Wild edible fruits are important for ensuring food and nutritional security, especially in developing countries like South Africa. Globally, wild edible fruits are widely distributed, and they are consumed in different parts of the world; however, they are undervalued. This systematic review consolidates existing knowledge addressing the utilization of wild edible fruits, and their nutritional benefits. A total of 74 wild edible fruit species belonging to 29 families found in South Africa were documented in this study. The nutritional composition was reported only in 41 (55.4%) fruit species. The Anacardiaceae family had the most cited species (n = 11) (14.86%), followed by the Moraceae (n = 6) (8.1%), and Cucurbitaceae and Ebenaceae, of which each had five species, each contributing 5.4% to the total documented species. Sclerocarya birrea. (A.Rich.) Hochst., Mimusops zeyheri Sond., and Strychnos spinosa Lam. are three of the most important wild fruit species contributing to food and nutritional security. This review revealed that there is a dearth of literature studies that have substantially documented the contribution of wild edible fruits in food and nutritional security. In this regard, a study on ethnobotanical evaluation incorporating wild edible fruits used by local people could significantly provide insights and enhance our understanding of indigenous and technological knowledge that could be utilized to strengthen rural food security.

Lubisi NP, Ramarumo LJ, Manyaga M, Mbeng WO, Mokgehle S. 2023. Perceptions on utilization, population, and factors that affecting local distribution of Mimusops zeyheri in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, South Africa. Biodiversitas 24: 6432-6439. Mimusops zeyheri Sond., was once an important plant species to local communities in Southern Africa but nowadays is considered as underutilized plant. Undoubtedly, the neglect of indigenous knowledge associated with M zeyheri could lead to its gradual disappearance. This study aimed to evaluate local people‘s perceptions about the contribution of M. zeyheri to their livelihoods, population status and factors affecting its local distributions in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Semi-structured research questionnaires were administered to 52 randomly selected respondents. The majority of respondents (67.31%) perceived the decline in the population of M. zeyheri within the studied sites. More than three-quarters of laypeople (78.6%), two-thirds of farmers (66.7%), and 57.1% of environmentalists stated that M. zeyheri possessed more economic benefits than other livelihood benefits. A total percentage of 44.20% of participants perceived fire as the main factor that negatively affects the distribution of M. zeyheri in the studied regions. Documenting information about people's perceptions regarding the contributions of M. zeyheri to local livelihoods and assessing factors that affect its local distribution is a fundamental step toward understanding its associated sociocultural values, socio-economic, and threats. Future studies should incorporate both ethnobotanical and ecological data-gathering methods and validations.

Local innovations regarding plant-derived spice and flavorant formulations and preparation techniques are mostly recorded nowhere and usually passed on generationally through word of mouth. This study aimed to inventory the utilization of plants and perceptions of novel indigenous food spicing and flavoring among the Vhavenḓa people in South Africa. This study adopted face-to-face interviews with 360 participants using semi-structured questionnaires. This study investigated a total of twenty-seven plant species used to spice-flavor novel indigenous Venḓa foods, including mukokoroshi meat stew, mopane worms, vegetables, homemade achar, eggs, samp meal, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Based on the perceptions by participants from different age groups, indigenous foods spicing and favoring significantly improved food taste and nutrition (43.1%), providing medicinal benefits (33.3%) and cultural identity (23.6%). No study had ever reported the uses of Lannea edulis (Sond.) Engl., Mangifera indica L., Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., Warburgia salutaris (G.Bertol.) Chiov., Plectranthus fruticosus L′Hér., Hibiscus sabdariffa subsp. Cannabinus L., Oxalis semiloba subsp. semiloba, and Ziziphus mucronata subsp. mucronata and their preparational techniques for novel indigenous foods, spicing, and flavoring before, in South Africa, or elsewhere. The current study provided insights about spice and flavoring plants that could be used to develop alternative marketable commercial products. The findings of this study provide necessary baseline information for evaluating and profiling the nutritional content of spice-making and flavoring plants in the Vhembe Region.