Is Children's Intake of Wild Edible Food Species in Southeast Tanzania Related to Diarrhea or Constipation?

Abstract

The article articulated the relationship between the intake of specific wild food species and children's diarrhea or constipation in southeast Tanzania. From the responses of 376 children (338 in the robustness test) to a questionnaire (age average of 11.95) in four coastal/inland and rural/semirural/urban locations, 83 species were analyzed (Wilcoxon rank sum test) with diarrhea/constipation frequency, and 16 species were further discussed in four focus groups with 43 children from the same locations. Children in all schools indicated that swallowing various fruit seeds induces constipation, which agrees with rare medical case reports. Eating moringa was claimed to induce constipation as an isolated case in a coastal village, which agrees with the significant difference but contradicts the findings of previous research. Lilende (Corchorus aestuans) was mentioned as inducing diarrhea in coastal, semiurban, and urban children, supported by the literature as being vulnerable to contamination. The intake of poisonous tubers may increase the risk of diarrhea where it is not frequently eaten: Uwanga (Tacca leontopetaloides) and Angadi (Dioscorea cochleari-apiculata), where local knowledge of detoxication is lost. Robustness statistical analysis revealed that consumers of yam(p = 0.026)and Sufi (Rhodognaphalon schumannianum) seeds (p = 0.043) had relatively less diarrhea; thus, further research is needed.