The Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is a large iconic tree indigenous to Africa where it is found in many countries. The Baobab tree has various uses, as it produces food and non-food products such as medicines, fuel, timber and fodder. This research is focused on the characterization of the Baobab fruit shells in terms of lignin (54.08%), cellulose (24.87%) and hemicellulose (21.05%) content, as well as proximate analysis such as ash content (5.17%), moisture content (6.48%), volatile matter (86.73%) and carbon content (1.22%). This assessment will play a vital role in exploring the benefits of utilizing baobab fruit shells in the production of activated carbon as well as set a foundation for future research.
The oil quality parameters of the seed oil of Baobab (Adansonia digitata) were evaluated using standard methods of analysis. The Iodine value, Peroxide value, Saponification value were 86 g/100g, 4.08 mEq/Kg, 188 mg/g, respectively, for seed oil. The oil content of the kernel was higher 23% compared to the hulls that contain 5.4% oil. The kernel oil contains substantial quantities of calcium, potassium, and magnesium, which were found to be 4116, 2339 and 1629 mg/Kg, respectively. The fatty acid profile showed that oleic and linoleic were the major unsaturated fatty acids, whereas palmitic was the major saturated acid. The oil also, showed considerable amount of total phenolic content (TPC) and worthy antioxidant activity. Baobab oil has great nutritional and industrial potentials. It is therefore recommended that more and advanced research should be undertaken for this abundant source of natural nutritious oil.
To investigate the pathways of introduction of the African baobab, Adansonia digitata, to the Indian subcontinent, we examined 10 microsatellite loci in individuals from Africa, India, the Mascarenes and Malaysia, and matched this with historical evidence of human interactions between source and destination regions. Genetic analysis showed broad congruence of African clusters with biogeographic regions except along the Zambezi (Mozambique) and Kilwa (Tanzania), where populations included a mixture of individuals assigned to at least two different clusters. Individuals from West Africa, the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia shared a cluster. Baobabs from western and central India clustered separately from Africa. Genetic diversity was lower in populations from the Indian subcontinent than in African populations, but the former contained private alleles. Phylogenetic analysis showed Indian populations were closest to those from the Mombasa-Dar es Salaam coast. The genetic results provide evidence of multiple introductions of African baobabs to the Indian subcontinent over a longer time period than previously assumed. Individuals belonging to different genetic clusters in Zambezi and Kilwa may reflect the history of trafficking captives from inland areas to supply the slave trade between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Baobabs in the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia indicate introduction from West Africa through eighteenth and nineteenth century European colonial networks.