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Ethnobotanical and chemicalsurveys of an edible wildlegume: Uraria Picta (Jacq.)DC.Guy‐Alain Ambé a , Georges Lognay b , Bernard

Wathelet c & François Malaisse da Laboratoire d'Écologie , Faculté Universitairedes Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux ,Passage des Déportés, 2, Gembloux, B‐5030,Belgium Phone: +32 (0) 8162 22 40 E-mail:b Unité de chimie générale et organique ,Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiquesde Gembloux , Passage des Déportés, 2,Gembloux, B‐5030, Belgiumc Unité de chimie biologique industrielle ,Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiquesde Gembloux , Passage des Déportés, 2,Gembloux, B‐5030, Belgiumd Laboratoire d'Écologie , Faculté Universitairedes Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux ,Passage des Déportés, 2, Gembloux, B‐5030,BelgiumPublished online: 31 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Guy‐Alain Ambé , Georges Lognay , Bernard Wathelet &François Malaisse (2001) Ethnobotanical and chemical surveys of an edible wildlegume: Uraria Picta (Jacq.) DC., Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 40:5, 545-565,DOI: 10.1080/03670244.2001.9991666

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03670244.2001.9991666

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Ecology of Food and Nutrition, Vol. 40(5), pp. 545-565 © 2001 Taylor & Francis, Inc.

ETHNOBOTANICAL AND CHEMICALSURVEYS OF AN EDIBLE WILD

LEGUME: URARIA PICTA (JACQ.) DC.

GUY-ALAIN AMBÉ1,*, GEORGES LOGNAY2,BERNARD WATHELET3 and FRANÇOIS MALAISSE1

1Laboratoire d'Écologie, 2Unité de chimie générale et organique,3Unité de chimie biologique industrielle, Faculté Universitaire

des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux, Passage des Déportés,2, B-5030 Gembloux (Belgium)

Urariapicta (Jacq.) DC. belongs to the family Leguminosae: Papilionoidae. It isan annual woody erect herb or under-shrub with edible seeds. In order to evaluatewhat is known about this species and its seed consumption in Ivory-Coast, anethnobotanical investigation was carried out in the department of Séguéla, inthe north of the country. The contents of protein and lipid in seeds wereanalyzed.

The ethnobotanical surveys revealed that people belonging to the Malinkéethnic group no longer eat the seeds of Uraria picta. Furthermore, the localknowledge about the species is decreasing from generation to generation.

Nevertheless, chemical analyses show that the species is a good source ofsome nutrients. The protein characteristics of U. picta seeds were compared withseveral frequently cultivated legumes and cereals. The correlation coefficientcalculated for essential amino acids show that U. picta seeds are very close tocultivated legumes (garden pea, horse bean, kidney bean and Bambara ground-nut) and slightly close to cultivated cereals (bread wheat, rice, barley). In orderto evaluate the nutritional value of protein, the chemical score was calculated.The value obtained, about 87.0%, indicated a great balance of essential aminoacids. This value is higher than the chemical score calculated for some othercultivated crops, except Bambara groundnut. The results obtained were alsocompared with Indian material. This comparison revealed important differencesabout some amino acid contents. It appears that some variability's more or lessimportant exist according to the region concerned.

* Corresponding author. Tel: +32 (0) 8162 22 40; E-mail: ambe.g@fsagx.ac.be

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546 G.-A. AMBE ETAL.

The lipids content of the seeds is low (1.6%), but U. pida oil contains aninteresting proportion of essential and long chain fatty acids.

It is concluded that, according to the potential nutritional value of its seeds,U. picta should be considered as a source of nutrients that may contribute in thediet of rural people.

KEY WORDS: Urariapicta, wild legume, food, protein, lipid, Guinea savannah,Malinké, Ivory-Coast

INTRODUCTION

The number of plant species used by man is low in comparison tothe total available. For example, only about 3,000 of the 350,000species of flowering plants have assumed some economic signi-ficance (Tivy, 1990). In the past the human diet was very muchmore varied with several thousand plants involved. Nowadays,12 crop plants provide the bulk of the world's food supply(Harlan, 1976).

Among principal crops, leguminous seeds are a major sourceof protein for human nutrition. Food legumes have on averagetwice as much protein as cereals and are generally of high nutritivequality. Within this large subfamily (more than 13,000 species),only some 20 species are regularly consumed in appreciablequantities and have been investigated by nutritionists (Aykroydand Joyce, 1982).

In most parts of Africa, leguminous seed consumption is verywidespread, but according to Aykroyd and Joyce (1982), it remainsrelatively low in comparison with some other continents such asAsia. The typical tropical African diet is reported to be deficientin protein (Latham, 1970), particularly in sub-Saharan areas(Agbessi Dos-Santos and Damon, 1987). Nevertheless, some wildlegumes exist and could contribute in the diet of rural people.During our preliminary survey, Uraria picta (Jacq.) DC. wascollected among other edible resources. The species is describedas an annual woody herb (Hutchinson and Dalziel, 1958) or erectsub-shrub (Gillet et al, 1971) reaching about 0.2-2.0 m in height.The stem is pubescent and the lower (early) leaves are simple but

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A WILD EDIBLE LEGUME 547

older leaves are pinnately compound with 2-4 pairs of leafletsand one terminal. Fruits are indéhiscent pods, much articulatedwith segments nearly separated (jointed legume) but connectedby suture. The seeds (3-5 per pod) are small, light brown in color,smooth and glossy, nearly oblong in shape measuring 2.0 x 1.0 mmand weighing about 0.3 mg each. The plant is paleotropical andwell distributed in tropical Asia, Africa, northern Australia, andQueensland. The species occurs in most (African) sub-Saharansavannas and prefers open sandy soils, grasslands, and deforestedareas up to 3,000 m elevation. It is good ground cover in drywasteland areas and is grown for this purpose in village groves,along roadside and in teak forests. The other habitats where theplant grows are grasslands with scattered trees and rocky out-crops (Guillet et al, 1971; Allen and Allen, 1981; Troupin, 1983;Adjanohoun et al, 1989).

From the literature consulted, it appears that the species wasinitially considered as a simple wild herb (Renier, 1955). How-ever, the species is used for various purposes in different partsof the world. Its use for foodstuff seems generally unknown;only the consumption of seeds by some North Eastern Indiancommunities is reported (Pandey and Srivastava, 1991). On theother hand, medicinal applications are reported. In India, theplant is used as an antidote against the viper bites of several vipers.In some parts of West Africa the plant is used against headaches,digestive problems and gonorrhea (Léonard et al., 1954; Allenand Allen, 1981; Adjanohoun et al., 1989). The uses for magicalpurposes are also reported and constitute the interest of thespecies for Okusanya et al. (1991).

The present study investigated U. picta as a potential source ofprotein by means of ethnobotanical and nutritional surveys. Thedistribution and ecology of the species in tropical Africa wereobtained by gathering information from the Belgium NationalHerbarium (BR). The real importance of the plant was appreci-ated from an ethnobotanical investigation in a Guinea pre-forestsavannah of Ivory-Coast. The nutritional value was evaluatedfrom chemical analyses of seeds content in proteins and lipids.The protein quality was evaluated by calculating the chemicalscore. Those results are presented and discussed.

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DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY OF U. FICTAIN TROPICAL AFRICA

In addition to the gathering sites revealed throughout literature,more information was obtained by consulting voucher specimensfrom the Belgium National Herbarium (BR). All gathering sitesrecognized for the species were localized on a map and the differ-ent habitats were listed. We used the dedicated software package"Carto Fauna-flora" (CFF) (Barbier and Rasmont, 1996).

Appendix I presents the different habitats listed and shows thatthe species is adapted to various vegetation types and habitats.

KNOWLEDGE AND USES BY MALINKEETHNIC GROUP

Region Studied

In order to approach the knowledge and the real importance ofU. picta, an ethnobotanical investigation was carried out inSéguéla, a department in the north of Ivory-Coast. The inhabitantsbelong to the Malinké ethnic group. In addition to subsistence andeconomic agriculture, this ethnic group is reputed for transporta-tion and trade activities (Arnaud, 1987).

Three traditional villages were investigated: Kênêgbê, Bin-goro and Bac-semien. They are all localized in the south of theSéguéla's region. The vegetation belongs to a Guinea pre-forestsavannah (Guillaumet and Adjanohoun, 1971). It is character-ized by contact between the forest and the savannah and consistsof a mosaic of forest "islets" and savannahs. As a result of aparticularly important biological diversity (species which belongto both forest and savannah exist) the human occupation isrelatively important (25 inhabitants/km2); lands of low density(1-10 inhabitant/km2) constitute only 45% of the area (Arnaud,1987). Consequently, clearance for cultivation (deforestation,fires) is more important in the region and must be regarded asa threat for soil fertility and biological diversity (Guillaumet andAdjanohoun, 1971).

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A WILD EDIBLE LEGUME 549

Ethnobotanical Surveys

The evaluation of local knowledge concerning U. picta and itseeds consumption was carried out by interviewing local people.The method used consists of recognizing the plant through visualstimuli (photograph and fresh material). From the three villagesvisited, the inhabitants representing both sexes and three agegroups were questioned: "children" (less than 12 years old), the"young" (12-20 years old), the "adults and older people" (21-45years old and more).

Each informant was asked to recognize Uraria picta and toindicate if he or she had learned about the use of its seeds inalimentation as food. An interpreter selected for his fine know-ledge regarding wild resources was required to translate andverify the received informations.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF URARIA PICTA SEEDS

Material

From our survey in a Guinea pre-forest savannah, the pods offive individual species of U. picta, were gathered from a placelocated along a pathway in savannah woodland near to Kênêgbêvillage. The seeds were gathered up to constitute the sample forchemical analyses. One of the species is presented in Figure 1.

Analytical Methods

Determination of amino acid composition Dry matter weredetermined from seeds after drying at 110°C for 24 h. Nitrogen(N) content was measured according to Kjeldahl (1883) modified(Digestor System 20 and Tecator Kjeltec Auto 1030 System).Amino acid composition was determined according to Mooreet al. (1958); the equipment "Pharmacia LKB Alpha Plus"was used. Most amino acids were determined after hydrolysis at110°C for 24h, under nitrogen (6 N hydrochloric acid with 0.1%phenol).

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550 G.-A. AMBÉ ETAL.

FIGURE 1 í/rana p/cía (Jacq.) DC: Picture of a sample gathered in a wood-land savannah near to the village of Kênêgbê.Source: Ambé, 2000.

To avoid the loss of cystine and methionine during acidhydrolysis, performic acid oxidation of cystine to cysteic acid andmethionine to methionine sulphone was first carried out accordingto Lewis (1966).

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A WILD EDIBLE LEGUME 551

Tryptophan quantification was adapted from Fontaine (1998).This method preserves around 95% of the tryptophan.

All analyses were made twice except tryptophan evaluation(triplicate).

Protein quality evaluation The protein quality of U. picta seedswas evaluated by calculating the chemical score (or amino acidscore). It characterizes the balance of essential amino acid and isa useful guide to appreciate protein quality in food (Eggum,1987). The chemical score is the analytically determined level ofthe first-limiting amino acid expressed as a percentage of thelevel of the same amino acid recommended in the ProvisionalReference Pattern.

A • -A FLAAP(mg/gN) i n nAmino acid score = v &° £_xlOOFLAAR(mg/gN)

FLAAP: amount of the first-limiting amino acid presentFLAAR: amount of the first-limiting amino acid recommended

In the present study, we used the FAO/WHO (1990) ProvisionalReference Pattern.

Lipid analysis After grinding, the lipids were extracted accordingto Folch et al. (1957). The extracts were concentrated underreduced pressure at 35 °C and weighted.

Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were prepared from crudelipids by buron-trifluoride catalyzed transesterification accordingto AOCS (1998) and analyzed by gas chromatography on HP5880a apparatus fitted with a cold "on-column" injector anda FID detector (T° = 250 °C).

The operating conditions were as follows: 25 m x 0.32 mmCP-WAX-FFAP 58 CB column from Chrompack (The Nether-lands), film thickness: 0.2 urn; temperature program: from 55 °Cto 150 °C at 30 °/min and from 150 °C at 5 °C/min. Helium at 70KPawas used as carrier gas. FAME were identified on the basis oftheir retention data compared with those of pure references.

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RESULTS

Distribution o/Uraria Picta

From about 200 voucher specimens consulted, a map including thegeographic localization of gathering sites was established accordingto White (1981) endemisme centers (Figure 2). The plant belongsto a link-element well distributed in guineo-congolian regional cen-ter of endemisme and in the neighboring transition zones. It becomesless frequent in the Sudanese and Zambesian regional center.

Local Knowledge and Consumption o/Uraria Picta Seeds

In total, 126 interviews were carried out, of which 37 with "chil-dren", 45 with "young people" and 44 with "adults and olderpeople" (Table I). Because of the local customs, few femaleswere interviewed (12%).

From the investigation, 62 people (49%) recognized U. picta.Among them, 28 people (45%) learned about the consumptionof the seeds in the past, but none of them eat these seeds anylonger.

Casual conversations with people revealed that U. picta wasvery important for nutrition in the past. The seeds were cooked

TABLE ILevel of knowledge about Uraria picta and the consumption of the seeds

NiNrNcNr/Ni (%)Nc/Nr(%)

Children

37132

3515

Age groups

Youngpeople

45217

4733

Adults andold peoples

4428196468

Total

12662284945

Ni: Number of interviewed people; Nr: Number of persons who recognized U. picta;Nc: Number of persons who had learned about the consumption of the seeds; Nr/Ip%:Percentage of recognition from all interviewed people; Nc/Nr%: Percentage of know-ledge about consumption from persons who recognized the species.

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FIGURE 2 Distribution of Uraria picta in tropical Africa, regardless to thesubdivisions defined by White (1983). Here are represented: Sahelian center ofendemisme (I), Sudanese center of endemisme (II), Transition zone Guineo-congonlian/Sudanese center of endemisme (III), Guineo-congonlian center ofendemisme (IV) and Zambezian center of endemisme (V).Source: Ambé, 2000.

and used like the other cereals and legumes consumed in theregion (common bean, Bambara groundnut, rice, little millet andsorghum). The grains were boiled until they became soft, and eaten

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554 G.-A. AMBE ETAL.

unmashed or mashed. The vernacular name in Dioula "alla-gnon"("mil of god") given by peasants confirms this kind of use. Now-adays, some villagers who nibble the salt flowers call the species"sani-ya côgô" ("salt of hare"). We have also learned about theconsumption of roots by some villagers when they feel hungry.

If we consider the different age groups, the percentage ofU. picta recognition is low for children (35%) in comparison withyoung people (47%) and the adult age group (64%). Similarly,knowledge about the seed consumption increases with age groups:

TABLE IIProtein characteristic and amino acid contents of Uraria picta seeds

Dry matter (%)Nitrogen (% of dry matter)Crude protein (% of fresh matter)

Amino acid composition (g/100 g of Protein)

Essential amino acidsThreonineHalfcystine*ValineMethionine*IsoleucineLeucinePhenylalanineLysineTryptophanArginine

Nonessential amino acidsAspartic acidSerineGlutamic acidProlineGlycineAlanineTyrosineHistidine

Mean of tworepetitions

89.663.21

20.09

3.431.525.001.294.116.744.175.421.267.86

10.513.82

16.843.864.803.731.352.86

SD

0.200.020.16

0.050.000.130.010.110.170.180.020.040.03

0.350.000.510.080.150.110.120.09

'Sulfur amino acid.

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A WILD EDIBLE LEGUME 555

TABLE IIIChemical score of Urariapicta seeds according to FOA/WHO (1990)

reference pattern

Amino acid

IsoleucineLeucineLysineMethionine + CystinePhenylalanine + TyrosineThreonineTryptophanValine

Content (mg/g of protein)

FAOAVHO (1990)reference pattern

2877582563341135

Urariapicta(present paper)

4167542855341349

Score

146.487.0*93.1

112.087.3

100.0118.2140.0

"Chemical score: First limiting amino acid according to the FAOAVHO (1990)Reference Pattern.

15% ("children"), 33% ("young people"), 68% (adults and olderpeople).

Protein Contents

Protein characteristics and amino acid contents are presented inTable II. Weight of U. picta seeds consists mainly in dry matter(89.6%) and the total protein represents 20.1% of fresh matter.Table III provides the chemical score calculated for U. pictaseeds according to FAOAVHO (1990) reference pattern.

Lipid Contents

The extract obtained is green in color. Oil presents an averageunsaturation (calculated iodine value of 106) and its contentrepresents 1.6% of fresh matter. In Table IV are given lipidcontent and fatty acid proportions. The major components of oilare linoleic acid (38.9%), palmitic acid (14.2%), linolenic acid(11.3%) and oleic acid (11.1%). The content of behenic and ligno-ceric acid (long chain fatty acids) is 7.0% and 5.0% respectively.

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556 G.-A. AMBE ETAL.

TABLE IVLipid contents and fatty acid composition (mean of two repetitions) of

Urariapicta seeds

Fat content: 1.6g/100g fresh matter

Fatty acids (trivial name) Content (g/100 g of lipid)

Myristic acid (C14) 0.2Pentadecanoic acid (C15)Sn 0.2Palmitic acid (C16) 14.2MargaricacidiCn 0.3Stearic acid (C18) 3.9Oleicacid(C18:lcis-9) 11.1Linoleic acid (C18:2)* 38.9Linolenicacid(C18:3)* 11.3Arachidic acid (C20) 1.9Gadoleicacid(C20:l) 1.0Docosanoic acid (C22) 7.0Lignoceric acid (C24) 5.0

Saturated fatty acids 32.6Mono-unsaturated fatty acids 12.1Poly-unsaturated fatty acids 50.2Identified 94.9Other 5.1

'Essential amino acids.^Scientific name.

SYNTHESE AND DISCUSSION

Distribution and Local Knowledge

From the distribution map obtained, it appears that the plant iswell distributed in tropical Africa, except the Saharan region.The distribution presented here was obtained with data fromonly one Institute (BR) and constitutes a preliminary view.

From ethnobotanical surveys, it appears that the local know-ledge of the wild legume U. picta, as well as the knowledgeabout its seed consumption is more and more decreasing fromgeneration to generation. The seeds are not eaten any longer andthe species will probably disappear in aid of cultivated crops.

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A WILD EDIBLE LEGUME 557

Nutritional Value o/U. picta Seeds

Amino acid content and protein quality In order to evaluateU. picta as a source of protein, we compared its seeds with somecommonly consumed cultivated crops. The results are also dis-cussed in comparison with Indian material analyzed by Pandeyand Srivastava (1991).

Amino acid contents In Table V we present our results and theproportions reported by Pandey and Srivastava (1991).

TABLE VProtein characteristic of U. picta seeds from Kênêgbê (means of two

repetitions) and comparison with the results obtained from Indian materialby Pandey and Srivastava (1991)

Nitrogen (% of dry matter)Crude protein (% of fresh matter)

Amino acidAspartic acidThreonineSerineGlutamic acidProlineGlycineAlanineHalf cystineValineMethionineIsoleucineLeucineTyrosinePhenylalanineHistidineLysineArginine

Correlation coefficient (Pearson)for amino acid proportions

Seeds fromKênêgbê (present

paper)

3.5820.09

Seeds from India(Pandey and

Srivastava, 1991)

4.6829.25

Content (mglg of protein)1053438

16839483715501341671342295479

1

1324166

13652

1106805410637761931327132

0.791(p value: 0.000)

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558 G.-A. AMBE ETAL.

The results are somewhat different between the two types ofseeds. The correlation coefficient calculated for the proportionsof amino acid presented here is about 80%.

With the exception of glutamic acid, arginine, sulfur aminoacids (cystine and methionine), most of other amino acids arepresent in greater quantities in seeds from India. The mostimportant difference is noticed for nonessential amino acids likeserine, glycine, alanine and arginine but also for the essentialsulfur amino acids. Sample from India contained slightly lesseramounts of hydrophobic amino acids like valine, isoleucine andphenylalanine. Pandey and Srivastava (1991) did not determinethe amount of tryptophan. The low amounts of sulfur amino acids(methionine and cystine) in seeds from India can be explained byhydrolysis methods used by the authors. Indeed, it is necessary totake special precautions to preserve these amino acids. Cystine isusually determined as cysteic acid and methionine as methioninesulphone (Shewry, 1987). The differences for the other aminoacids is probably due to ecological factors in gathering sites.

The comparison with the cultivated crops was limited on theamount of essential amino acids. In Table VI are given data foressential amino acid contents of U. picta and some cultivatedlegumes (Garden pea, horse bean, kidney bean, Bambara ground-nut) and cereals (paddy rice, bread wheat, two rowed barley). Thesimilitude between U. picta and the cultivated crops was evaluatedby calculating the correlation coefficient for the amounts ofessential amino acids. Chemical scores of the cultivated cropswere calculated according to the FAO/WHO (1990) referencepattern. The values obtained are also presented. Essential aminoacid proportions of garden pea, horse bean, bread wheat, barleyand rice were obtained from INRA (1984). Aykroyd and Doughty(1982) report those of kidney bean and Bambara groundnut.

By the correlation coefficient calculated for essential aminoacid proportions, it appears that U. picta is not significantly dif-ferent from cultivated crops taken as example. The seed contentof U. picta is very close to cultivated legumes, garden pea andBambara groundnut (93%), horse bean and kidney bean (95%).The species is similar to cultivated cereals: two rowed barley(80%), paddy rice (78%) and bread wheat (77%). While in most

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TABLE VIComparison of Uraria picta seed content in essential amino acid (g/100 g Protein) with some common cultivated

legumes and cereals

Uraria pictaGarden pea1

Horse bean1

Kidney bean2

Bambara groundnut2

Bread wheat1

Two rowed barley1

Paddy rice1

Thr

3.44.03.54.03.53.03.43.5

Val

5.04.64.74.65.34.85.35.9

Met + Cys

2.82.72.01.92.84.24.24.4

He

4.14.34.54.24.43.73.84.1

Leu

6.77.07.47.67.86.77.07.3

Tyr + Phe

5.57.97.77.79.17.38.69.0

Lys

5.47.36.37.26.42.83.73.5

Trp

1.30.90.8-

1.11.11.11.1

CC(p*)

10.927 (.001)0.958 (.000)0.951 (.001)0.928 (.001)0.767 (.026)0.798 (.018)0.781 (.022)

CS

87.081.872.776.0

100.048.363.860.3

5mo3Smo2

1INRA (1984): Garden pea (Pisum sativum sativum), Horse bean (Vicia jaba equina), Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), Two rowed barley(Hordeum distichon), Paddy rice (Oryza sativa).

2 Aykroyd and Joyce (1982): Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), Bambara groundnut (Voandzeia subterránea).CC: Correlation coefficient (Pearson) and/? value (p*); CS: Chemical score (according to FAOAVHO reference pattern); Thr: threonine; Val:

Valine; Met + Cys: methionine + cystine; He: isoleucine; Leu: Leucine; Tyr: Tyrosine; Phe: Phenylalanine; Lys: Lysine; Trp: Tryptophan.

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species sulfur-containing amino acids are the most limiting(Eggum, 1987), the sulfur amino acids (methionine + cystine) ofU. picta seeds, about 2.8g/100g protein, is higher in comparisonwith legumes, excepted bambara groundnut (2.8 g/100 g protein).The other amino acids are not significantly deficient.

The protein quality (chemical score) The chemical score calcu-lated for U. picta seeds (87.0%) stresses a great balance of essen-tial amino acids and could justify the consideration of the speciesas a potential source of protein. This value is higher than cul-tivated crops taken as example, excepted Bambara groundnut(100%).

If we consider the chemical score as a useful guide to appreciateprotein quality in food, as outlined by Eggum (1987), it appearsthat U. picta seeds are better protein quality in comparison withmost of the cultivated crops taken as example. With the exceptionof Bambara groundnut and broad bean, chemical scores of theother crops presented here varies between 48.3% (bread wheat)and 81.8% (garden pea).

Lipid characteristics The green color of the extract obtaineddenotes high content of chlorophyll or related pigments. Fromthe lipid contents and fatty acid composition, it appears that U.picta seeds are close to cultivated legumes. The fat content of themajority of dry legumes is between 1 and 2% (Agbessi Dos-Santosand Damon, 1987). As outlined by Aykroyd and Joyce (1982),oleic acids and linoleic acids are the principal unsaturated fattyacids in legume seeds; the palmitic acid is the principal saturatedfatty acid. That is the case for U. picta, with 1.6% of lipids andwith high proportion of essential fatty acids: linoleic acid(38.9%) and oleic acid (11.3%). The palmitic acid, about 14.2%,is the principal saturated fatty acid for U. picta seeds.

CONCLUSION

From the present study, it appears that people no longer eat theseeds of Uraria picta. Furthermore, the local knowledge about

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the species is more and more decreasing. Consequently, the usesof this wild legume could be forgotten in the long term and disap-pear. Because of the development of cultivated crops, there isalways less uncultivated savannah and forest where the plant canbe found. Nevertheless, we noticed the importance of the speciesin the past. The way of cooking the seeds remains in the memoryof some peasants. It is an advantage for the vulgarization ofU. picta because rural peoples are generally reticent to new cropsand new nutritional practices.

With the protein content and the proportion of some fattyacids reported here, the wild legume U. picta seems to be a goodsource of nutrients that may complete the diet of peasants.According to our knowledge, no toxicity has never been notedregarding the seeds.

The plant is well distributed in some dry regions of tropicalAfrica (sub-Sudanese and Sudanese area) where foods are relat-ively deficient in protein. The widespread of U. picta in tropicalregion as well as the large capacity of adaptation to various hab-itats constitute an advantage for its availability for many people.As noticed by Aykroyd and Joyce (1982), because of low pro-ductions caused by agricultural problems (uncertain and lowyield, disease, etc.), leguminous cultivated are very expensive.They are consumed in more or less appreciable quantities onlywhen there is a shortage of cereal and wet crops (Stanton et al.,1970). For this reason, it is suggested to investigate wild legumeswhich may be accessible to more people. It appears that wildlegumes, such as U. picta, could be a complement in the diet byfacilitating survival in times of famine and, in normal times, byproviding some essential nutrients. For example, while proteinnutritional problems are generally caused by relative deficiencyof tryptophan and sulfur-amino acids (methionine + cystine) inmost of the legume seeds (Aykroyd and Joyce, 1982; Eggum,1987), these nutrients are in appreciable proportion in U. pictaseeds.

From a largest point of view, several authors notice theimportance of such wild plant in the African diet. According toHerzog et al. (1994), the best and perhaps the only way of hav-ing a healthy and balanced diet is to diversify and vary it by

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consuming as many different foods as possible. Unfortunately, asa result of agricultural development, the importance of gatheringplants and the dietary diversity are decreasing. It follows that theprobability that all essential nutrients can be obtained fromlocally available foods is diminishing (Grivetti et al., 1987).

The advantage of U. picta is that the species is fairly wellknown by some people, as well as the way of consuming its seedsin the past. But, the principal inconvenience is probably due tothe small size of the seeds (2.0 x 1.0 mm.). For the propagation ofthe species, this factor must be taken into account. The size ofseeds could be improved by genetic and agronomic investigations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

One of the authors (Guy-Alain Ambé) wants to thank VamoussaSangaré (the interpreter) and the other villagers for their parti-cipation in the surveys.

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APPENDIX 1: HABITAT DIVERSITY OF URARIA PICTAIN TROPICAL AFRICA

Major gathering sites

Vegetation typesHerbaceous savannah

Trees and shrubs savannahSemi-deciduous forest

Riverside vegetationWasteland and ruderal

vegetationAnthropic vegetation

Others

Soil typesRocky groundSandy ground

Red groundClayey soil

Hyparrhenia herbaceous savannahHyparrhenia herbaceous-shrub savannahHymenocardia acida and Bridelia ferrugineashrub savannahPalm savannahDaniellia oliven semi-deciduous forestErythrophleum africanum open forestSavannah around river and pondAlong roadsideAround villagesField crops (e.g. cotton field)Crops submitted to agricultural firesHyparrhenia diplandra anthropic savannahPost-cultural savannah oilmperataHerbaceous burned savannahPost-cultural fallow in forest and savannahLawn of SporobolusLittoral vegetationSwampy vegetation (plain, forest)Edge forest in savannahFallow in valley

Hill in savannah, Rocky colluviumSecondary forest and savannah plain in sandygroundSpontaneous vegetation in red groundMeadow in clayey soilD

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