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Women in Science Mentoring Program (2018)
SG-001: Evaluation of nutritional and pharmacological potential of Kenyan doum palm: towards improved livelihoods
PI: Cecilia Mweu, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
Project Dates: October 2019 - December 2020
Project Overview
Agriculture is the mainstay and currently accounts for about 70% of the rural incomes in Kenya. Palms, particularly doum palm, are an important component of terrestrial ecosystems and play numerous roles in the arid and semiarid regions of Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula, and India. It is an important wild fruit plant with diverse commercial and domestic uses. In Kenya, it is represented by the genus Hyphaene, which has two species the Hyphaene compressa and H. coriacea, and in Africa by approximately 26 species of the Hyphaene genus. The regions where the doum palm grows experience famine, water and forage shortage for livestock, leading to high dependence on doum palm, as it can withstand harsh climatic conditions. Doum palm dominates forests and woodlands, serves as sources of dry season grazing during drought and also protects the riverbanks. In the northern and eastern regions of Kenya, doum palm contributes significantly to the livelihood and welfare of the local communities, who are mainly nomadic pastoralists and agro-pastoralists.
Despite the ubiquitous importance of doum palm, it have been overlooked in nature conservation and are not included in any international biodiversity agreements. This is due to the fact that doum palm is considered a less important species, hence, there is only rudimentary knowledge of its biology, diversity, nutrition, and medicinal properties. The decline in the availability of doum palm due to overharvesting and destruction of their natural habitat are preeminent causes of doum palm genetic erosion. Lack of information on the scope of nutritional and medicinal properties of Kenyan doum palm is one of the greatest limiting factors to prospects of scaling it up for food and pharmaceutical industries.
The PI therefore designed this small pilot project with three main objectives: (1) to determine the nutritional properties of Kenyan doum palm varieties; (2) to establish the bioactive medicinal compounds present in doum palm varieties; and (3) to determine the antimicrobial efficacy of doum palm varieties.
Final Summary of Project Activities
The PI Dr. Cecilia Mweu and a graduate student, Esther Seroney Jebichii, researched medicinal bioactive compounds found in doum palm fruit. They sought to improve doum palm utilization as a food commodity and as complementary medicine in arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya facing food insecurity, lower income, and limited access to medical facilities. The team collected samples in Tharaka and Kwale counties of Kenya and then tested them back in the labs at their university. They generated data on nutritional and bioactive compounds and developed a research article on antimicrobial activity of bioactive compounds of doum palm extracts. They also shared their findings in a seminar presentation.
The PI additionally mentored postgraduate students at her institution, including on topics such as research proposal writing, manuscript writing, thesis writing, and sourcing for research funds. The PI also received a $24,000 grant from the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology to carry out research on cassava improvement. Back to WSMP Grant Recipients
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