Wild Edible Plants and Their Traditional Use in the Human Nutrition in Bosnia‐Herzegovina

TLDR

Wild edible, vitaminous, and aromatic plants are widely used in Bosnia and Herzegovina as fresh, raw, or dried vegetables, fruits, peas, and spices, forming an important part of the local diet. The study employed ethnobotanical interviews with over 250 participants and extensive field research across Bosnia and Herzegovina, identifying 308 edible plant species from 73 families used by the indigenous population. These 308 species are incorporated into cooked dishes (33 %), fresh salads (19 %), mush and bread (17 %), fruits and drinks (13 %), and spices or ethno‑pharmacological potions (10 %), and collectively provide the daily requirements for vitamins C and A and certain minerals in accordance with WHO guidelines.

Abstract

This article presents first systematical procedure results on traditional usage of wild, edible, vitaminous, and aromatic plants in the nutrition of human population in Bosnia and Herzegovina (W. Balkan peninsula; SE Europe). By method of an ethnobotanical interview, which comprised of over 250 persons, whose average age was 55, and by research on edible wild flora all around Bosnia and Herzegovina that extended over many years, detected were 308 plants belonging to 73 plant families that are being used in nutrition and diet of indigenous population. Edible wild plants are used as delicious vegetables, fruits, peer and spices, in either fresh, raw, or dried condition. Plants are being used for the making of cooked food (33%), fresh salads (19%), mush and bread (17%), or as fresh, wild fruits and drinks (13%) or as spices and ethno-pharmacological potions (10%). The majority of identified, wild edible plants may satisfy the daily human need for elementary nutrition material, particularly those of vitamins C and A, and for some minerals, according to the regulations of World Health Organization (WHO).