Oyster Nut: Ethnobotanical Insights from Northern Tanzania | Informativebd

Philipina F. Shayo,  Anna C. Treydte, and Ernest R. Mbega from the different institute of the Tanzania, Germany, and Sweden. wrote a research article about, Oyster Nut: Ethnobotanical Insights from Northern Tanzania, entitled, Ethnobotany of Oyster nut (Telfairia pedata) in Northern Tanzania. This research paper published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES. an open access scholarly research journal on Biodiversity under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences | INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

Telfairia pedata (Sims) Hook is an important native climber plant commonly grown in East Africa. It bears nuts which are eaten either raw or cooked and is consumed mostly by expectant mothers, and as cooking oil. The survey was conducted between September 2019 to February 2020 in Sambaa, Meru, and Pare communities of Lushoto, Bumbuli, Arumeru and Same Districts, Northern Tanzania to assess the ethnobotany of T. pedata from a sample of 346 respondents using semi-structured questionnaires. Results indicate that, 21% of respondents used T. pedata for cooking with other staple foods while 18% claimed that the nuts are used by pregnant and lactating mothers for medicinal and breast milk stimulation and nine (9) percent indicated that the nuts are used for cultural and ritual purposes. Despite its importance, the cultivation of T. pedata in the study area is declining and the gap why such decline is experienced needs to be answered in further studies. Secondly, respondents within the 36-50 age groups reported the greatest diversity of uses of T. pedata 51% compared with those aged below 36 years old 21% signifying that the traditional knowledge known by younger aged groups may be declining. Thus, this gap of traditional knowledge between the groups should be addressed in order to improve utilization and conservation of this seriously declining yet important nut in the study area and other places of Tanzania.

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Introduction

Local societies are known to have ethnobotany knowledge that is inherited from one generation to another through word of mouth on economic, medical, ecological and cultural benefits (Hamilton, 2003) (Young, 2007) (Tamalene et al., 2016). Ethnobotany assists in explaining utilization and preservation of the plants biodiversity thus maintaining local ecological systems and culture (Reid et al., 2009).

Telfairia pedata (Smiths ex Sim) Hook (Fig. 1), is Cucurbitaceae family from a small genus of flowering plant which is native in Tanzania including Zanzibar Island and other countries of Africa including Uganda and northern Mozambique (I. A. Ajayi et al., 2004)(Aregheore, 2012). It is also well known by its local names in regions of Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Tanga and Ruvuma as "mkweme", "ngoimee" or "ikwemee" and "makunguu", “nhahani” and so forth. It is a woody dioecious climber with coiled tendrils which bears squash like fruits containing nutritious oil seeds and grows well in well drained loamy soils (Van der Vossen & Mkamilo, 2007), Fig. 1. The plant is a facultative perennial which is grown in slightly shaded and mulched areas but not damp soils and also creeps on host trees, live hedges or staked on wooden framework (Ajibade et al., 2006; Grubben, 2008; Paul & Yavitt, 2011). T. pedata nuts are rich in oil content, fat, protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, minerals including magnesium, phosphorous (Akoroda, 1990b; Mwakasege et al., 2021).

In Tanzania, ethnobotanical facets and uses of T. pedata have not yet been adequately documented specially in terms of local people’s livelihoods, how it used, cultivated, marketed, preserved and its conservation measures. Among local plants long used by the Pare, Chagga, Sambaa, and Meru tribes, the T. pedata is one which is harvested from the home gardens and agroforestry systems (trees mixed with annual crops) as a source of food, for cultural rituals and medicine. In these communities, traditional knowledge about T. pedata has been passed down and applied for generations (Ajayi et al., 2004; Odiaka et al., 2008). 

Therefore, this study aims at documenting and collating knowledge on the indigenous uses of T. pedata nuts and its cultivation practices in order to support the consumption and utilization of the plant in a sustainable manner, while providing benefits to the local communities through conservation of traditional knowledge. We examined the ethnobotany of T. pedata in northern Tanzania with the expectations that, the socio-demographic characteristic on T. pedata differ across the study sites; there were different ethnobotanical uses of T. pedata across the study area; areas where T. pedata were cultivated differ across study area with gender; perception of abundance of T. pedata differ across the study area and T. pedata nuts were stored in different methods across the sturdy area.

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Source : Ethnobotany of Oysternut (Telfairia pedata) in Northern Tanzania