Food potential of fruits and plants of the caatinga: integrative review

Abstract

The variety of plant resources of the Caatinga allows it to be used for different purposes by the regional population, mainly for food purposes. The Caatinga has incredible biodiversity, including several plant species with food potential. Brazilian native fruits are among the most aromatic and nutritious in the world, but many of them are known only to the local population. This study aimed to address food plants arising from the Caatinga biome, as a way of showing their value and importance for local food, little known among the peoples of the Brazilian semi-arid region. This research is a systematic integrative review, the study was conducted through the following steps: elaboration of the research guiding question; search in the scientific literature for primary studies; data extraction; evaluation of primary studies; analysis and synthesis of results and presentation of the review. Were used as platform: Scielo, Google Scholar, and the CAPES Periodicals Portal, using the descriptors and keywords. This fact is probably related to the lack of knowledge on the part of producers, the industry and the population about the native fruit and its food and nutritional potential. Although there is a lot of research on the biodiversity of the caatinga, there are still few studies about food plant species, their value and potential, thus, more research is needed so that local communities in the semiarid region can preserve them and, also, with a view to disseminating these diversities.