Baobab Tree.Source: Wikipedia.org
Baobab tree (Adansonia) is native to the African continent and Arabian Peninsula, but it may also be found in India and Australia.
As you can see on the photo, the baobab can reach some impressive heights - up to 30 metres, in fact.
The baobab fruit is a very valuable food indeed. It is now exported from Africa to the rest of the world, and millions of people can enjoy its taste and health benefits.
We are interested in baobab powder because of its amazing nutritional profile.
Let's have a quick look at baobab's nutrition from the research performed by King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2004. (Ref. 1)
According to their research, baobab fruits offer the following nutrition:
Fruit Pulp |
Seeds |
|
| Carbohydrates | 76% |
45% |
| Crude fibre | 5% |
16% |
| Protein | 3% |
18% |
| Fat | 0.3% |
12% |
The other constituents are moisture and ash.
As we can see, baobab fruit is very rich in carbohydrates and can therefore serve as an excellent source of energy for anyone doing strenuous exercise or other physical activity, or for anyone else.
Baobab powder is also full of vitamins, minerals and micro-elements including: vitamin C, vitamin B complex, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, among many others.
In fact, baobab's vitamin C content is quite high, and reaches around 300mg/100g, or 0.3% of its total nutrient content. (Ref. 2)
An energy food at its best.
Written by: Irina Bright
Original publication date: 2013
Updates: 2020
Republication date: 2020
References.
1. Magdi A. Osman (2004). Chemical and Nutrient Analysis of Baobab (Adansonia digitata). Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Agriculture, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Published by Springer Science. Retrieved March 17, 2013 from: https://www.biomega.eu/grobritannien-uk/downloads/chemicalandnurientanalysisofbaobabfruitandseed.pdf
2. Donatien Kaboré, Hagrétou Sawadogo-Lingani, Bréhima Diawara, Clarisse S. Compaoré, Mamoudou H. Dicko and Mogens Jakobsen (December 2011). A review of baobab (Adansonia digitata) products: Effect of processing techniques, medicinal properties and uses. Published by African Journal of Food Science.