A review: indigenously processed dried powdered food product “Nkwakwa” and the nutrients of Strychnos madagascariensis from Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Abstract

The Strychnos madagascariensis (Black Monkey Orange) is commonly found in tropical and subtropical Africa. Black monkey orange (BMO) species can strive in hot and relatively dry conditions of Southern Africa. It is one of the diverse indigenous fruit species (IFSs) in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality (BLM), Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. The BMO fruit can be consumed fresh or processed into flour known as “Nfuma” in southern Mozambique. The same processed product is known as “Nkwakwa” within BLM. The current review invented the processing cycle of indigenous dried powdered food product (“Nkwakwa”) from the BMO’s seed coat, and evaluated its nutritional value in human diet, using the body of available literature. Terms and keywords such as processed dried Strychnos madagascariensis, processed fruit pulp from monkey oranges, and dried monkey orange fruit processing, were used in a methodical online literature search. The following steps outlined within indigenous processing cycle of dried powdered food product “Nkwakwa”: (i) Gathering the tree’s ripened BMO fruit; (ii) Cracking the ripened fruit’s hard woody shell; (iii) BMO’s fruit seed pulp is sun-dried; (iv) Seed extraction from dried seed coat; (v) Dried seed coat/cover is crushed; (vi) BMO’s nutritional composition such as macronutrients (K, Na, Mg, Ca) required for multi-body functions and micronutrients (Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu) essential in the human diet for numerous biological processes. Evidently, BMO’s fruit and its value-added products are nutrient dense to meet various human bodily functions. Thus, recommended that the significant BMO species be preserved and that their value-added products be processed and consumed.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2026 · DOI ↗