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Morphological and nutritional composition of Bauhinia thonningii pods and seeds in Northern Ethiopia

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Abstract

Wild edible fruits are rich in micronutrients and serve as an essential source of nutrition for the poor in developing countries, where malnutrition is widespread. The morphological and nutritional compositions of Bauhinia thonningii pod and seed were evaluated using samples collected from two distinct agroecological zones, the warm moist lowlands (WMLL) and tepid sub-moist mid-highlands (TSMMHL), in the Tselemti district, Ethiopia. Data were analyzed using independent sample t-test, ANOVA with a general linear model, and Principal component analysis (PCA) for morphological traits, proximate composition, and mineral content to determine their association with agroecological zones. The results showed that morphological traits such as the mean pod length (p < 0.000), pod width (p = 0.036), pod thickness (p = 0.005), pericarp weight (p = 0.006), total seed weight (p = 0.003), individual seed weight (p = 0.005), and number of seeds per pod (p < 0.000) differed significantly between the two agroecological zones (p < 0.05). Higher mean values of pod length (18.34 cm), width (2.87 cm), thickness (0.85 cm), total pod weight (11.56 g), total seed weight (8.93 g), and number of seeds per pod (51 ns) were recorded in the warm moist lowlands compared to the tepid sub-moist mid-highlands. The moisture content of the B. thonningii pod (9.02%) and seed (7.02%) was higher in tepid sub-moist mid-highlands than in the warm moist lowlands. The crude protein (9.74 and 30.73%), crude fat (0.96 and 2.48%), crude fiber (26.03 and 32.86%), total carbohydrates (56.30 and 33.70%), and energy values (1106.36 and 1103.87 kJ/100 g) of the pod and seed, respectively, were higher in the WMLL compared to the TSMMHL. All proximate compositions of the B. thonningii pod and seed varied significantly between the two agroecological zones (p < 0.05), except for ash content. Most mineral concentrations in the pod and seeds, such as calcium (152.26 and 36.77 mg/100 g), magnesium (129.59 and 8.04 mg/100 g), potassium (1325.44 and 130.61 mg/100 g), and sodium (8.99 and 16.90 mg/100 g), were significantly higher in the warm moist lowland agroecology. This may be attributed to higher humidity, soil mineralization, evaporative concentration, and increased soil nutrient movement under warm lowland environmental conditions. Significant differences were observed in the concentrations of all minerals in the pods and seeds between the agroecologies, except for magnesium and zinc in the seed analysis. Overall, the findings indicate that understanding the morphological, proximate, and mineral compositions of B. thonningii is valuable for its sustainable utilization, conservation, domestication, and breeding. The pods and seeds of B. thonningii possess high nutritional potential and could be used for both human and animal nutrition following further detailed investigation.

Data availability

Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Requests should include a detailed rationale for data access and a commitment to using the data solely for the stated purpose, in compliance with ethical guidelines.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are most grateful for financial support from the MU-NMBU Phase IV Project through Mekelle University and the McKnight Foundation’s Collaborative Crop Research Program. We extend our gratitude to Dr. Zenebe Girmay, the field assistants, the technical and laboratory staff, and the farmers whose fields we visited during data collection. Their invaluable contributions were essential to compiling this manuscript. Additionally, we acknowledge the Institute of International Education-Scholars Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF), and Nord University, Faculty of Bioscience and Aquaculture (FBA), and the NORGLOBAL 2 project “Towards a climate-smart policy and management framework for conservation and use of dry forest ecosystem services and resources in Ethiopia [grant number: 303600]” for supporting the research stay of Emiru Birhane at NMBU.

Funding

The research fund for this study was obtained from the MU-HU-NMBU collaborative project through Mekelle University and the Ethiopian Ministry of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection, College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekelle University, P. O. Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia

    Tesfaye Gebre, Mitiku Haile & Emiru Birhane

  2. Faculty of Bioscience and Aquaculture, Nord University, P. O. Box 2501, 7729, Steinkjer, Norway

    Emiru Birhane

  3. Institute of Climate and Society, P. O. Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia

    Emiru Birhane

  4. Department of Food Science and Postharvest Technology, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia

    Sarah Tewolde-Berhan

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  1. Tesfaye Gebre
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  2. Mitiku Haile
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  4. Emiru Birhane
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Contributions

T.G. data collection, investigation, data curation, methodology, formal analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. M.H. supervised, conceptualization, review, and editing the original draft and manuscript. S.T.B. conceptualization, conceived and designed the experiments, contributed materials and training, and review and editing. E.B. supervised, conceptualization, writing—original draft, review and editing the manuscript critically.

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Tesfaye Gebre.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The study was conducted with formal approval from the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer at Mekelle University. An official permission letter from the department of land resources management and environmental protection was submitted to the administrative offices of Tselemti district, and the Tselemti Agricultural and Rural Development Office. Verbal consent was obtained from all relevant authorities and farmers in the district. This was done after the main objectives of the study were clearly explained with the assistance of local language translators. No endangered or threatened species were collected or included in the study.

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Gebre, T., Haile, M., Tewolde-Berhan, S. et al. Morphological and nutritional composition of Bauhinia thonningii pods and seeds in Northern Ethiopia.
Sci Rep (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-32054-2

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Keywords

  • Fodder tree
  • Nutritional value
  • Proximate composition
  • Seed traits
  • Underutilized tree
  • Wild edible fruits

Source: Ecology - nature.com

Seasonal dynamics and species diversity of Anopheles mosquitoes in malaria endemic districts of Southern Odisha India

Widespread land surface cooling from paddy rice cultivation revealed by global satellite mapping

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