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The Baobab Story
The Latin name for Baobab, Adansonia digitata, is in honor of the French botanist, Michel Adanson, who concluded that out of all the trees he had studied, the Baobab, “is probably the most useful tree in all”. M. Adanson is himself testimony to this claim: he consumed Baobab juice twice a day, throughout his five years in Senegal and remained convinced that this maintained his fighting health. The discovery of Baobab fruits in ancient Egyptian tombs has demonstrated how prized these fruits were, however they were notoriously difficult to acquire, since the Egyptians were reliant on traders traveling the caravan route from Sudan. It seems that the commonly used European name, Baobab, originated from the Cairo merchant’s usage of the word,
bu hobab, for a fruit not indigenous to Egypt.
The Egyptians found a niche for the Baobab Fruit Pulp in Europe where the powdered extract formed a competitive rival to the tablet terra lemnia, a sacred sealed earth, used to cure those consumed by poison. The Baobab’s famous silhouette has become legendary, generating the common name, “the upside-down tree”, to describe the unusual root-like branches which are seasonally devoid of foliage. Baobabs are found throughout Africa - mostly in the hotter, drier areas and indeed, many people’s first reaction is to marvel at their strange shapes and proportions. With their massive trunks, crooked branches and furry fruit, baobabs have adapted to a dry and hostile environment, and the secret to success may just lay in their appearance. The massive trunk has little wood fiber and can hold up to 300 liters of water, enabling it to live through long periods without rain. The trees have fruit as unique as the tree itself. It may be round or oval shaped and has a fury coating around a hard woody shell that shields a number of seeds rich in citric acid and oil, embedded in a whitish, powdery-soft and nutritious pulp, called “monkey-bread”.
Traditional Uses
The medicinal uses of the Baobab’s fruit were first officially praised by Venetian herbalist and physician Prospero Alpini, in 1592, who noted that the ancient Egyptians used it for treating fevers, dysentery and bloody wounds. However, even prior to Alpini’s writings, the fruit has a long history of safe nutritional and medicinal usage in Africa. Cosmetic products are also made from the pulp and leaf extracts.
A cool drink is made out of the pulp which makes for a refreshing break. This lemonade type drink is consumed by both the healthy and the sick. It is also often given as a calming agent for those with a fever, but is also used to combat diarrhea, dysentery, small pox, and measles. Pregnant women in The Gambia use it as an important source of Calcium. In addition, the herding people in Africa used the citric and tartaric acids of the pulp as milk curdling agents.
Products are derived from parts of the tree including dried leaves which are rich in carotene, calcium and mucilage. The bark and leaves are also useful in the treatment of fever and are reported to have anti-inflammatory properties. The seed is either pulped and applied externally, or used as a drink in water to cure gastric, kidney and joint diseases
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. |
