From ending poverty and hunger to responding to climate change and sustaining natural resources – Prof Victoria Jideani from the Food Science and Technology Department, dubbed Professor Bambara by many at the institution, has the solution.

The Bambara groundnut is an African food crop, which is not only a rich source of nutrition, but also ideal for preventing chronic illnesses. The Bambara groundnut is well suited to cultivation in South Africa and is extremely resilient to drought and climate change. Once planted, Bambara nut takes about five to six months to mature. Despite its importance in food security and potential for income generation for small scale farmers, it remains a neglected and underutilised crop.

The Department of Food Science and Technology has used the Bambara Groundnut as a raw material to create several gluten-, lactose- and cholesterol-free value-added products. These include dairy substitutes, baked goods, meat substitutes and beverages. These products have the potential to be rapidly scaled up to provide niche and alternative products that are nutritious and marketable. The Bambara groundnuts contain up to 60 % carbohydrate, 16 % to 20 % protein, low levels of oil (6% to 8%) and are a rich source of minerals and essential amino acids. Thus Bambara is viewed as a complete food.

The Technology Transfer Office is managing the commercialisation of the technology. According to the Director, Dr Revel Iyer, CPUT is in the process of starting a food business directed at producing the semi-processed Bambara-based products.

“We are looking for potential partners to be involved in this business. We are also hoping to identify companies who would like to develop foods final products from the Bambara-based intermediate products. These could include foods such as polonies, patties, biscuits, crisps, pies, breads, non-dairy milk and yoghurt substitutes.”

To prove that the products are marketable and desirable, Prof Jideani and her team of food scientists researched and tested an extensive range of dishes prepared using Bambara in many forms and presented it in the form of a recipe book. Products were also exhibited and served to representatives of the South African food industry, potential investors and government as part of a showcase on the Bambara groundnut value chain. The basket of products was well received by the attendees who were able to provide critical feedback on aspects such as taste and product positioning. One representative from industry expressed the view that Bambara appears to tick all the boxes as far as food security and nutrition goes.

Written by Jayde Barends

Written by CPUT News

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Prof Victoria Jideani from the Food Science and Technology Department is the first female inventor at CPUT to register a patent.

In 2012 her innovative efforts paid off when she developed a probiotic yoghurt-like beverage.

The probiotic beverage is produced from a vegetable milk product, which Jideani tailor-made from Bambara groundnut, a locally grown legume. Current probiotic yoghurt products are manufactured from cow, goat or soya milk.

Widely grown in South Africa and other parts of the continent, the Bambara groundnut is underutilised and sold in its raw form as a health snack.

But with Jideani harbouring a passion for underutilised crops, she grabbed the opportunity to turn the Bambara groundnut into something much more than just a health snack.

“One day I began to think of ways to add more value to this specific legume that is underutilised,” she says.

Jideani spent two years working on the project and her tireless efforts have paid off.

This natural probiotic beverage boasts a number of health benefits for consumers.

It is cholesterol free, low in fat as well as rich in protein, fibre and antioxidants. It also boasts added probiotics for maintaining good balance and composition of intestinal flora.

“The product is suitable for lactose intolerant suffers and yet acceptable to the general market”, she says.  

INNOVATION:  The product produced by Prof Jideani

Jideani is continuing with her ground breaking research and has registered other patents related to the Bambara groundnut and has also established a research group that is exploring the potential of the Bambara groundnut as a food security crop and nutraceutical that could be utilized in functional food, pharmaceutical industry/medicine.

Earlier this year Drs Jane Okafor and Bukola Adedayo, two postdoctoral fellows joined the team and will look at the medicinal potential of the Bambara groundnut and its products (milk and probiotic beverage) as a functional food in health and disease and its relationship to indigenous knowledge systems.

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

A leading researcher at CPUT in the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Prof Victoria Jideani, has two patents under her belt.

While this NRF-rated researcher has a patent for dietary fibre from the Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterenea), she also has a patent for probiotic yoghurt produced from a Bambara groundnut milk beverage and the method for the production thereof. The latter may lead to an exciting new business venture for the university.

“Indigenous knowledge (IK) associated with Bambara groundnut (BGN) in South Africa is not documented,” she explains, adding that, “Despite the BGN rich IK and nutritional profile, not much is known about its nutraceutical potential.”

She says that this knowledge system is at risk of becoming extinct because of the rapidly changing natural environment and fast-paced economic, political and cultural changes. 

“There is an urgent need to document the IK and establish a relationship between it and the BGN nutraceuticals.”

“One of my publications on BGN paved the way for international collaboration between the South African Association for Food Science & Technology (SAAFoST) and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in America.”

Her article “Should the BGN remain underutilized?” was published in the August 2015 issue of FST Magazine, which is published by SAAFoST and subsequently republished in Food Technology (USA) by IFT as “Utilizing BGN in Value-added Products” in 2016.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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