paper and cloth the leaves can be boiled and eaten.
Fresh baobab leaves provide an edible vegetable similar to spinach which is also
used medicinally to treat kidney and bladder disease, asthma, insect bites, and
several other maladies. The tasty and nutritious fruits and seeds of several
species are sought after, while pollen from the African and Australian baobabs
is mixed with water to make glue.
Women in Africa have turned to the baobab fruit as a natural
source of health and beauty for centuries. Baobab is the only
fruit in the world to dry naturally on the branch. This means the fruit simply
needs to be harvested, deseeded and sieved to produce a 100% natural
fruit pulp powder. Baobab powder is deliciously sweet and citrussy - ideal for
boosting smoothies, drinks, breakfast and any dish. Natives believe that women
living in kraals (Zambia) where baobabs are plentiful have more children than
those living outside baobab zones. They eat soup made from baobab leaves, which
is rich in vitamins. This compensates for any deficiency in their diet. Doctors
have confirmed that this indeed brings about a higher fertility rate.
Medicinal Applications
of Baobab
Traditional medicine: The
bark, roots, leaves, fruits and seeds of baobab are widely used by indigenous
peoples for human and animal medicines. Leaves and fruit pulp are used in folk
medicine as an antipyretic to overcome fevers. The powdered leaves can be used
as anti-stress properties. They are variously used to treat fatigue, as a tonic
and for insect bites, guinea worm and internal pains and to treat dysentery.
The fruit pulp and powdered seeds are used in cases of dysentery and to promote
perspiration.
The bark, leaf, fruit pulp and seed are used in
India to reduce swellings. Baobab fruit pulp improves the iron status of
children with low iron levels in their blood. An aqueous bark extract of A. digitata is traditionally used in
Nigeria for treating sickle-cell anaemia.
Baobab stem-bark is considered beneficial in
Nigeria as a heart tonic with diuretic properties. In Senegal baobab leaves and
the fruit pulp are used for external bleeding, (baobab leaf) is taken for
anaemia and also claimed to lower blood pressure. In Benin the Otomari prepare
a decoction from the seeds known as mantofamen,
it is used to treat high blood pressure. The leaves and pulp are also used in
the treatment of haemorrhoids. Juice made from fruit pulp and seeds of A. digitata are given to treat haemoptysis.
In West Africa the sap or a paste from roasted crushed seeds, is
applied to the diseased teeth and gums, the bark decoction is used as a
mouthwash for toothache. The bark has been used for treating caries and the
fruit stalk used as a tooth stick in Mali and India. Children with sore gums
(gingivitis) are treated with roasted, powdered seeds.
In West Africa, eye complaints, such as conjunctivitis are treated
by bathing the eyes in a decoction of baobab bark from young trees, an infusion
of the leaves and flowers. Baobab seed is taken to relieve stomach ache in adults.
The roots of A. digitata are used for
treating stomach ache as well. The fruit pulp in water or milk is taken alone
with gruel of millet or a decoction of the crushed or roasted seeds and water,
is used to treat intestinal inflammations, diarrhoea and dysentery throughout
much part of Africa.
The fresh or dried roots are boiled in two to four glasses of
water, two cups are taken in the morning as a remedy for urine retention and urinary
tract infections. In West African, a solution of the baobab fruit matrix and
water or preferably rice water in which fruit matrix has been boiled, was used
to treat smallpox. Patients with measles had a thick paste of baobab pulp,
cereal flour and water placed on their eyes several times a day.
In South Africa the Venda use a baobab bark decoction together
with the root of Osyrislanceolatato
treat sexually transmissible diseases. The bark, leaf, fruit rind, pulp and
seed are also used in India for treating venereal diseases.
A poultice of leaves crushed in hot water is used in Nigeria for
healing circumcision wounds. Wounds may also be treated with an application of
a seed paste. The gum and a powder scraped from the outside of the baobab fruit
are used for cleansing wounds and sores and promoting granulation. In many
parts of the African countries, there is a common but unconfirmed belief that
baobab bark, pulp and seeds are an antidote to Strophanthus spp (an arrow poison).
Thus, in Tanzania, a specially delegated member of any Shangaan
hunters squeeze the sap from baobab bark into the wound of an animal killed by
a poisoned arrow to neutralise the poison. According to the active principle of
the arrow poison is strophanthin, consisting of a mixture of glycosides,
including K-strophanthin, B. cymarin, etc. ‘Adansonin’, present in the
stem-bark is considered to have a cardiotonic effects, while the tannins in the
baobab bark precipitate the glycosides.
Pregnant women in Malawi drank baobab juice made from fruit pulp
mixed with water. Australian Aboriginal mothers with newborn babies also used
to drink boabab fruit pulp crushed into water. Baobab roots and flowers have
unspecified gynaecological applications but in Benin the flowers are used to
speed the ejection of the foetus. The bark and leaves for treating afterbirth
retention.
In Zimbabwe pregnant women
use the bark from mature baobabs to enlarge their birth canals in order to
reduce pain during delivery. In India, to relieve delivery pains, pregnant
women bath in water in which baobab bark has been boiled. A mixture of powdered
roots of A. digitata and Sterculia setigera plus bulrush millet
bran (Penisetum glaucum) to stimulate
lactation, while in Mali, the fruit pulp is eaten to stimulate lactation.
A mixture of the powdered roots of A. digitata, Acacia albida,
Bauhinia rufescens, Waltheria indica is recommended for
pellagra and kwashiorkor. While in southern Africa kwashiorkor is also treated
by providing an infusion of baobab root. Baobab bark is used as a remedy
against rickets in children as a tonic. A root decoction is given as a tonic
for lassitude and as a strengthening medicine. The pulp is eaten as an
appetizer in Benin. Gelfand stated that David Livingstone successfully treated
indolent sores with poultices of powdered baobab leaf and considered that
Livingstone’s ulcers may have been of dietetic origin. In Benin, a decoction
known as tutonakankount is prepared
from baobab leaves crushed in boiling water to which a few grams of potash are
added; it is used to cure iron and calcium deficiencies. The bark, leaf, fruit
pulp and seed are used in India for relieving body and joint pains.
Taste of Baobab
Do
not expect baobab to be pulpy and sweet like other fruits its edible portion
has a dry, chalky and powdery texture. Baobabs taste insipid with a mildly
sour, citrusy flavor; some find hints of tangy watermelon and strawberry while
sucking on the fruit. Its tangy, citrusy flavor earns it the nickname of
“lemonade tree” in some African countries.
Nutritional Value of Baobab
Baobab’s
well-rounded nutritional profile makes the fruit an essential source of
foodstuff for desert dwellers and nomads living in harsh, calorie-restricted
regions. According to a nutrition label posted on Ojio raw organic baobab
powder, 100g of powder* contains the following:
333kcal
Fat (neg), 2,031mg Potassium (57% RDI), 73g Carbohydrate (25% RDI)
53g
Fiber (213% RDI), 3g Protein, Vitamin C (120% RDI), Calcium (30% RDI)
Iron
(45% RDI), Magnesium (30% RDI), Phosphorous (6% RDI), Thiamin (6% RDI).
Health Benefits of Baobab
Baobab
is exceptionally high in calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin C and fiber. As
explained in a 2011 Reuters article,
the fruit contains an abundance of antioxidants and outshines several other
superfoods on the ORAC scale. To capitalize on baobab’s newfound popularity,
many cottage industries have sprouted up to sell baobab powder as a nutritional
super food from Africa. According to the book, “Indian Medicinal Plants: An Illustrated
Dictionary,” baobab acts as a coolant, refrigerant, anti-dysenteric,
antihistaminic, and antiseptic. Locals use the leaves as a prophylactic against
fevers and an infusion with flowers treat respiratory disorders. Several
civilizations also utilize the dried and powdered fruit pulp to treat bronchial
asthma and allergic dermatitis.
Scientific
studies reveal additional health benefits:
•
A 1994 study published in Fitoterapia found that baobab fruit
extracts exhibited anti-inlammatory
and analgesic qualities.
•
In 2003 study published in the Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal
Plants, baobab pulp’s aqueous extracts showed significant hepatoprotective effects.
•
A 2000 study published in Pharmaceutical Biology found that
baobab’s methanol extracts displayed potent antiviral activities against herpes simplex, sindbis and the
poliovirus.
Storage: Extracted
baobab powder stays fresh for three years. Store in an airtight container and
place outside of direct sunlight, ideally in dry conditions. If the environment
is humid, put the container in the refrigerator.
Baobab Recipe Ideas and Uses:
•
One of the most common baobab
concoctions is a juice known in
Africa as bouye. Simply add water to
the fruit powder and let it soak for two hours. Once the powder has dissolved,
stir the liquid and strain with cheesecloth: this will produce a chalky, sweet,
milky liquid. Flavor with sugar as desired.
•
Make baobab tea by boiling the fruit, and straining the liquid through
cheesecloth. Patients of respiratory ailments report tremendous relief after
drinking one or two cup of tea. Roast, grind and brew the seeds to make a coffee-like beverage.
•
Use the juice of the baobab to make ice cream. Replace some of recipe’s
milk or cream with baobab juice to impart its mellow tart flavor into the
dessert.
•
Add baobab powder to smoothies. Baobabs pairs well with
tropical fruits including mango, banana, pineapple and citrus.
•
Sprinkle baobab powder on tropical fruit salads made from sliced
pineapple, kiwi, mango and banana.
•
Baobab powder works well in savory dishes: add to soup broth or use the powder to thicken
sauces and marinades needing a tangy boost.
Random Facts:
The
mosquito population’s growing resistance to chemical repellants has caused
India’s government to explore natural remedies. Studies conducted in New
Delhi’s Department of Virology indicate that baobab plant extracts have
larvicidal and repellant activities against the mosquitos.
Baobab
houses the only bar inside of a tree: South Africa’s bar, “The Big Baobab,” has
enough room for 50 patrons, and the tree’s cool interior keeps the beer cold
naturally.
