Baobab Fruit Powder

Baobab fruit powder is a pale powder that forms naturally inside the fruits of the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata). It has an exotic tangy flavour due to its content of citric, malic and tartaric acids and is exceptionally nutritious containing high natural levels of antioxidants, essential minerals including calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium, and vitamin C. For more information see: www.baobabsuperfruit.com.

Product Applications

Baobab fruit powder is suitable for use in a wide range of food and drink products such as:

• Smoothies and juices.
• Cereals, cereal bars and snacks.
• Ice creams, yoghurts and dairy desserts.
• Jams, sauces, marinades and condiments.
• Speciality teas.
• Health supplements.

The powder has a high pectin content (around 25%) and so is especially useful for products where binding and thickening is needed. For applications where the flavour of baobab is required without the thickening property, a depectinised extract is available. See Baobab Fruit Extract.

Sales Enquiries

Please contact our commercial partner Afriplex via sales@baobabsuperfruit.com.

The Baobab Tree and its Fruit

The baobab is perhaps the best known tree in Africa and grows in abundance in hot, dry lowland areas such as the Rift Valley. Its spreading crown of branches is bare of leaves for much of the year and reminiscent of a root system, hence the baobab’s common name: ‘The Upside Down Tree’. Its stout grey trunk can reach enormous sizes, in some instances over 25 metres in circumference.

The baobab belongs to its own botanical family - the Bombacaceae – and is extremely long-lived. It is common for trees to live to over 1,000 years and some specimens are believed to be as old as 3,000 years.

Baobab fruits are ovoid in shape and are formed from elaborate white flowers which are pollinated by bats. The fruit has a hard, woody shell with a velvety yellow-green coating. Inside the shell are the large oil-rich seeds, the fruit powder and fibres. Baobab fruit is harvested in Southern Africa between February and May.

Traditional Uses and Known Properties

Baobab is known in Africa as The Tree of Life because there are many traditional uses for every part of it, from the leaves to the roots. The fruit powder is commonly with water and sugar to make a popular and refreshing sherbet-like drink. The powder is also used for porridge, sauces and other dishes and as a substitute for cream of tartar in baking, and a fermenting agent in traditional brews.

Medicinally, baobab fruit powder has many applications. It is taken to treat fevers, gastric complaints (perhaps due to its high magnesium content), malaria, haemoptysis (the coughing of blood from the lungs) and vitamin C deficiency. The fruit powder is also as a general health tonic, particularly among children, pregnant women and the elderly, perhaps due to its high calcium content.

Traditionally African people also eat the leaves of the baobab, which can be pounded to make a relish, and use the fibrous bark to make ropes, baskets and fishing nets.

However, for reasons of sustainability, PhytoTrade Africa encourages commercial production of products derived only from the fruit and seeds of baobab and not from the leaves or bark.

Scientific Literature

Useful studies on baobab fruit powder include:

Afolabi, O. and Popoola, T. (2005) The effects of baobab pulp powder on the micro flora involved in tempe fermentation. European Food Research Technology 220:187-190

Bosch, C., Sie, K.et al. (2004) Adansonia digitata L. Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. G. Grubben and O. Denton. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen, the Netherlands, Backhuys, Leiden, Netherlands: 36-40.

Chadare, F. J., Linnemann A. R., et al. (2009) Baobab Food Products: A review on their composition and nutritional value. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 49: 254-274.

Nour, A. A., Magboul, B.I. and Kheiri, N.H., (1980) Chemical composition of baobab fruit (Adansonia digitata). Tropical Science 22(4): 383-388.

Shukla, Y. N., Dubey, S., Jain, S.P., Kumar, S., (2001) Chemistry, biology and uses of Adansonia digitata - a review. Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Sciences 23(3): 429-434.