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The Magic Baobab released in
"Natural Style", Italy, May 2005
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United Nation Conference
on Trade and Developement -
Market Brief on Adansonia Digitata
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Read about the Tree of Life
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BAOBAB TREE - ADANSONIA DIGITATA
Adansonia digitata is a deciduous tree from Central Africa, it is
considered from the native people the symbol of the continent.
In the people tradition it is also named “chemist tree” or “magic
tree” for the therapeutic properties of fruit pulp, leaves, seeds,
bark, fruit shell and root.
Phytochemical components: Amino acids and essential fatty acids
Minerals: Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Potassium, Sodium,
Magnesium, Zinc, Manganese
Vitamins: Vit. C, Vit A, Vit B1-B2-B6, Vit PP
Carbohydrates: glucose, fructose, saccarose, maltose, soluble
polysaccharides, starch
Dietary soluble and insoluble fibers
Adansonin (alkaloid)
Nutritional properties
• High amount of nutrients and vitamins
• Supplement of dietary soluble and insoluble fibers
• Analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activity, antioxidant
• Treatment of dysentery and diarrhea
Usage: Powdered fruit pulp dissolved in water, fruit juice, yogurt or milk
Suggested dosages From 5 to 25 gram of fruit pulp
Toxicity and side effects: No evidence of side effects or toxicity related to baobab fruit pulp
ingestion. For precautionary purposes, medical advice is suggested
during pregnancy and lactation.
INTRODUCTION
Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is a deciduous tree and belongs to the plant family called
Bombacacee, it is originary from Central Africa, and it’s well distributed throughout the Sahelian
and Sudanian zones of Mali.
It grows spontaneously in the tropical regions of Africa, and some
species were exported and cultivated in Florida, named “bottle tree”, and in Oceania (Adansonia
gregorii).The trunk could reach a circumference of 40 meters, an height of 20 meters and a
foliage diameter of 20 meters.
Baobab definition is probably derived from the Arabic “bu hibab“ or “fruit with several seeds”; the
Latin name was taken from the French botanic Michael Adanson, one of the first scientists that
studied the plant characteristics, and from the typical fingered shape of the leaves.
Leaves, bark and fruits are conventionally employed in several African regions as foodstuffs and
for medicinal purposes.
Baobab contains a number of substances usually employed for the
treatment of numerous diseases in the African traditional medicine and for that reason it is also
named “the small pharmacy”.
This giant normally soars solitary
among the most ancient trees on our planet and it grows all on its own, often in desert
and rocky terrain, bringing life to the landscape with its unusual,
extraordinary shape: an enormous conical trunk with branches which look
like roots reaching to the sky. But, on the west coast of Madagascar there
are, a truly unique case, two Baobabs clinging together in a kind of embrace
which is said to have lasted for 600 years, and not by chance are they
called “The Lovers”.
This tree-sculpture, one of the largest on earth, is
beneficial even when it is no longer alive. Its hollow
trunk has been used as prison, as tomb and
sometimes simply as house for entire families. The
wood of its trunk is very soft and porous as it has
the function of accumulating water, just like a tank:
experts have calculated that it can accumulate up to
100,000 litres, which allows it to survive during the
long periods of drought. It leads an extremely long
solitary life: most Baobabs live for 500 years, but it
seems that in some parts of Africa there are exemplars of 5000 years old.
Its leaves, its fruit (the only fruit in the world that
dehydrates when it is ripe) and its roots nourish
and heal. Its “spirit” protects
the villages, and it is so highly
respected by the inhabitants
that only the initiates and the
sages are permitted to climb it. This monument of
nature is for a short time adorned with enormous and
delicate white-yellow flowers and it has deep and very
long roots which allow it to withstand even the fury of cyclones.
As yet unknown to the general public, the
fruit and leaves of the Baobab have been
widely studied and analysed by researchers
all over the world and there is a wealth of
medical literature on this tree illustrating its
qualities.
THE TREE
The African Baobab (Adansonia digitata) is a huge deciduous tree, 20-25 m high with a swollen trunk, more or
less fibrous, and a spongy inside. Together with similar species, such as the Indian Kapok (Ceiba pentandara), it forms part
of a small pan-tropical family of the Bombacaceae. The trunk may be conical, cylindrical, bottle-shaped or short and stubby
and can reach 10-20 m in diameter.
THE BARK
The bark is smooth, silver grey in colour with variations from brown to purple, and it may grow up to 10 cm thick.
The bark fibres are normally
stripped from the lower layers of the trunk, and even though this murderous technique is fatal for other trees, the Baobab survives and regenerates.
In fact, even if seriously damaged, the bark regenerates quickly, thus allowing the tree to survive. The particularly hardy fibres
are used to make various products (cords, ropes, reins, cords for musical instruments, baskets, nets, fishing line, fabric fibres, etc.).
THE TRUNK
The spongy tissues of the trunk are suited to accumulating liquids allowing the tree to gather water during the rainy season
and store it for the dry season, thus becoming a water reserve for both the people and the animals that live nearby. A large tree
can contain up to 9000 litres of water.
The hollow trunks of living trees serve as storage tanks: water can be stored naturally once the inlet hole has been sealed
to prevent pollution from external organic substances.
In West Africa the hollow trunk may be used as prison, stable or storeroom.
In Zimbabwe the hollow of a tree is used as waiting room at a bus station and can hold 30-40 persons.
THE BRANCHES
The branches form a large crown and tend to become thinner at the ends, the young ones are voluminous and rarely glabrous.
THE LEAVES
The leaves are simple or digitate (5-9), alternated at the end of the branches or on small spurs of the trunk.
THE FLOWERS
The flowers are white, large, hanging down, single or paired at the end of a 10-90 cm long stalk. They have a large 15-20 cm
corolla formed by 5 white petals bending upwards.
It starts to bloom before or in the rainy season. The buds start opening in the early afternoon and reach their maximum
aperture at night and wilt the following afternoon. The life cycle is no longer than 24 hours.
THE FRUIT
The Baobab fruit measures 10-45 cm. It has an ovoid or irregular globular-cylindrical shape.
It is composed of a woody, very hardy outer part (epicarp) in the shape of a capsule covered with yellow-green down,
and an inner part (endocarp) constituting the pulp of the fruit.
The Baobab fruit has a very resistant, capsule named epicarp and an internal
portion, the fruit pulp, named endocarp. The ripe fruit pulp appears as naturally dehydrated,
powdery, whitish colored and with a slightly acidulous taste.
It is split in small floury agglomerates that enclose multiple seeds, it contains filaments (red
fibers) that subdivide the fruit in segments, and its separation only needs of a single mechanical
process without any extraction, concentration or chemical treatment.
This ensures to the product the characteristic of a slightly processed food.
The native African
populations commonly use the Baobab fruit as famine food to prepare decoctions, sauces and
natural refreshing drink, due to its nutritional properties.
THE PULP
The pulp of the Baobab fruit, protected by an egg-shaped woody shell, and
the hand-shaped leaves do not claim to be a miraculous medicinal panacea,
but they simply have the ability - as demonstrated by
decades of worldwide research and the centuries-old
traditional African medicine to this day used by the
African people - to balance and restore the main
functions of the organism and the epidermis, bestowing
well-being and energy. And it is not at all strange that
from one of the most ancient and mighty trees in the
world we can reap a remedy of such great help to small
mankind, without having to destroy the tree and its
ecosystem.
The pulp is therapeutically employed as febrifuge, analgesic, anti-diarrhea / anti-dysentery and
for treatment of smallpox and measles.
Moreover, it also contain adansonin, an alkaloid substance used as antidote against strophantin
poisoning.
The presence of pectin and carbohydrates in the Baobab pulp confer it lubricating, binder and
diluting properties. In these regards a recent application is as hydrophilic matrix to prepare
paracetamol and theophyllin controlled-release tablets.
THE SEEDS
The Baobab seed accounts for a significant share of the baobab fruit (40%)It is composed of a thin epicarp with a white oily endocarp.
In "Traditional Senegalese pharmacopoeia" the Baobab seed is used as:
- antiallergenic
- antidysenteric
- anti-inflammatory
8-10% of vegetable oil can also be extracted from the seed (by pressing).
THE FIBER
Baobab fruit pulp supplies a quantity of soluble (22.54%) and insoluble (22.04%) fibres which can reach up to about 45 grams per 100 grams of product.
Dietary fibre has by now been established as an important component of our diet, as it can affect manifold aspects of the digestive physiology.
Frequent consumption of dietary fibre associated with a diet rich in vegetables, cereals and fruit has been related to a reduction of the risk
of onset of neoplasia of the digestive system, in particular colon-rectal cancer. The ideal level of dietary fibre intake has not been defined,
but it is now commonly accepted that fibres
are an essential part of a healthy and balanced diet. A diet of foods rich in fibres has also been related to a reduction in the risk
of developing various organic disorders, such as constipation and overweight. Insoluble fibres are not assimilated by the intestine
and improve the intestinal passage thanks to their ability to increase the faecal mass and stimulate peristalsis. They are mainly
used to combat constipation and induce a sense of fullness, which can be exploited in a low-calorie diet. Moreover, Baobab fruit
pulp due to its high fibre content (soluble and insoluble) would appear to have interesting properties, at least in vitro, for
stimulating growth of bacterial cultures of the intestinal microflora.
The studies carried out on the soluble fibres contained in Baobab fruit pulp, allow hypothesizing their use as prebiotic, i.e. an
indigestible dietary ingredient which on the level of the large intestine selectively stimulates the growth and/or metabolic activity
of a limited number of microbic groups, important for maintaining the various functions of the human organism.
Studies carried out highlight that the water-soluble fraction of the fruit pulp has stimulating effects on the growth of lactobacilli
and bifidumbacteria, such as:
Bifidobacterium bifidum A3,
Bifidobacterium longum type,
Bifidobacterium infantis type,
Bifidobacterium bifidum B16.
The functional prebiotic activity of the bacteria determines:
• Improvement of the intestinal microflora balance;
• Improvement of lactose digestion;
• Prevention of diarrhoea;
• Immunostimulating activity
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