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Title
Traditional Leafy Vegetables In Senegal: Diversity And Medicinal Uses |
Full text
http://www.ajol.info/viewarticle.php?id=43249 |
Date
2008 |
Author(s)
Mathieu, G; Meissa, D |
Abstract
Six administrative regions of Senegal were investigated. Forty species of vegetable leaves which are traditionally consumed in Senegal have been inventoried. All species are members of twenty-one families the most numerous of which are Amaranthaceae Juss., Malvaceae Juss., Moraceae Link., the Papilionaceae Giseke and Tiliaceae Juss. The species are subdivided into three groups: cultivated leafy vegetables, plants gathered annually, perennial sub-ligneous and ligneous species. The gathered species represent 67.5% of the inventory, 40.7% of which is ligneous. Cultivated species account for 32.5% of the inventory. The species are consumed for their medicinal properties, nutritive value and eating habits linked to specific ethnic traditions. During the drought years, with the scarcity of main food (millet, mays) consumption of leafy vegetables is high. All species reported except Sesuvium portulacastrum L. are consumed like vegetable herbs. The species of Hibiscus are eaten in spinach and condiment form while Sesuvium portulacastrum L is cooked in salad. Of the forty species examined, eleven are widely consumed. Within the entire study area, Hibiscus sabdariffa predominates among species consumed, followed by Moringa oleifera Lam. and Senna obtusifolia Link. A high consumption level of some species like amarante, Corchorus tridens L., Corchorus aestuans L., Leptadenia hastata Decne. and Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp is confined to certain areas. In addition to their consumption as vegetables, the medicinal uses of 57.5% of these is of primary importance. The most commonly exploited parts are, respectively, leaf (40%), roots (20%), and bark (13.3%). Among the numerous pathologies treated, abscess, constipation, and rheumatism are predominant followed by aphrodisiac uses. The Amaranthus spp. L., Leptadenia hastata Decne., Senna obtusifolia Link., Adansonia digitata L. and Tamarindus indica L. are species with multiple medicinal uses. Keywords: Traditional leafy vegetables - diversity - medicinal uses - Senegal African Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Vol. 4 (4) 2007: pp. 469-475 |
Subject(s)
Traditional leafy vegetables - diversity - medicinal uses - Senegal |
Language
en |
Publisher
African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines Association of Crop Science, Uganda |
Type of publication
Peer-Reviewed Article |
Source
African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines - African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines; Vol. 4, No. 4 (2007) |
Rights
Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, or thesis) that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agree to automatic transfer of the copyright to the publisher. |
Repository
Africa - African Journals OnLine (AJOL)
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