Exploring African botanicals and medicinal plants for new nutrition solutions

The nutrition industry continuously explores new plants and compounds for various health benefits. Suppliers of African botanicals bring attention to the continent’s wide range of native species, many of which are not well known on international markets.

Nutrition Insight meets with Baobab Exports, Blue Sky Botanics, and Baobab des Saveurs to examine their ingredient offerings from the region.

Gus le Breton, African Plant Hunter at Baobab Exports, invites researchers interested in novel plants to explore African biodiversity, medicinal plants, and botanicals. 

“Homo sapiens evolved in Africa. We have a longer history of using plants in Africa than on any other continent. And yet, Africa’s plants are probably the least scientifically researched worldwide.” 

He adds that offerings of the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata), endemic to Africa, have “evolved a lot in the last few years.” Baobab is typically served in powder form for the food and beverage industry, but the company developed an organic purée together with UK-based Blue Sky Botanics. 

“This is stable, it’s been pasteurized, and it’s perfect for incorporation into a wide range of beverages and dairy applications,” details Le Breton.

Blue Sky Botanics manufactures the baobab purée from fruits sourced in Zimbabwe by Baobab Exports. Daniel Jones, the company’s head of the Food and Beverage division, says the partners developed the versatile ingredient for easy application in wet products, such as smoothies, juices, ice creams, and yogurts. 

“You can eat it straight out of the jar. It has a sherbet, grapefruit, and slightly mango flavor — it can be used for flavor and function in the health and wellness category.”

“But it’s also full of health benefits,” Jones adds. “It contains 11 grams of fiber per 100 grams so that you can get high fiber claims, and you can also get source of fiber claims.” 

African botanicals

Another botanical that Baobab Exports and Blue Sky Botanics worked on is the resurrection bush (Myrothamnus flabellifolius), which originates in Southern Africa. 

“It grows in very harsh, rocky environments. It’s called resurrection because it appears to die completely during the dry season, but with just one drop of water, it springs back to life,” says Le Breton. 

“It’s got some extraordinary compounds that we’re using in cosmetic, skin care, and anti-aging applications. It’s also traditionally consumed as a healthy tea, and I am very hopeful that we’ll put it through the EU Novel Foods approval process that will be concluded very soon, which is already underway, so we’ll be able to get this on the market as an anti-aging herbal tea.” 

At this year’s Biofach organic trade show, we discussed baobab’s gut health benefits with Gus le Breton.The UN Food and Agriculture Organization stressed the importance of integrating Africa’s “forgotten crops” to improve nutrition security in the continent. Earlier research identified 58 crops that can diversify food production in sub-Saharan Africa and benefit micronutrient supply.  

Meanwhile, some regulations, such as South Africa’s Biotrade and Bioprospecting, may limit innovation and the use of natural resources. This legislation is based on the international Nagoya Protocol for fair and equitable benefit-sharing with communities in raw materials’ sourcing areas. 

Exploring West African biodiversity

Pierre-Gilles Commeat, the founder and general manager of Baobab des Saveurs, adds that products from West Africa are not well-known on international markets. The Sénégal-based company aims to promote, produce, and market natural ingredients derived from plants in this region, such as baobab, hibiscus, and kinkeliba. 

“One part of my work is to supply products,” says Commeat. “I love to be in the forest and the fields talking with people about different plants, how people use them as medicine, and what human health benefits they can bring. Every time, we discover new plants and determine how to add value to them and offer them to people in Sénégal and around the world.”

“We are exploring adding a new division to our company focused on medicinal plants,” he adds. “We live in a dry country with many active molecules and plants. We are identifying new plants, determining how to process them, and offering them on the medicinal plant market.” 

In addition, Commeat underscores the importance of responsible sourcing of its raw materials. “Since the beginning, our mission has been to make things ethically. When we supply a new product, we meet the communities and the town mayor to explain our project and how we work and discuss prices higher than the market price.” 

Baobab health benefits 

Le Breton, who also chairs the African Baobab Alliance, notes that the fruit is known and researched for its gut health benefits. “The prebiotic effects, also some polyphenols and phytosterols that are in baobab, really do significantly impact microbial diversity.”  

Research also suggests several potential health benefits for Hibiscus sabdariffa tea, such as an anti-hypertensive effect.“One piece of research that’s just been concluded from the University of Ghent in Belgium has been comparing baobab to inulin for a prebiotic effect and has found that baobab has the same impact as inulin, but at half the dosage, which is very remarkable.” 

Jones from Blue Sky Botanics adds that the company is entering the dairy category with the jointly developed baobab purée and is explicitly considering kefir. 

“Kefir is good for gut health anyway, so if we boost that even further with the fiber from the baobab, then we’ve got a perfect product for your gut, and it also ties into the whole ultra-processed food movement and clean labels. It’s a super product for that.”

Research links baobab to other benefits in addition to gut health support. For example, Baobab Exports highlights research revealing that adding 2% of baobab fruit powder to a bread baking mix significantly lowered its glycemic index. The fruit is also a good source of vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants. 

Le Breton highlights an ongoing South African study conducted by the Medical Research Council. “This is a clinical trial with obese patients that compares a whole range of biological markers relating to diabetes, glycemic index, and so on to see what the impact of baobab consumption over an extended period will have on these markers.” 

“We’re expecting great things from that. The research should be available toward the middle of this year.”