![]() ![]() ![]() With its distinctive silhouette, broad trunk, unusual root-like branches, and large, velvety fruit, baobab is the best known of all African trees. This article addresses some of the traditional nutritional and medicinal uses, the chemical and pharmacological profile, and scientific facts and myths of the iconic baobab tree. One example is the baobab tree ( Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae), one of the largest sub-Saharan botanicals, which the author has termed a “Cinderella species” - one that is often overlooked, but once properly researched and examined, is shown to be a novel foodstuff with significant health benefits. One of the authors (SJ), after traveling in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa and talking to traditional healers in rural communities, has found that the plants in one’s immediate vicinity often will contain a surprising amount of constituents with nutritional and medicinal benefits. ![]() Since the origins of human existence, people have looked to their natural surroundings for sources of nutrition and health remedies. ![]()
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