Phytochemical Food Network Group, Department of Crop Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria West, 0001 Pretoria, South Africa.
Phytochemical Food Network Group, Department of Crop Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria West, 0001 Pretoria, South Africa.
Food Res Int. 2017 Sep;99(Pt 1):15-30. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.06.046. Epub 2017 Jun 23.
Without a doubt, fruits and vegetables are important components of a balanced and healthy diet. However, their consumption is very low in the world, with the lowest figures being reported in sub-Saharan Africa. The low consumption of fruits and vegetables means unbalanced and unhealthy diets, which has been linked to various diseases and conditions associated with increased mortality rates in worst cases. Poverty is the major contributor to the low consumption of fruits and vegetables in the majority of cases. However, the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, is endowed with numerous wild fruit and vegetable species which can be exploited and incorporated into the diets and help solve some nutrition related concerns. Therefore, in this review, we explore literature on wild fruits and vegetables with a special emphasis on some of the poorest regions of the world and where the lowest consumption figures are reported; their nutritional compositions; the status of their consumption and their role in the diet with a view to uncover their possible role in delivering a healthy and balanced diet as well as helping lower food and nutrition insecurity. A total of 396 articles were downloaded and analysed but only 213 were considered for this review. The results of the search indicate that wild fruits and vegetables are nutritionally rich and high in phytochemicals, especially antioxidants and therefore can possibly play a significant and positive role in delivering a healthy and balanced diet. However, the major challenge is the acceptability, accessibility as well as a lack of interest in wild fruits and vegetables and sheer neglect. People need to be educated using various forms of media on the nutritional and health benefits of these wild food plants with a view to bring them from the forest to the plate. Researchers need to channel more efforts towards domesticating them for ease of access, among other reasons. Governments need to incentivise the subsistence or commercial production of wild fruits and vegetables in order to encourage farmers to cultivate them. However, seeds and/or seedlings need to be made available and affordable to the farmers. The 'hidden treasures' in the forests in the form of edible plants could easily play a positive and huge role in delivering a balanced and healthy diet, especially in poor parts of the world.
毫无疑问，水果和蔬菜是均衡健康饮食的重要组成部分。然而，它们在全球的摄入量非常低，摄入量最低的地区是撒哈拉以南非洲。水果和蔬菜摄入量低意味着饮食不均衡和不健康，这与各种疾病有关，在最坏的情况下，与死亡率上升有关。在大多数情况下，贫困是导致水果和蔬菜摄入量低的主要原因。然而，世界上，包括撒哈拉以南非洲，拥有众多可食用的野生水果和蔬菜物种，可以将其纳入饮食中，有助于解决一些与营养有关的问题。因此，在本次综述中，我们探讨了野生水果和蔬菜的文献，特别强调了世界上一些最贫困地区和报告最低摄入量的地区；它们的营养成分；它们的消费状况及其在饮食中的作用，以期揭示它们在提供健康均衡饮食以及帮助降低食物和营养不安全方面的可能作用。共下载并分析了 396 篇文章，但只有 213 篇文章被纳入本次综述。搜索结果表明，野生水果和蔬菜营养丰富，富含植物化学物质，特别是抗氧化剂，因此可能在提供健康均衡饮食方面发挥重要而积极的作用。然而，主要的挑战是可接受性、可及性以及对野生水果和蔬菜缺乏兴趣和纯粹的忽视。需要通过各种媒体形式对这些野生食用植物的营养和健康益处进行教育，以使它们从森林走向餐桌。研究人员需要投入更多精力对其进行驯化，以便更容易获得，除此之外还有其他原因。政府需要激励对野生水果和蔬菜的生存或商业生产，以鼓励农民种植它们。然而，需要向农民提供和负担得起的种子和/或幼苗。森林中以食用植物形式存在的“隐藏宝藏”可以在提供均衡健康饮食方面发挥积极而巨大的作用，特别是在世界贫困地区。
