ABSTRACT
Nutritional data on cultivated fruits are widely available, but for wild fruits complete analyses are rare. The Taita identify a large number of medicinal plants, some used in treatment of human disease and others for illness in animals. Fruit is ingested as a foodstuff in the treatment of illness, particularly minor and principally self-limiting diseases such as upper respiratory tract infection. The practice is more common among children than among adults. The fact that the Taita live in an area of great diversity of soils, temperature, rainfall, and consequently of vegetation provides them with a large number of edible fruit species from which to select. Fruit also is ingested as foodstuff in the treatment of illness, particularly minor and principally self-limiting diseases such as upper respiratory tract infection. The employment of a number of methods of investigation, particularly direct observation of food intake and detailed examination of general plant use, has revealed the nutritional significance of gatunda to the Taita.
