The industry standard for estimating the quantity of horticultural produce harvested is crop yield. Producing sufficient amounts of high-quality biochemical ingredients crops can therefore aid in resolving concerns with food security and nutrition. Most producers prefer the use of organic substrate over natural soils when growing crops such as peppers in greenhouses, to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of food all year round. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of coconut coir substrate on the yield and biochemical constituents of peppers varieties grown under greenhouse environment. For two successive seasons [2021 and 2022], two sweet pepper types (Sondela and Ilanga) were cultivated on fertigated coconut coir and loamy soil (control). Fruit number, together with their dry weight and some biochemical constituents, were examined. To evaluate the impact of coconut coir substrate on the growth, yield, and biochemical constituents of different pepper cultivars grown in a greenhouse, dry plant materials and freeze-dried fruit samples were analyzed. Results showed that the coconut coir and variety (Ilanga) treatment combination produced more fruits than other treatments. Biochemical constituents such as vitamins, total phenols, total flavonoids, copper, iron and Zinc were in fruits grown under coir substrate when compared to loamy soil (control). Therefore, farmers are encouraged to grow sweet peppers varieties under coconut coir substrate for better yield, nutritional quality and profit maximisation.

The nutrient concentration of most crops depends on factors such as amount of water, growing environment, sunlight, and soil types. However, the factors influencing nutrient concentration of African horned cucumber fruit are not yet known. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of different water stress levels, soil types, and growing environments on the nutrient concentration of African horned cucumber fruit. Freeze-dried fruit samples were used in the quantification of β-carotene and total soluble sugars. The results demonstrated that plants grown under the shade net, combined with severe water stress level and loamy soil, had increased total soluble sugars (from 8 to 16 °Brix). Under the shade-net environment, the combination of moderate water stress level and loamy soil resulted in increased crude protein content (from 6.22 to 6.34% °Brix). In addition, the severe water stress treatment combined with loamy soil, under greenhouse conditions, resulted in increased β-carotene content (from 1.5 to 1.7 mg 100 g⁻¹ DW). The results showed that African horned cucumber fruits are nutrient-dense when grown under moderate water stress treatment on the loamy or sandy loam substrate in the shade-net and open-field environments.

The review aimed to explore the reported biochemical, nutritional, and quality aspects of marula fruit and its value-added products for enhancement of human nutrition. Marula (Sclerocarya birrea) fruit is one of the underutilised indigenous fruits that grows naturally across the northern and eastern regions of Southern Africa. A search on Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases was conducted in September and November of 2023. Use the following search “terms’’ to find relevant literature: “Marula fruit, underutilised African fruit crops, “Nutritional composition of marula fruit”, “biochemical constituents of marula fruit, “marula fruit value-added products, function in human health and nutrition”. Available literature shows that almost every part of a tree, namely the leaves, bark, roots, and fruit, have known nutritional benefits for human health and nutrition. The fruit contains valuable biochemical constituents such as vitamin C, carotene, flavonoids, phenols, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Its value-added products, such as alcoholic beverages, juice, jam, and nuts, contain biochemical constituents with potential enrichment of human health and nutrition, endorsing a compelling case for potential commercialisation globally. The different nutritional and biochemical properties were compared against the human recommended daily intake to determine their potential role in human health and nutrition. The study reveals that the marula fruit and its value-added products may be vital in providing the required nutrients to meet human nutritional daily needs and could play a pivotal role in accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2 (no poverty and zero hunger). Therefore, there is a need for more research on agroprocessing of marula fruit to create nutritious value-added products, for potential commercialisation. As a result, the objective of the study was to examine the literature on the biochemical components of marula fruit and its value-added products, comparing them to the daily recommended intake, while assessing their possible significance in human nutrition for possible commercialisation.

Plant metabolites are known as biological compounds that are essential to the growth and development of a plant and have a direct impact on yield and biochemical constituents of plants. For this study, the objective was to conduct primary metabolomics analysis using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. African horned cucumber fruits were harvested from plants grown under pots experiment (greenhouse, shade net and open field), soil types (loamy soil and sandy loam) and three water stress levels (no water stress-100%—3L, moderate water stress-75%—2L, and severe water stress-35%—1L) during 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons. Results showed that the treatment of no water stress combined with sandy loam under shade net environment, significantly increased asparagine content from 10 × 10⁶to 80 × 10⁶peak intensity. The treatment of no water stress, in combination with sandy loam soil under open field environment increased 4-hydroxyproline from 10 × 10⁶to 90 × 10⁶peak intensity compared to other treatments. It can be deduced that the treatment combination of (no water stress and moderate water stress) and all soil types, under greenhouse environment increased most metabolites content of the fruit when compared to other treatments. Therefore, it subsequently has potential to affect fruit quality such as taste and other biochemical constituents.

By 2030, the United Nations, through their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), hope to have eradicated hunger and malnutrition, ensuring that everyone has access to enough nutritious food throughout the year. This is especially aimed at developing countries. There is untapped potential for food and nutrition security in Africa's wide variety of native fruit trees. One example of a wild fruit tree that is underutilised is the wild sour plum (Ximenia caffra subs caffra), a fruit crop from the Oleaceae family that grows in the Southern Africa. The objective of the study was to determine the nutritional variation of the wild sour plum, harvested from varying geographical regions, to possibly assist the potential breeders’ suitable methods for selecting accessions that could be used for potential breeding of highly nutritious fruit crop. Ripe wild sour plum fruit were harvested from varying plant selections in three different regions (Bushbuckridge, Giyani, and Tzaneen) during December 2022. Dried, frozen samples were analysed for biochemical constituents, such as total phenols and vitamin E. The highest total phenols (17.2 GAE g) and vitamin E (31.8 mg 100/g DW) of wild sour plum were obtained from selection three (3) fruit in Bushbuckridge. Therefore, plant breeders and horticulturalists should be mindful of these factors when considering breeding programmes of wild sour plum for commercial purposes.

This publication presents the biochemical components, the botanical characteristics, and the significance of African medlar to human nutrition and developments on the fruits’ uses in biotechnology and the food industry. African wild medlar (Vangueria infausta subsp infausta) is one of the multitudes of underutilised wild edible indigenous fruit trees that grows naturally throughout Southern Africa. Available literature shows that almost every part of the tree, have known nutritional or medicinal benefits. In-depth literature search using keywords (Vangueria infausta subsp infausta, African wild medlar, biochemical constituents, underutilised crops of Africa, human nutrition and recommended daily intake) was used to source credible literature accessible from online sources such as Scopus, ResearchGate, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. The degree of relevance to each item linked to the review were used as an inclusion and exclusion criteria for suitable literature and for data analysis purposes. The results of the study reveal that fresh or processed African wild medlar fruit is consumable. The fruit contains significant levels of vitamins, phenols, macro and micro-nutrients, that humans require in both large and small amounts. Due to its richness in biochemical constituents such as flavonoids, phenols, proteins, vitamin C and zinc, African medlar fruit has a potential to meet the human recommended daily intake (RDI), thus can be considered a potential functional food crop. Rural communities in Southern Africa use African medlar fruit as a raw material for value-added products including jam, juice, alcohol-based products, and medication. Therefore, commercialization of this crop could play a pivotal role in accelerating the sustainable development goals SDG 1 (no poverty), subsequently addressing SDG 2 (Zero hunger). The study unearthed a need for further research, in particular empirical studies and highlights a great potential for government interest in entrepreneurial projects of commercialisation and agro-processing of African medlar fruit tree.