Unlocking the Prospective of Neglected and Underutilized Wild Plants for Human Food, Nutrition and Ethno-Medicine

Abstract

Wild edible plant species (WEPs) are vital sources of additional food and ethnomedicine in many regions of the world. Despite the fact that they can offer a range of provisioning services, they are neglected, underutilized, and poorly researched. This study therefore investigated WEPs and their provisioning ecosystem services as supplementary food, nutrition, and traditional medicine. Questionnaire household surveys, key informant interviews, and a series of field observations were used for data collection. Additionally, preference ranking was used to rank the WEPs based on the preference of the local communities for their provision of services. A direct matrix ranking was carried out to measure their provisional service diversity. There were 20 WEPs species, which were most widely used as food, nutrition, and ethnomedicine supplements. The major edible plant parts were fruits (75%), which were mostly collected by children (65%). The majority of the communities (93.95%) used them as seasonal and supplemental food, particularly in periods of food shortages such as spring, the dry season. They were particularly essential supplementary sources of food, nutrition, and ethno-medicine for food-insecure and economically marginal families. It is therefore necessary to develop national policies that support and encourage WEPs as dietary, nutritional, and ethno-medical supplements.