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Currently, the negative effects of unified and intensive agriculture are of growing concern. To mitigate them, the possibilities of using local but nowadays underused crop for food production should be more thoroughly investigated and promoted. The soybean is the major crop cultivated for vegetable oil production in Zambia, while the oil production from local oil-bearing plants is neglected. The chemical composition of oils and cakes of a three traditional oil plant used by descendants of the Lozi people for cooking were investigated. Parinari curatellifolia and Schinziophyton rautanenii oils were chiefly composed of α-eleostearic (28.58–55.96%), linoleic (9.78–40.18%), and oleic acid (15.26–24.07%), whereas Ochna serrulata contained mainly palmitic (35.62–37.31%), oleic (37.31–46.80%), and linoleic acid (10.61–18.66%); the oil yield was high (39–71%). S. rautanenii and O. serrulata oils were rich in γ-tocopherol (3236.18 μg/g, 361.11 μg/g, respectively). The O. serrulata oil also had a very distinctive aroma predominantly composed of p-cymene (52.26%), m-xylene (9.63%), γ-terpinene (9.07%), o-xylene (7.97), and limonene (7.23%). The cakes remaining after oil extraction are a good source of essential minerals, being rich in N, P, S, K, Ca, and Mg. These plants have the potential to be introduced for use in the food, technical, or pharmaceutical industries.

Schinziophyton rautanenii is a multipurpose plant species in Southern Africa which provides numerous ecosystem goods and services. This review evaluated the contribution of the species to sustainable diets, livelihood needs and environmental sustainability throughout the geographical range of the species. The literature relevant to the study was obtained from scientific databases such as ScienceDirect, SciFinder, Pubmed, Google Scholar, Medline and SCOPUS. Literature was also obtained from the University of Fort Hare library, dissertation search engines like ProQuest, Open-thesis, OATD, and EThOS. S. rautanenii is an essential source of food, herbal medicines, income, oil, timber and wood. The species provides substantial health, economic and ecological benefits to local communities that depend on the species as a source of livelihood needs. This study represents a holistic view on multiple ecosystem goods and services that are derived from S. rautanenii forming an essential component of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Use, cultivation and management of S. rautanenii in Southern Africa offers enormous potential for contributing to the fulfillment of the SDGs, resulting in improved food security, household nutrition and health, income, livelihoods, ecological balance, sustainable diets and food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schinziophyton rautanenii is a keystone tree species whose fruits are eaten by wildlife and livestock, nuts are used to extract oil for human use and its wood is used for making curios that are sold to tourists. The species occurs in southern African countries of Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo but little is known about its population and conservation status. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess factors determining the distribution and abundance of the species in Zambia, (ii) evaluate its regeneration potential and population status and (iii) assess whether the main determinants of forest and species stand structures also favour S. rautanenii. The study is based on three forest surveys conducted in 2004, 2005-2008 and 2015. In Zambia S. rautanenii abundance and population structure are controlled by soil, climate and human factors. The species is most abundant in southwest Zambia where population recruitment is good but is rare and recruitment is poor elsewhere in the country. Fire appears to be a major cause of tree damage and possibly death. The elephant is a major disperser of S. rautanenii nuts and the low recruitment levels in the country may partly be attributed to the decline in the elephant population from about 250,000 in 1960 to 28,000 in 2008. Different conservation strategies will be required for areas where the species is rare and for those where the species is abundant. Whatever the strategies, it will be important to address issues of fire management, fruit harvesting and the role of wildlife in the conservation of S. rautanenii in Zambia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytosterols of manketti ( Schinziophyton rautanenii) nut oil extracted by Soxhlet, mechanical shaking using hexane, screw press and supercritical carbon dioxide, were analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The presence of several phytosterols (campesterol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, ∆-avenasterol, 22-dihydrospinasterol and ∆-avenasterol) previously reported in manketti oil, was confirmed. In addition, another fourteen phytosterols (lanosterol, ∆-stigmastadienol, ∆-campesterol, clerosterol, obtusifoliol, ∆-stigmastadienol, α-amyrin, gramisterol, cycloeucalenol, cycloartenol, stigmasta-8,24-dienol-3-β-ol, 28-methylobtusifoliol, 24-methylenecycloartenol and citrostadienol) were identified. The phytosterols, β-sitosterol, ∆-avenasterol and campesterol, had the highest concentrations in oils extracted by all the methods, whereas stigmasterol and cycloartenol were abundant in oils extracted by mechanical shaking and supercritical carbon dioxide. Total phytosterols and the quantities of individual phytosterols differed significantly ( p ≤ 0.05) in oils from the four extraction methods. Mechanical shaking extracted the highest levels of total sterols (22,100 mg/100 g oil), followed by supercritical fluid extraction (9,550 mg/100 g oil). Screw press and Soxhlet extracted oils contained the lowest levels of total sterols, 3,810 mg/100 g oil and 3,350 mg/100 g oil, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Seed oils have been used for centuries by rural communities as food, medicine, for cosmetic applications and as fuel. Recently there has been a renewed interest in these non-timber forest products (NTFPs) specifically for use in cosmetic formulations. The cosmetic industry remains under immense consumer pressure to produce innovative products for this lucrative industry. Like the pharmaceutical industry, the wellness industry turns to nature for guidance, inspiration and as a source of novel compounds to produce new consumer products. Furthermore, discerning consumers of cosmetic products are nowadays informing themselves of the validity of scientific claims made on various products. The seed oils extracted from several plant species are popularly included as ingredients in cosmetic products due to their high fatty acid composition. The information on African seed oils is scattered in literature and often published in obscure and dated manuscripts. With an emphasis on (but not restricted to) cosmetic applications the botanical aspects, uses, physico-chemical properties and oil composition as well as biological activity of six commercially important species are coherently united and reviewed in this paper and include; Adansonia digitata (baobab), Citrullus lanatus (Kalahari melon), Schinziophyton rautanenii (manketti/mungongo), Sclerocarya birrea (marula), Trichilia emetica (mafura butter) and Ximenia americana (sour plum). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Currently, the negative effects of unified and intensive agriculture are of growing concern. To mitigate them, the possibilities of using local but nowadays underused crop for food production should be more thoroughly investigated and promoted. The soybean is the major crop cultivated for vegetable oil production in Zambia, while the oil production from local oil-bearing plants is neglected. The chemical composition of oils and cakes of a three traditional oil plant used by descendants of the Lozi people for cooking were investigated. Parinari curatellifolia and Schinziophyton rautanenii oils were chiefly composed of α-eleostearic (28.58–55.96%), linoleic (9.78–40.18%), and oleic acid (15.26–24.07%), whereas Ochna serrulata contained mainly palmitic (35.62–37.31%), oleic (37.31–46.80%), and linoleic acid (10.61–18.66%); the oil yield was high (39–71%). S. rautanenii and O. serrulata oils were rich in γ-tocopherol (3236.18 μg/g, 361.11 μg/g, respectively). The O. serrulata oil also had a very distinctive aroma predominantly composed of p-cymene (52.26%), m-xylene (9.63%), γ-terpinene (9.07%), o-xylene (7.97), and limonene (7.23%). The cakes remaining after oil extraction are a good source of essential minerals, being rich in N, P, S, K, Ca, and Mg. These plants have the potential to be introduced for use in the food, technical, or pharmaceutical industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]