The Baobab Tree or the Tree of Life

A Canadian based company BaobabTek has recently been appointed to manage and develop the North American market for Baobab Fruit Company of Senegal (BFCS) in Africa. In 1999 BFCS began by designing specific equipment capable of extracting raw materials from the Baobab Tree. They are now the single largest harvester and producer of Baobab ingredients in the world.


The Baobab Tree is also known as the “Tree of Life”, “The Chemist Tree” and “The Monkey Bread Tree”. The scientific name is Adansonia Digitata. It is a deciduous tree that can reach 30 meters or 90 feet in height and 15 meters or 45 feet in diameter. The swollen, short, bottle shaped trunk can store up to 30,000 gallons of water during the dry season, which serves as water storage for the villages. The Baobab Tree can live up to 5000 years and is protected from fire due to its spongy wood.


Viewed by the native population as their symbol of the Continent and as their Protector, the Baobab is of high importance for humans and animals as it provides them with food and medicine. In traditional African medicine, the Baobab is used to help treat fever, diarrhea, dysentery, malaria, smallpox, and inflammation.


The tree bears fruit once a year, which is harvested by the local population. The fruit contains naturally dehydrated fruit pulp, which is then mechanically separated from the fiber and seeds. The leaves and seeds provide botanical extracts used in a variety of industries. The seed endocarp has naturally occurring Omega 3, 6 and 9.


Dietary fibers (up to 45grams per 100g) soluble fibers (22 grams per 100 grams) make it also a very effective, ingredient as it can help regulate the functions of the colon and intestines. Essential amino acids present in the pulp are a great source of energy. Naturally high in vitamin C (six times that of an orange) the pulp also contains vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6 and PP). Minerals included are (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, sodium, zinc and magnesium).


The Baobab pulp can be used as a natural and functional ingredient in the food industry to make juices, energy drinks, smoothies, ice creams, fruit powders, chewable tablets and cereal bars. In the nutraceutical industries the pulp is used as a natural source of fiber and vitamin C. The seed oil, leaves and bark can serve well in the cosmetic industry to make creams, masks, shampoos, conditioners, lotions and exfoliants. Overall the wide range of usage of the Baobab produce makes it a highly valuable natural resource.


Numerous studies have been conducted and released on the benefits of the Baobab during the last 6 years in Universities and Laboratories.


BaobabTek's mission is to provide the cosmetic, food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries with 100% natural raw materials that can help contribute to personal health and well being. As a by-product we also help enhance the economic development of several villages in Africa.


Finished products are already in circulation in Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, the UK, Canada and the USA.


NaturalNews, citizen journalist

Our Journey to the Baobab Weavers

After several years of trying, finally it will happen. With a rented van, traveling companions and our Baobab Bag finisher we are off to the ladies who harvest, prepare and weave Baobab bags.   Traveling the first day on what we once thought were rough roads, potholes and speed bump ridden wide dirt roads, our journey began. What we didn’t know was that the next day we would learn what “rough road” really means.

The map showed our route on a secondary and tertiary road. As we began driving the dusty secondary road, baobab trees appeared. Huge, towering, and spreading with a trunk that would take a dozen people to stretch hands around, the baobab commands attention. Climbing pins, barely visible in the folded and scarred trunk provide access to the multiple beehives hung in the massive limbs. Moving on, the herds boys, cows, goats, sheep and donkeys common to most of Kenya stroll the road and roadsides, as few vehicles travel here. 

Every small fork in the road finds us asking, “Where is Tsheikuru?” Why is the way they choose always the,” One less traveled by?” But off we go. Now driving becomes an act of dodging rocks, ruts at least 2 feet deep and passing through the dry ditch where there once was a culvert, long since washed down with the seasonal torrent.

Huge volcanic peaks rise creating a beautiful driving distraction. The passengers become a bit nervous as the road drops sharply and curves around the mountainside. No guardrail on this small one lane road. As the vehicle moves slowly through small villages and past traditional homesteads, work stops to watch as the vehicle slowly picks its way through the rocks, holes and ditches, two wheels on the road, two wheels on the bushy angled roadside. That was the end of the secondary road.

 Now we find the tertiary road. Scraping the sides of the van on the acacia, occasionally hitting the errant rock as we straddle a ditch deep enough to hide a large dog, we slowly make progress. “Are we there yet?” Not yet, as we approach a broad river bed with just a trickle in the middle. There are the remains of a double lane bridge high off the riverbed. The pieces of the bridge that remain hint at the glorious celebration when the bridge was new. But now only piles of stone show a long forgotten attempt at repair. In the riverbed the cows slowly meander searching for a deep enough pool to drink.

No way I can maneuver the rocks, the riverbed and the long climb up the other side. But maneuver I must. We have come too far now to quit.  Walk the course, identify immovable rocks, and mud holes. Move the moveable, eye measure the ditches and then trust. Slowly, ever so slowly straddle the ditch but don’t slip, a little left, a little right into the riverbed. Search for enough traction to spin up the other side. WOW! Wonderful!! Oops, A shiver of fear, I have to go back later.

 I am picking the way through the rocky, ditches seems easy. A little later, not another river!! This one is impossible, impassable. Have we come so far only to turn back? No, park the van and walk.

Down the bank, a hot, very hot, sandy riverbed burned holes through the soles of shoes. Relentless sun beating unmercilessly, I am truly glad I bothered to bring my hat. Does this river really fill up in the rains? The river’s banks loudly answer that question, as tall acacias lie tumbled into the river, more tell the story with their exposed roots.

Eventually our guide leads us up out of the searing riverbed onto a winding path. The path leads to a small mud hut in the bush. There, outside sitting on chairs, stumps and ground cloths are several Kamba ladies calmly chewing, making cordage and weaving. We have arrived!!

 Taking our seats, the ladies begin to serve us warm soda and beans with rice, and show us how the process from Baobab tree to beautiful basket occurs. First the bark is cut from the tree in large rectangles. It is carried back to the shade at home where small strips are peeled off the tough exterior bark. The bark is then chewed. At first it is as dry as the dust, absorbing every drop of saliva. 

Persevering through dry mouth, the saliva begins to respond and soon the hard dry bark is dripping and separating into fibers. Next the fibers are pulled and lengthened to prepare for the cordage process. Holding the fibers tightly in one hand against the flat of the thigh, the fibers are rolled against each other to form a thin firm thread. Fibers are added to the end to be twisted in until long strips of cordage are rolled into balls.  Often the cream colored fibers are dyed with soot from the fire, roots, barks or berries. Once enough Baobab bark has been prepared the weaving begins.

 The baskets are woven in several ways but most often using a spiral weave. Finally after about 5 weeks, the baskets are finished off and our order will be ready. 

You can find these bags at the Aina Moja Shop in Belfast, Maine or on line at www.ainamoja.com.

But the ladies will not let us leave quite yet. A song begins to roll, one of the women stands to dance. Such great laughter as we try to learn the hip thrusting, leg throwing dance of the Kamba.

 Time is fleeting and we must leave. A bit more dehydrated, the long walk back to the van was slow and laborious. Never were we so glad to see the dusty vehicle and its cargo of bottled water.

 Proceeds from the Artisan Support Project support the non-profit organization, Expanding Opportunities, which has the greater mission of increasing self-sufficiency through educational and charitable projects for people nationally and internationally. One of the major projects of the organization is the Street Children Project.  This project manages a Feeding Program and Children's Home in  Kenya, Africa.

Fruit Company dominate Global Baobab Market

An Italian company, the Baobab Fruit Company Senegal (BFCS), has been producing a range of baobab products in Senegal for several years - including fruit pulp, seeds and oil - for sale in Europe as dietary supplements and cosmetic products.


For six months each year during the December-June harvest, it employs more than 950 collectors in the southwest Tambacounda region and operates a small processing plant with around 100 workers in the city of Thies.


The company produces between 150 to 200 tonnes of baobab raw material products a year. Like PhytoTrade, its representatives say they are excited about the EU novel foods approval, which has triggered increased commercial enquiries.


'For us, it's a fruit of the future, it will have a huge impact on Africa,' said Laudana Zorzella, the production and commercial representative in Dakar of BFCS, which has been studying the baobab's potential for over a decade. But she cautions it could take time for the product pipeline to be able to benefit African farmers: 'It's not just around the corner.'


In the baobab forests around Tandene village in Senegal, local farmers said they looked forward to earning much more from the trees. Prices for a kilo of baobab fruit varied between 175 to 500 CFA francs (€.26-.76), they said.


'If people know (that European consumers will buy the product) then they'll look after the trees better and feed them less to their animals,' said farmer Alassane Sy. Soon we hope to present to our readers an exclusive interview with one of the three founders of this dynamic company.

How To Make Baobab Fruit Drink

Ingredients:
600g baobab fruit pulp
1.2l warm water
1 tbsp sugar


Method:
Add the baobab fruit pulp to a large bowl and add the warm water and sugar. Leave to sit for at least four hours. During this time the very dry fruit pulp will hydrate and will come away from the seeds and the fibrous matter of the fruit. Stir the mixture vigourously until the water becomes an opaque, tan, liquid. Strain the resulting juice through cheesecloth or muslin into a jug. Refrigerate the liquid and serve chilled.

Baobab Flower Remedy

The signature of the Baobab Flower Remedy is that it will assist in the spiritual transformation in the exciting times we live in at the beginning of the Age of Aquarius.


The flower is a large, white waxyflower with 5 petals. The flower has a prehistoric feel to it, and is pollinated by fruit bats. The Baobab has 5 petals and 5 leaves, and the number 5 in numerology represents the emotional plane (the heart).
The flower essence relates specifically to the heart and crown chakras, opening our hearts and minds to the higher forces of the Universe.


The essence will help people to see how spiritually we are all ONE on the same journey home, and our journey home is to return to this state of being, oneness with other human beings and nature. The new millennium also marks a time for a new beginning of man and woman, as the consciousness of Oneness continues to expand and
grow across the globe. It is a time where people are increasingly taking responsibility for their own lives, health and the environment rather than relying on governments or other institutions.


The success of this journey will mean an end to all forms of war, oppression and
ecological destruction as our respect for all life becomes central to our way of thinking. The Baobab Flower Essence is a gift from nature to help humanity on this journey. The ascending astrological sign of the Baobab Essence is Aries, which is the start of the zodiac and indicates the start of a new cycle.


The Essence is able to heal wounds from lifetimes in the Age of Pisces as well as the Age of Aries. The Age of Aries started when Moses led the Jews out of bondage, according to the bible. It is also reputed that the Archangel Raphael gave Moses the book of all herbs to heal maladies.


The astrological birthchart of the essence also indicates that it can heal very deep wounds, particularly emotional and spiritual wounds. Chiron (the Wounded Healer Archetype), Vulcan (a hypothetical transneptunian planet who helps to put our dismembered and fragmented bits back together), Pluto (the unconscious and dark side) and the Sun (the heart) are all found in the 9th House of the Chart, the house of long distance travel. In one case the Baobab Essence healed a flesh wound virtually overnight.


The Baobab Essence has been very useful for pain, for example back pain or pain caused by arthritis, again having almost instantaneous results.

Baobab Bonsai Grower

Here's my little baobab, having just started this year's growth a few weeks ago. It is a deciduous tree and it is critically important that it receive no water during the dormant season. That starts in the fall when the leaves start to yellow and fall off. Don't think your tree is dying when that happens, because that is normal. I think it's dead every winter and then it starts growing again every spring. I never cease to be amazed. At some point in October or November, I put the tree in the basement and completely neglect it. It's fine to put it on a shelf (does not need any light) and let it sit in dry dormancy for the winter; when you see green shoots in the spring, bring it back to a sunny place and water it regularly. One winter, it was stored under the pool table in the basement while we did renovations!

I started this tree from seed 4 years ago. Germination is not hard. You should soak the seed for 24 hours before sowing it, to help germination.

I cut the main stem last year to promote new growth, which worked very well. It triggered new shoots from the stem below the cut and around the circumference of the cut itself. I sealed the cut with Japanese cut paste, which can be purchased from bonsai dealers. I don't know what my plan is for future shaping of my tree, but I will figure that out as I go. It will probably be with me for many years!

Please leave a comment (and link, if you have one) if you have a baobab bonsai. There's not too many of them out there and I'd like to see what other ones look like.

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

Vitamin and mineral foods markets to flower in Africa?

Opportunities in emerging markets continue to flower for foods fortified with vitamins and minerals as growing urbanisation sees populations turning away from fruit and vegetables in Uganda.


With an annual growth rate of 4.0 per cent, and an economy marked as having 'great potential' by the US government, officials in Uganda, it would appear, are encouraging their citizens to turn to fortified foods.


"Fortified foods offer affordable and immediate opportunities to improve lives and accelerate socio economic development.


They eradicate vitamin and mineral deficiencies which is a problem in many families," said Jacinta Sabiti, a senior medical officer in charge of the micronutrients desk at the Ministry of Health, reports Uganda's daily news site 'The New Vision'.


Afflicted by years of chronic political instability and erratic economic management, today Uganda is enjoying firmer growth as steps by Yoweri Kaguta Museveni's government, in place since early 1986, towards economic rehabilitation start to bear fruit. In the fiscal year 2006-2007 the country witnessed a growth rate at a healthy 7 per cent.


Recent market figures on nutraceutical sales for the region substantiate the credence that emerging economies can deliver new opportunities for industry players.


In 2006, multivitamins were the biggest selling product in Africa and the Middle East, with combined sales of almost $300m, according to data gathered by Capsugel's global business development manager for dietary supplements Peter Zambetti, and pooled from Euromonitor, Datamonitor, Mintel and Nutrition Business Journal.


In addition, vitamin B saw sales of almost $150m, and vitamin C sold almost $75m. Calcium and child specific products stood at the $50m mark, with other products below $50m including minerals, vitamin E, tonics and fish oils.


Cell Biotech introduces Lactopad™ - an antimicrobial peptide produced from lactic acid bacteria. Added to skin creams Lactopad™ interacts with the cell membrane killing the target microbes- a clinically proven alternative! Click here


The figures are small when compared to the global nutraceutical marketplace that witnessed sales in excess of $52bn in 2006, according to Zambetti.


But they do suggest a budding marketplace.


And not necessarily just one-way, with African-sourced plants in turn targetting European shelves.


The southern Africa natural products trade association, PhytoTrade Africa, in collaboration with South African company, Afriplex, are hoping fruit from the iconic African baobab tree could soon receive novel foods approval.


Approval would unlock the EU market for this large green or brown fruit of the Adansonia digitata, (or 'upside-down') tree, enabling its use as a food ingredient in European food products, such as cereal bars and smoothies.


The de-pectinised fruit pulp could also be used as an ingredient in other products, like biscuits and confectionery, says PhytoTrade Africa.


Baobab has not been commonly consumed in the EU prior to May 1997, meaning that approval must be gained under novel foods legislation before it can be used in products for the European market.


The wheels were set in motion last year by PhytoTrade Africa when it submitted an application to the UK's Food Standards Agency.

The many wonders of the baobab fruit

The Guardian U.K.

Normally, as we all know from our close reading of tabloid headlines, the EU is too busy banning the old - bendy bananas, imperial weights from picturesque market stalls, etc - to have time to let in the new.

However, after much lobbying by non-profit trade association PhytoTrade Africa, the EU this week announced that it had approved the fruit of the African baobab (or monkey bread) tree for use in the UK, thereby opening up a potentially lucrative market and creating employment for millions on the continent.

"It is a wonderful fruit!" rhapsodises Antonio Perez, who spent many years travelling around its native land before opening the African Kitchen Gallery Restaurant in central London. "It is very nutritious, full of vitamin C and vitamin A. It has a very special flavour, but the closest I can get to it is jackfruit, which is like melon."

But what can you do with it? Well, when it comes to the baobab fruit, it seems simpler to ask what can't you do with it. In Africa, it is used to alleviate various medical complaints, the leaves are eaten as a vegetable, and the seeds can be eaten raw or roasted, or ground to make an edible oil and thickener for soups and stews.

"For the fruit itself, you can peel it and slice it and cook it with anything - beef, chicken, even bake or grill it with fish," says Perez. "Roast it, mash it, puree it ..." Coming as it does from a culture with no tradition of writing down cookery methods, he says there is no master recipe. "They are learned from family to family, everybody will cook it differently. It will bring the flavour. You must bring your imagination."

You may need a smidgen more imagination than usual for now, as the EU has so far only approved the powdery pulp of the fruit for dismally denatured use in things like cereal bars and smoothies, but Perez remains undaunted. "It is like flour - you can blend it with anything," he urges. "You could make it into something like polenta, into porridge and have it for supper. It is a fantastic fruit."

Baobab Powder

Baobab Fruit Pulp - 100% Native Dried
The Completely Natural Phytocomplex
Liophilized by Nature

Baobab fruit pulp can be used as an ingredient for chewable and sublingual tablets, candies, toffee; for Coeliacs Foods formulations;for Fruit Juices / Ice Tea / Enriched Milk formulations;as an Ingredient for Yoghurts (prebiotic, Baobab + probiotic, Yoghurt); as an ingredient for Energy Bars and Biscuits formulations; as an ingredient for Chocolate mixtures & Chocolate filling formulations; as an ingredient for Ice Cream and Smoothies formulations; etc.

Africa’s multipurpose tree to improve rural livelihoods

The problem
Growing populations, urbanisation and increasing industrial production in Africa are combining to raise the demand for food and other agricultural commodities. Yet the capacity of available resources and technologies to secure this provision and to achieve the goal of improved livelihoods for all remain uncertain.

The solution: baobab
Harvesting from the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) enables rural people to have a balanced diet. Marketing of baobab products is an important means of income generation for many people and can provide a much needed buffer in times of drought and famine thus helping to reduce hunger and alleviate poverty.

The baobab is therefore one of the most valuable resources in the dry lands of Africa:
* the fruits are rich in vitamin C and are used to prepare beverages,
* the leaves are used fresh or dried as vegetables and as forage,
* the seeds are used to extract oil,
* all parts of the tree have medicinal properties,
* the bark provides strong and durable fibres,
* the tree is fire resistant and can survive severe droughts,
* it is easy and cheap to cultivate and free from any serious pests and diseases
* and it provides shade and protects the soil against erosion.

What could be done to make the baobab tree more widely used? Despite its wide distribution and multi-purpose uses the potential of baobab has not been fully realised. The following steps should be taken to overcome the limitations:

• the availability of quality planting material should be increased,
• improved propagation and management techniques should be developed and adopted,
• processing technologies should be developed and adopted,
• market chains and infrastructure for baobab products should be developed.

The way forward
Increase the availability of quality planting material. Organisations involved in conservation and utilisation of dry land genetic resources should support:

• Survey and collection of seed
• Identification of suitable varieties and their field testing
• Mapping the tree diversity in different ecosystems
• Selection and vegetative propagation of appropriate varieties in relation to utilisation objectives

Organisations involved with rural development and tree planting should support:

• Establishment of tree nurseries
• Multiplication through vegetative propagation of desired types Development and adoption of improved field establishment and tree management techniques
• Application of improved propagation and management techniques

Development and application of processing technologies Attention needs to be paid to:

• Improvement of storage and processing technology (e.g. to retain high levels of vitamin C in drinks and pro-vitamin A in dried leaves)
• Standardisation of methods for the preparation of medicinal products
• Knowledge transfer and technical support
• Promotion of local small-scale industries for baobab products
• Collaboration between industry and NGOs and CBOs should be promoted.

Marketing of baobab tree products Collaboration between eco- and fair trade associations and partner NGOs and CBOs should be supported.
The priorities are:

• Adoption of international standards for products
• Development of locally-made products for local markets
• Development of market chains and infrastructure for baobab products
• Promotion of the baobab fruit as a healthy fruit and for cosmetic use for export markets
• Information collection on the market value of products, and supply and demand estimates
• Collection of data on income derived from the production to consumption chain

Legends of the Baobab Tree

The Baobabs are are full of mystery and wonder in Africa, tales have been brought down verbally from generation to generation. We have tried to compile as much as possible regarding this great tree of life.


A very, very long time ago, say some African legends, the first baobab sprouted beside a small lake. As it grew taller and looked about it spied other trees, noting their colorful flowers, straight and handsome trunks, and large leaves. Then one day the wind died away leaving the water smooth as a mirror, and the tree finally got to see itself. The reflected image shocked it to its root hairs. Its own flowers lacked bright color, its leaves were tiny, it was grossly fat, and its bark resembled the wrinkled hide of an old elephant.


In a strongly worded invocation to the creator, the baobab complained about the bad deal it’d been given. This impertinence had no effect: Following a hasty reconsideration, the deity felt fully satisfied. Relishing the fact that some organisms were purposefully less than perfect, the creator demanded to know whether the baobab found the hippopotamus beautiful, or the hyena’s cry pleasant-and then retired in a huff behind the clouds. 


But back on earth the barrel-chested whiner neither stopped peering at its reflection nor raising its voice in protest. Finally, an exasperated creator returned from the sky, seized the ingrate by the trunk, yanked it from the ground, turned it over, and replanted it upside down. And from that day since, the baobab has been unable to see its reflection or make complaint; for thousands of years it has worked strictly in silence, paying off its ancient transgression by doing good deeds for people. All across the African continent some variation on this story is told to explain why this species is so unusual and yet so helpful.

Baobab For Cellular Integrity

Baobab as a Super Food contains Thiamine and Riboflavin which optimizes development of the organs for maintaining cellular integrity of the nervous, skin and ocular systems. In addition the presence of epithelia and niacin (vitamin PP or B3) is very important to regulate many metabolic functions.


Furthermore, the fruit contributes to the injection of some essential minerals and essential fatty acids. In fact, 100 g of pulp contains an average of 293 mg of calcium, 2.31 mg of potassium, 96-118 mg of phosphor and alpha-linoleic acid (27 mg of acid per gram of dry product).

The Beautiful Baobab

Death is a low chemical trick played on everybody except baobab trees.
- JJ Furnas

The origin of the name baobab is uncertain. Some have suggested that it comes from "bu hobab," a name used for the plant in the markets of Cairo. Or perhaps it was derived from "bu hibab," an Arabic designation for "the fruit with many seeds." The trees are related to the kapok and the balsa. There are 6 species of baobab trees in Madagascar, 1 in Africa and 2 elsewhere (including Australia and Vietnam).
The baobab trees (called renala by inhabitants of Madagascar) are present almost everywhere on the island, except in the highlands and rain forest. They are most prevalent in the dry savannah of the West.

For centuries, much of what was known about baobabs was based exclusively on the African baobab (A digitata). The first recorded reference was by 14th-century Arab traveller Ibn Batuta who mentions the water-storage capacity of its massive trunk. In 1661 the writer Flacourt praised the giants - speaking about the area of Morondava, he wrote: "It is in this region that exists a tree named Anadzahé, which is monstrously stupendously large. It is hollow inside and 12 feet in diameter, round, ending in an archway like the bottom of a lamp. There are only a few small branches here and there on top. The tree is a wonder to be seen."

Sometimes called the "upside-down tree" because of their unusual root-like branch formations, baobabs are extremely long-lived. Some specimens are believed to be more than 3,000 years old. (Two trees on an island off Cape Verde were estimated to be over 5,000 years old. Those trees have since disappeared, however, so the claim can no longer be verified.)

Girth measurements themselves are not reliable estimates of a particular tree's age, as the conditions under which it has grown - and the climatic fluctuations of the centuries - strongly affect them - some years, they can decrease in size. There is no such thing as a "typical" baobab.
Inside its shell, the tree's fruit contains a number of seeds, embedded in a whitish, powdery pulp. Tangy and exceedingly nutritious, the pulp makes a tasty food or, after soaking in water or milk, a refreshing beverage (with 6 times the vitamin C content of an orange). Fermented, it makes a traditional brew.

The seeds may be eaten raw or roasted. They yield an edible oil which is used for cooking and exported for use in cosmetics. The leaves, similar to spinach, are eaten as a relish, especially in times of drought and are considered medicinal - they reduce fever and diarrhœa. The pollen of the African and Australian baobabs is mixed with water to make glue.

The wood has a moisture content of 40%, making it unusuable as timber (which is lucky for the tree because it keeps it from being harvested) but the fibrous bark can be made into baskets, rugs, fishing nets, hats, ropes and the like. The tree seems impervious to having its bark stripped.

Baobab (called kuka trees in Nigeria) flower for the first time at about 20 years. In mid-summer, dozens of luminous white blossoms - the size of saucers - open at sunset and their strong musky odour attracts fruit bats and hosts of insects. Large bats seek out the generous sweet nectar and collect and distribute pollen as they move from flower to flower.

The life of a flower is short lived and it drops to the ground within hours. The resultant seeds are housed in a hairy pod which resembles a miniature rugby ball (inside of which is a white pulp from which cream of tartar is derived). Once they fall to the ground, the pods are fed upon by baboons, monkeys, antelope and elephants, which serve to disperse the hard seeds within. Humans eat them as well.

Bushbabys, squirrels, rodents, lizards, snakes, tree frogs, spiders, scorpions and insects may live out their entire lives in a single tree. Birds nest in holes in the trunk. The hollow trunks of living trees have served as homes, storage barns, places of refuge or worship, and even as prisons or tombs. One tree near Gravelotte in South Africa's Northern Province was used as a bar where up to a dozen thirsty gold diggers could quench their thirst.

Certain tribes in the Transvaal wash baby boys in water soaked in the bark of a baobab. Then, like the tree, they will grow up mighty and strong. To this day the baobab remains at the centre of black magic rituals on the islands where they are found. Most waganga will take their subjects to a special tree, where they may tie ornaments to the branches to give a spell its power, hammer nails into the trunk to kill devils, or climb and sit in the branches whilst carrying out various ceremonies.

The wood being soft, it is subject to attacks of fungus which destroy its life, and renders the part affected easily hollowed out. This is done by natives, and within these hollows they suspend the dead bodies of those who are refused the honor of burial. There they become mummies - perfectly dry and well preserved - without any further preparation of embalmment.

Ninki Nanka Protects Ancient Baobab Forest

A Ninki Nanka is a legendary creature based inWest African folklore.  According to tradition, the Ninki Nanka lives in the swamps of West Africa. The animal is said to be extremely large and very dangerous. It is said that when a child gets too confident and feels they can disobey their parents and go into the swamp they will be taken by the Ninki Nanka.


The "dragon" is rumoured to look rather like a game of zoological "consequences", possessing the body of a crocodile, the neck of a giraffe and the head of a horse with three horns. Less fantastically, the team's leader, Richard Freeman of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, suspects the ninki-nanka of being a species of colossal monitor lizard. "Whatever the truth," he says, "this is the first dedicated expedition to search for this animal."


More encouraging are the witnesses. A compelling chap called Papa Jinda had described a scene of devastation at a pumping station where, the blog gushes, "a ninki-nanka had destroyed several pipes". It continues: "The mention of a ninki-nanka had caused a panic among the workers, and they had asked for a mirror as it was thought that the only way to get rid of the animal was to show it its reflection.


Back in 1983, amateur naturalist Owen Burnham discovered the fresh carcass of a strange beast on a remote beach in the Gambia. It was around 15 feet long and looked like a cross between a crocodile and a dolphin. Realizing that it was something unknown to science, Owen, a missionary’s son, made detailed sketches of the creature. He and his family then buried it in the hot sand above the tide line, hoping that the dry sand would preserve the body. He also made a detailed map.


Makasutu a 500-hectare piece of bush in the Kombo central district of the republic of The Gambia is deemed by some to be a devil's home. They say he is there in the form of a ninkinanko or dragon, and protects the hidden crown and clothes of King Jatta from Busumbala who was killed 200 years ago by the Muslim king Kombo Silla on his way east to take over the country. Jatta's men took the crown and clothes and placed them for safekeeping in the area of Makasutu, now known as the Big Forest.