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Abstract
Without a doubt, fruits and vegetables are important components of a balanced and
healthy diet. However, their consumption is very low in the world, with the lowest
figures being reported in sub-Saharan Africa. The low consumption of fruits and vegetables
means unbalanced and unhealthy diets, which has been linked to various diseases and
conditions associated with increased mortality rates in worst cases. Poverty is the
major contributor to the low consumption of fruits and vegetables in the majority
of cases. However, the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, is endowed with numerous
wild fruit and vegetable species which can be exploited and incorporated into the
diets and help solve some nutrition related concerns. Therefore, in this review, we
explore literature on wild fruits and vegetables with a special emphasis on some of
the poorest regions of the world and where the lowest consumption figures are reported;
their nutritional compositions; the status of their consumption and their role in
the diet with a view to uncover their possible role in delivering a healthy and balanced
diet as well as helping lower food and nutrition insecurity. A total of 396 articles
were downloaded and analysed but only 213 were considered for this review. The results
of the search indicate that wild fruits and vegetables are nutritionally rich and
high in phytochemicals, especially antioxidants and therefore can possibly play a
significant and positive role in delivering a healthy and balanced diet. However,
the major challenge is the acceptability, accessibility as well as a lack of interest
in wild fruits and vegetables and sheer neglect. People need to be educated using
various forms of media on the nutritional and health benefits of these wild food plants
with a view to bring them from the forest to the plate. Researchers need to channel
more efforts towards domesticating them for ease of access, among other reasons. Governments
need to incentivise the subsistence or commercial production of wild fruits and vegetables
in order to encourage farmers to cultivate them. However, seeds and/or seedlings need
to be made available and affordable to the farmers. The 'hidden treasures' in the
forests in the form of edible plants could easily play a positive and huge role in
delivering a balanced and healthy diet, especially in poor parts of the world.