Abstract:
A literature survey revealed that several wild indigenous Southern African fruits had
previously not been evaluated for their proximate and amino acid composition, as well as the
total energy value (caloric value). Fourteen species including Carissa macrocarpa, Carpobrotus edulis,
Dovyalis caffra, Halleria lucida, Manilkara mochisia, Pappea capensis, Phoenix reclinata, and Syzygium
guineense were analyzed in this study. The nutritional values for several species such as C. edulis,
H. lucida, P. reclinata, and M. mochisia are being reported here for the first time. The following
fruits had the highest proximate values: C. macrocarpa (ash at 20.42 mg/100 g), S. guineense (fat
at 7.75 mg/100 g), P. reclinata (fiber at 29.89 mg/100 g), and H. lucida (protein at 6.98 mg/100 g
and carbohydrates at 36.98 mg/100 g). Essential amino acids such as histidine, isoleucine, lysine,
methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and valine were reported in all studied indigenous fruits.
The high protein content in H. lucida was exhibited by the highest amino acid quantities for histidine.
However, the fruits are a poor source of proteins since the content is lower than the recommended
daily intake. The jacket-plum (Pappea capensis), on the other hand, meets and exceeds the required
daily intake of lysine (0.0003 g/100 g or 13 mg/kg) recommended by the World Health Organization.
