Baobab fruit pulp soon to appear in foods and beverages

Baobab, the fruit of the upside down tree (Adansonia digitata), will soon be found in some foods and beverages, as the Food and Drug Administration grants it generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status.

 

 

Baobab is rich in the antioxidant vitamin C, as well as several other vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Baobab dried fruit pulp, or BDFP for short, is derived from the fruit of a tree that grows primarily in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, where it has a long tradition of use.

 

 

Because of its excellent nutritional value and marketing potential, a trade organization called PhytoTrade Africa, which represents growers of baobab in South Africa, approached the FDA for approval to use baobab dried fruit pulp as an ingredient in blended fruit drinks at a level of up to 10 percent and in fruit cereal bars at up to 15 percent.

 

 

Since baobab fruit pulp has received GRAS status, plans are underway by plant extract specialist Afriplex to produce and distribute baobab powder. But don’t start reading ingredient labels just yet: the first foods and beverages containing baobab dried fruit extract or powder are not expected to hit the US market until 2010. Baobab pulp has been approved for use as a food ingredient in Europe since summer 2008.

 

 

In a study published in the Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition(March 2009), researchers reported that consuming 40 grams of baobab fruit pulp provides 84 to more than 100 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake of vitamin C for pregnant women. The leaves are especially rich in calcium and protein.

 

 

According to the PhytoTrade Africa website, baobab pulp contains vitamin C at levels averaging 300 mg per 100 grams, nearly six times greater than that found in an orange.

 

 

The baobab fruit is also a very good source of vitamins B1 and B2, the minerals potassium, iron, and magnesium, and fiber. According to PhytoTrade Africa, baobab dried fruit extract has twice the antioxidant power of cranberries and pomegranate and significantly greater levels than blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

 

 

When it comes to taste, baobab has been described by a PhytoTrade Africa spokeswoman as being tart, a cross between grapefruit, vanilla, and pear. The baobab fruit, bark, and leaves also have medicinal uses.