Enset (Ensete Ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman, Musaceae): Ethnomedicinal Applications, Nutritional Quality and Reproductive Biology in Selected Districts of South and South Western Ethioia
| dc.contributor.advisor | Sebsebe Demissew | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Dawd Gashu | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Tigist Wondimu | |
| dc.contributor.author | Solomon Tamrat | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-08-17T23:06:36Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-08-17T23:06:36Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-06 | |
| dc.description.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. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/6935 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | |
| dc.subject | Amino Acid Profiles | |
| dc.subject | Crop Domestication | |
| dc.subject | Enset Ethnobotany | |
| dc.subject | Floral Morphology | |
| dc.subject | Indigenous Local Knowledge | |
| dc.subject | Mineral Composition | |
| dc.subject | Seed Germination | |
| dc.title | Enset (Ensete Ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman, Musaceae): Ethnomedicinal Applications, Nutritional Quality and Reproductive Biology in Selected Districts of South and South Western Ethioia | |
| dc.type | Thesis |