Baobab oil for skincare and anti-ageing

Baobab oil has been part of African skin care for centuries; it is widely viewed as the ultimate beauty product. It has a high content of vitamins A, D, E and F (essential fatty acids). Baobab oil is said to provide impressive moisturizing benefits to the skin and hair.


It absorbs quickly, improves elasticity, encourages regeneration of skin cells and does not clog the pores. It is an excellent ingredient in formulations effective in cases of acne, furunculosis, psoriasis, wounds and inflammations.


As such, the extract can be used in dermocosmetic formulations. It is also recommended in cases of sunburn or accident-related burns as it provides immediate relief of pain and/or rashes. This rich, golden oil has a slightly nutty smell and is extremely stable against rancidity.

Baobab goes for GRAS ahead of 2010 World Cup

A trade association has prepared a GRAS notification dossier for its baobab fruit pulp powder in the hope that products could become available in time for the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa.


PhytoTrade Africa is already promoting the potential of baobab fruit pulp for applications in the beverage and healthy snack markets after baobab fruit pulp obtained novel foods approval in Europe in June.


Now Cyril Lombard, of PhytoTrade, said the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) dossier for the US market would be submitted “shortly”. They are also considering additional dossiers for derivatives of the baobab fruit - a common food and flavor in Africa that has been heralded as a new superfruit.


Baobab is tipped to become a billion dollar industry as there is increasing interest in more exotic flavors and fruits with added benefits. In the US in particular, analysts have also identified a trend for African cuisines.


Dr Lucy Welford, spokeswoman for PhytoTrade, said baobab was a good flavor enhancer and described the taste as tart, very citrusy and similar to grapefruit.


She told FoodNavigator-USA.com: “If GRAS status comes through, we could be looking at products launches in the US in 2009.”


Dr Welfod added: “The World Cup is a huge opportunity to market this as a new kind of African beverage ingredient in particular.


“It brings an interesting and exotic flavor to food or beverage products and at the same time it does have interesting nutritional properties.


“It has a high pectin and fiber content so it is useful in slightly thicker drinks such as smoothies, as well as in cereals, jams, biscuits and other applications.


“Now that we’ve had a lot of interest in Europe, I think there might be a knock-on effect in the US.”


She said the plan is to submit the GRAS dossier first, then follow this up with an application for NDI (new dietary ingredient) status.


Health benefits


Baobab is the large green or brown fruit of the Adansonia digitata, (or 'upside-down') tree, which grows primarily in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Different parts of the fruit are a traditional food in these countries.


The fruit pulp of the baobab is said to have an antioxidant activity about four times that of kiwi or apple pulp. The main nutrients include vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, pectin and citric, malic and succinic acids, while the oil also contains the vitamins A, D and E.


The pulp is also reported to be prebiotic and stimulate the intestinal microflora.


The maximum sustainable harvesting potential of baobab could about $1bn, according to a report by Ben Bennett from the UK's Natural Resources Institute (NRI) for the Regional Trade Facilitation Programme (RTFP).


PhytoTrade, which represents companies wishing to export their dried baobab fruit, worked with the South African company Afriplex to ensure the ingredient's acceptance within the European ingredients market. Now PhytoTrade Africa is researching the regulatory requirements in Japan.


African inspiration


A recent Packaged Facts report called Food Flavors and Ingredients Outlook 2008 predicted that the cuisines of several African nations such as Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt were particularly likely to gain in popularity in the US.


An example of this is the influence of North African cuisine which includes ras el hanout spice blends and harissa, a chile-caraway seed condiment.


In some areas, such as Washington, Minneapolis, New York and Chicago, the African trend is helped by large immigrant communities of Ethiopians and Somalians, according to Elaine Tecklenburg who authored the report.


This year Bell Flavors & Fragrances paired the Moroccan spice ras el hanout with apricot on toasted pine nuts. It also used spicy African ginger for use in a sorbet with the Aisan citrus fruit yuzu.


Similarly Symrise is offering an African theme to the alcoholic beverage market with the launch of its “African Inspirations” such as cacao liqueur which uses a blend of cacao from the Ivory Coast and typical African spices such as cardamom. Also there is a cider which has a rooibos flavor note. Rooibos, or red bush, is a plant commonly used in tea in South Africa.


However, the beverage concepts have mainly been developed for the EAME region (Europe, Africa, Middle East).

Baobab Anti-Ageing Cream

Baobab Anti-Ageing
Ultra-moisturising anti-ageing gel-cream: to delay the effects of ageing. +115% more hydration 2 hours after application.

Virgin baobab oil, grapefruit essential oil, moringa, beech bud phytostimulines, imperata cylindrica and Yon-Ka Quintessence.
Fine texture and anti-pollution action.
Use in the morning after cleansing and shaving.

The Mythical Baobab

Many cultures claim to remember a time when great and ancient trees cloaked vast areas of the earth. The enchanting original forests and foreboding gigantic trees were of mythical dimensions and proportions.


The African baobab is a living embodiment of timeless affinities with nature common to many peoples throughout the continent. It serves as a metaphoric window into Africa's real or imagined past, through which we may view practices said to be of great antiquity.


Visitors to Sukur are warned not to approach a certain ancient baobab tree because, villagers say, it turns people into hermaphrodites.


Several myths that use the baobab as a backdrop for teaching moral lessons are told by the Bushmen or Hausa people of Northern Nigeria. One tale involving the baobab which is used to explain a phenomenon of nature as well as teach a moral lesson is the myth "The Tale of the Superman" In this story a husband boasts to his wife that he is the strongest man alive. He learns of another man who claims to be "superman", and goes to seek him out.


This second "superman" is actually an extremely powerful superhuman who kicks up wind wherever he goes and eats men for dinner. While trying to escape from "superman", the husband comes across the "Giant-of-the-Forest" sitting under a baobab tree. The giant offers to help the husband, and enters into a terrible fight with "superman". In their struggle to free themselves from each other's grasp, they leap to such a height they disappear into the heavens. As a result, their struggle can be heard as thunder.


The moral of the story is summed up by the wife who says, "Never boast about your achievements again. However strong or clever or rich or powerful you are, there is always somebody more so."

Baobab Exciting New Super Food

Baobab is an exciting new Super Food/Functional Food additive in a receptive and steadily growing market segment - the specialty health foods/ nutraceuticals business.


A Super Food refers to a food or beverage that contains exceptional nutrient richness and antioxidants, molecules that fight free radicals.


These cell-damaging chemicals emerge from nearly everything our bodies’ do that involves oxygen, including digesting and breathing.

Europe Recognizes Health Benefits of Baobab Fruit

In Senegal, villagers have always known about the health benefits of baobab fruit, which only now have been discovered by Europe in what could spell magic for localities like Fandene.


The ancient, hardy species also known as the "tree of life" is scattered across the African savannah, some said to date back to the time of Christ.


Locals use and benefit from nearly every part of the tree, whose processed fruit was approved for European import last month.




"You use the monkey bread fruit if you have a belly ache," said farmer Aloyse Tine, using the local name for baobab fruit. "If you're tired you eat the leaves, they are good for you."


The seeds can be pressed to extract oil used for cooking and the bark can be used to make ropes. In the past, the hollow bark was also used to bury "griots", a special West African cast of poets, musicians and sorcerers.


Farmer Tine, like others, used to lug his fruit to sell in the market in the nearby town of Thies.


Three years ago, he started selling instead to the Baobab Fruit Company, a Senegalese firm run by three Italians. It is the country's only industrialised producer of dried baobab fruit pulp, which it exports for use in cosmetics and certain dietary supplements.


The new income has already made changes. It "allows me to send my kids to school," he said.
Enter PhytoTrade Africa, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on developing fair trade and environmentally sustainable natural products which benefits the community..


Sensing potential, it launched in 2006 the process that would open European Union markets to this nutritious African oddity. Under EU rules, any "novel" food -- one not commonly consumed in Europe before 1997 -- requires special approval for use in the 27-member bloc.
"Approval for the baobab is fantastic news for Africa," said PhytoTrade's Cyril Lombard after the EU decision.


"Opening the European market to the  benefits of  this product will make a real difference to poor rural communities there, offering them a potentially life-changing source of income."


One of these is Thiawe Thiawe, where 41-year-old Delphine farms some 20 baobab trees scattered outside her house.


"I've collected the fruits since I was a little girl with my grandmother," she told AFP. Like Tine, her life is a little easier since she started selling to the Baobab Fruit company rather than hawking her own goods.


"It's better to sell here than there, you don't have to wear yourself out going to Thies."


The Baobab Fruit Company says it already sees a spike in interest from Europe, where the pulp will likely be used in cereal bars and health drinks.


"Now we collect 150 to 200 tonnes of baobab fruit each harvest. In the last weeks there has been an explosion in demand," Laudana Zorzella told AFP at the factory in Thies.


"We are thinking we will need a much bigger harvest next time," she said. "In Senegal alone we estimate we could collect 13 thousand tonnes of fruit."


But what can baobab fruit, also known as monkey's bread, bring in the way of benefits to health-conscious Europe?


According to the International Centre for Underutilized Crops at the University of Southhampton, the baobab is "a fruit of the future", rich in vitamin C, B1, B2 and calcium and chock-full of anti-oxidants.


In Senegal, its pulp is mostly used to make Bouye, a milky, tart juice made by boiling the pulp and seeds with water and sugar.


Some scientists calculate the fruit has three times as much vitamin C as oranges and has more calcium than a glass of milk.


And the tree is well adapted to arid conditions, tolerating both drought and poorly drained soil, and is fire resistant. Also known as the "upside down tree" for its bulbous trunk and spindly branches that look like roots, it can grow to be hundreds if not thousands of years old.


A study for PhytoTrade Africa conducted by the Natural Resources Institute in Britain suggested that wild harvesting of baobab fruit could generate trade of up to one billion dollars (640 million euros) a year for African producers.


Some environmentalists fear such commercial exploitation could lead to extinction of the iconic tree.


But Zorzella dismissed this, stressing that her company uses only the fruit and leaves the tree intact. "And if it becomes an important revenue the farmers will know that they have to protect the tree," she said.


In Fandene, Aloyse said this lesson has already been learned. As new baobabs sprout spontaneously, they are protected and allowed to grow.


"There are cattle herders that cut the leaves (to feed their animals) but we are starting to stop them now. That's not good because we need the trees to produce fruit," he said.


After the EU's approval, "everybody is asking for our products so they can test the health and nutrition benefits of the baobab," Zorzella said.


She estimated Europe's major food companies would need up to eight months for research and development before consumers there can actually get their own sip of a baobab smoothie or health bar.


Source-AFP