Enset (Ensete Ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman, Musaceae): Ethnomedicinal Applications, Nutritional Quality and Reproductive Biology in Selected Districts of South and South Western Ethioia
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Date
2024-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Enset is a valuable food security crop consumed by over 20 million peoples among diverse cultures
in Southern Ethiopia. Limited information exists on morphological characterization of landaraces
used in traditional medicine and the associated knowledge, nutritional contents, seed germination
responses to various temperature regimes and floral biology of wild and domesticated populations.
Morphological characterization of medicinally valued enset and documentation of Indigenous
Local Knowledge (ILK) of their utilization was conducted using 100 informants and home gardens
from nine study kebeles in the three selected districts of Sidama, Wolaita and Gurage (SWG) zones
of the former SNNPRS. Nutritional analyses targeted on mineral and amino acid profiles was
undertaken for various types of enset parts (corm, pseudostem, leaf petiole, leaf blade, fruit parts
of exocarp, mesocarp and whole seed) and fermented products (Kocho, Bulla and whole Koho)
(n=10) of 26 medicinally valued enset landraces. Fermentation was initiated using pre fermented
enset tissue used as starter culture, and both external and pit fermentation were applied based on
local recommendations. Germination responses of 20 accessions (seven wild and 13 domestic
enset) originated from localities in the south and south western Ethiopia were tested against varied
temperature regimes (10-°C, 15-°C, 20-°C, 25-°C, 30-°C, 40-°C, 20¬°C/10¬°C, 25-°C/10-°C, 25-
°C/15-°C, 30-°C/-10°C, 30-°C/15-°C, 30-°C/20-°C, 35-°C/20-°C, 40-°C/20-°C & 40-°C/25-°C).
The two enset populations were also evaluated for variations in traits of external and internal seed
morphology (n=10 to 50) and seed viability (n=7 to 60 per accession). Diversity in floral
morphology of individuals from the two populations, was additionally, assessed using dimensions
of 375 flowers, (i.e. 25 from each accession), sourced from 15 matured (nine domesticated and six
wild) individuals. Medicinally valed enset landraces were clustered based on morphological
similarities irrespective of sampling localities. Out of 184 farmers’ landraces documented, 68
(37%) were used in traditional medicine. Boiled corms from ‘Askala’ (Sidama), ‘Argama’
(Wolaita), ‘Astara’ (Gurage), ‘Kibnar' (Gurage), and ‘Gowariye' (Gurage) are most frequently
used as medicinal items in the treatment of human and livestock ailmnts. Delays in labor and/or
placental discharge, bone fractures and wounds were the commonly treated disorders using enset
medicine. Prenatal, natal and postnatal complications received the highest Informant Consensus
Factor (ICF=0.86). Enset contains considerable calcium, iron, potassium and, zinc in comparison
to commonly used tuber crops. Twenty of standard plant amino acids were detected with
predominant arginine. Fermentation enhanced essential amino acids, though net loss overall were
observed after the process. Enset showed significant varitions in mineral concentrarions across
sampling sites and plant parts. Samples sourced from Gurage area and corms, hence, showed
significantly higher amino acid. Alternating temperature, absolute changes from constant to
alternating (p=0.0159), and prior cold stratification (p ≤ 0.001) significantly improved
germination. Wild and domesticated enset showed similarities in embryo viability, mean days to
onset of germination, and morphological traits of seeds and flowers. Eventhough, different names
are given in various cultures, medicinally valuable enset were morphologicaly similar across
cultural variations in landrace naming and farm management, observed less frequent or rare; and
used to treat diverse types of human and livestock ailments. Observations from ethnobotanical
investigations imply the potential of enset for treatement of human and livestock ailments in the
context of complimentary medicine to target the limitations of health care services through modern
medicine. With the observed higher nutritional contents, enset products could be used to make up
for deficiencies in essential minerals and functional amino acids. Conservation of sexual
reproductive potential in enset was evidenced from silimlarities in germination and morphologies
of reproductive organs of wild and domestic plants, with implications for future seed banking and
varital development through conventional breeding.
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Keywords
Amino Acid Profiles, Crop Domestication, Enset Ethnobotany, Floral Morphology, Indigenous Local Knowledge, Mineral Composition, Seed Germination