Rumicha Tamene Daba, Belew Sileshi, Hasen Gemmechu, Teka Tilahun A, Forsido Sirawdink Fikreyesus
Department of Postharvest Management, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Jimma University Jimma Ethiopia.
Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture Wollega University Shambu Ethiopia.
Food Sci Nutr. 2025 Jun 19;13(6):e70454. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.70454. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Wild edible plants (WEPs) are potential food, feed, and health benefit sources. The present study describes a comprehensive synthesis on the food, feed, and pharmaceutical uses of WEPs distributed in different parts of Ethiopia. A systematic literature search strategy retrieved 689 articles from PubMed and Semantic Scholar electronic databases. The online search of articles was conducted from January to April 2023. The retrieved articles were screened against inclusion criteria. Finally, 129 full-text articles complying with eligibility criteria were included. The results of the reviewed articles revealed that there are 679 WEP species registered in Ethiopia, and the distribution of WEPs among different regions of the country is widely different. The results indicated that various aspects of 286 WEP species were described in at least two or more pieces of literature. Though there are differences in modes of consumption and preparation across communities living in different regions of Ethiopia, there is a similar tradition of consuming fruits, leaves, roots, young stems, and whole parts of WEPs for food, feed, and/or health benefit purposes. WEP families (i.e., Fabaceae, Moraceae, and Malvaceae) and species (i.e., , and ) were reported to be widely consumed by different communities. Shrubs were reported as major plant growth forms, followed by trees, herbs, and climbers. The results indicated that WEPs have rich potential in Ethiopia. Thus, investigating the food, feed, and pharmaceutical aspects of WEPs is vital to alleviate food security challenges and explore alternative sources of pharmaceutical ingredients.
野生可食用植物是潜在的食物、饲料和健康益处来源。本研究描述了对分布在埃塞俄比亚不同地区的野生可食用植物的食物、饲料和药用用途的全面综合。一种系统的文献检索策略从PubMed和Semantic Scholar电子数据库中检索到689篇文章。文章的在线检索于2023年1月至4月进行。根据纳入标准对检索到的文章进行筛选。最后，纳入了129篇符合资格标准的全文文章。综述文章的结果显示，埃塞俄比亚登记有679种野生可食用植物物种，该国不同地区野生可食用植物的分布差异很大。结果表明，至少在两篇或更多文献中描述了286种野生可食用植物物种的各个方面。尽管生活在埃塞俄比亚不同地区的社区在消费和制备方式上存在差异，但在食用果实、叶子、根、嫩茎以及整个野生可食用植物部分以获取食物、饲料和/或健康益处方面存在相似的传统。据报道，豆科、桑科和锦葵科等野生可食用植物科以及某些物种被不同社区广泛食用。据报道，灌木是主要的植物生长形式，其次是树木、草本植物和攀缘植物。结果表明，埃塞俄比亚的野生可食用植物具有丰富的潜力。因此，研究野生可食用植物的食物、饲料和药用方面对于缓解粮食安全挑战和探索药用成分的替代来源至关重要。
