Nutritional composition, antioxidant activity and bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds in selected wild cereal and pseudo-cereal grains found in Zimbabwe

The nutritional composition of five wild and two domesticated cereal grains was determined using standard analytical methods. It was hypothesised that wild cereal and pseudo cereal grains found in Zimbabwe contained macro and micronutrients which are beneficial to humans.The wild cereal grains that were used in the study were Brachiaria brizantha, Panicum maximum, Rottboellia cochinchinensis, Sorghum arundinaceum and Amaranthus hybridus, a pseudo cereal was studied. The domesticated cereal grains used were Eleusine corocana and a red variety of Sorghum bicolor. Samples were collected from fields in Harare and some in Buhera, a district in Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. Phenolic compounds were extracted from the cereal grains and were quantified. The phenolics were characterised, the antioxidant properties studied and the bioaccessibility of the phenolic compounds was determined using a gastrointestinal model system assay. Macronutrients determined were proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Minerals were determined as well. A. hybridus, a wild pseudo-cereal, had the highest protein and fat content of 21.44 ± 0.05 % and 11.50 ± 0.03 % respectively, compared to all the other cereal grains. B. brizantha had the highest fibre content of 30.43 ± 0.01 % while the red variety of S. bicolor had the least fibre content of 2.51 ± 0.07 %. The values were comparable to those reported elsewhere for traditional cereal grains. Phosphorus was detected in all cereal grains studied. Calcium was detected in all cereal grains except in red variety of S. bicolor. The mineral values obtained were lower than those reported elsewhere for traditional cereal grains like wheat. E. corocana and S. arundinaceum had significantly higher total phenolic compounds than all other cereal grains studied. S. arundinaceum had the highest concentration of total flavanoids while A. hybridus had the lowest. The highest amounts of proanthocyanidins were determined in S. arundinaceum with 12.2 ± 0.08 % followed by S. bicolor with 4.6 ± 0.03 % proanthocyanidins content. The HPLC method was used to tentatively identify the constituent phenolic compounds in the cereal grain extracts. Ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid were detected in all cereal samples. Caffeic acid, catechin, gallic acid, p- hydroxybenzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, protocatechuic acid, qeucertin, syringic acid and vanillic acid were detected but were not common to all the samples. The ability of the cereal grains to quench the DPPH radical was assayed. E. corocana and S. arundinaceum had the highest ability and statistically, there was a positive correlation between the concentration of phenolic compounds and the ability to scavenge for DPPH radicals. The ability of extracts to reduce ferrous ions increased as the amount of extract added was increased. Cereal grain extracts were found to delay/halt lipid peroxidation and the extracts of all the cereal grains were also found to prevent the bleaching of β-carotene to varying extents. The bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds was generally high for all cereal grains. A. hybridus had the highest intestinal bioaccessibility percentage of 95.4 ± 0.01 % while the cereal with the lowest intestinal bioaccessibility was R. cochinchinensis with 81.85 ± 0.03 %. The research work demonstrated the importance of wild cereal and pseudo cereal grains as a potential source of nutrition and industrially utilisable natural products.,University of Zimbabwe Research Board, WF Kellog’s Foundation, DFID and The German Academic Exchange programme (DAAD)

Methodological complexities in the study of health tourism: A study of the appropriation of indigenous herbal sexual stimulants and fertility enhancers in Zimbabwe (A review paper)

The study of health tourism based on the consumption of traditional herbal sexual stimulants and fertility enhancers is an exceptional ordeal. Research 10 in this field has proved methodologically complex as the population constitute the hard-to-reach group (hidden populations). Consumers of these traditional herbal prescriptions generally are floating populations and socially invisible thus getting hold of them poses major methodological complexities. This paper focuses on highlighting the issues underlying the study of hidden populations, with a particular focus on tradi- 15 tional herbalists and the consumers of indigenous sexual stimulants and fertility enhancers. Certain specific methodological challenges are faced by researchers working with hidden populations, and this paper explores these in the field of health tourism based on the consumption of indigenous herbal medicine. Particular focus is paid to the methodological challenges involved. The paper’s main contribution is to highlight and emphasize the methodological problems that emerge whenstudying socially invisible populations and to showcase the inadequacy of some existing methods to recruit these hidden populations

A situational analysis of health tourism for appropriation of indigenous herbal sexual stimulants and fertility enhancers in Zimbabwe: A situational analysis paper

In Zimbabwe, health tourism for the sake of gaining access to herbal substances for sexual and fertility enhancement remains both undocumented and shrouded in myths. The significance of indigenous herbal medicine practice in stimulating medical tourism growth has remained understudied, undervalued and unappreciated. Seemingly, research has paid very little attention to this branch of health tourism based on traditional medical practice. The pharmacological properties of the various indigenous herbal medicine prescribed, dispensed and consumed under health tourism remains scientifically unassessed and not much is known about the nature of the tourist traffic whose main purpose of travel is the consumption of these indigenous herbal substances for sexual stimulation and/or fertility enhancement. As a result the commercial potential of indigenous sexual stimulants and fertility enhancement herbs remains uncharted both for health tourism and the health sector in general in Zimbabwe. This situational analysis paper sought to clarify the knowledge on the medical tourism market place concerning indigenous herbal medicine for sexual stimulants and/or fertility enhancers. The paper also maps out what has been achieved within the herbal medical tourism industry. Specifically the paper explores the medical tourism entrepreneurial potential and highlights the knowledge gap concerning herbal medicine and health tourism development based on these traditional herbal medicines and highlight areas for further research

Ethnomedicinal use and pharmacological potential of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) birds` meat and eggs, and its potential implications on wild quail conservation in Zimbabwe: A review

A logical review of literature was conducted on Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) farming, consumption and potential of quail egg constituents for pharmacological use. While there is potential to tap on nutritional and therapeutic benefits from Japanese quail meat and eggs to foster food security and pharmacological improvements, there is no consensus among Zimbabwean communities concerning authenticity of the purported benefits. The role of quail eggs and meat as wealthy nutrient sources and functional foods is undermined. This work examined: nutritional composition and ethnomedicinal benefits of quail meat and eggs, drivers of Japanese quail farming in Zimbabwe, and implications of Japanese quail farming on wild quail conservation. Reviewed literature stated that quail eggs and meat contain nutrient compounds with therapeutic properties useful in prevention and treatment of various diseases including cardiovascular diseases. Japanese quail is regarded as an important agricultural bird for meat and egg production motivated by nutritional and medicinal benefits in many parts of the world. Japanese quail farming is also described as a cost effective poultry enterprise due to lower production cost requirements. However, some quail farming and harvesting practices may be incompatible with ecosystem integrity and threaten wild quail conservation. Conclusively, Japanese quail consumption may benefit human health and present a practical solution to protein shortages in developing countries. Information generated by this work is important in demystifying controversies surrounding Japanese quail farming in Zimbabwe. Characterization of bioactive compounds in Japanese quail eggs and meat to describe their physiological mechanism for disease curing is recommended