Everything You Should Know About Nabag (Ziziphus Spina-Christi)

Nabag is a popular fruit in Sudan, commonly eaten as a snack. It is known as Sidr in the Middle East and the Levant region. The binomial name for Nabag is ziziphus spina-christi, and is also known as the Christ’s thorn jujube. It is an evergreen tree or plant native to Africa, the Levant and the Middle East.

The tree

Zizyphus is a genus of 100 species of deciduous or evergreen trees, and spiky shrubs throughout the world in temperate and subtropical climates. It is drought tolerant and heat-resistant.

The shrub, sometimes a tall tree, reaches a height of 20 m and a diameter of 60 cm. Its bark is light-grey, very cracked, scaly; trunk twisted; very branched, crown thick; shoots whitish, flexible, drooping; thorns in pairs, one straight, the other curved. Its leaves are glabrous on upper surface, finely pubescent below, ovate-lanceolate or ellipsoid, apex acute or obtuse, margins almost entire, lateral veins conspicuous.

The fruit

The cherry-like fruit is a delicacy with bitter-sweet pulp of fruit that can be dried and milled to produce a fine flour. The fruits are small and round (1.5 cm in diameter), and are brown-yellowish when ripe. The ripe fruits can be eaten raw. The fruit is a rich source of bioactive compounds.

Its health benefits

The fruits are applied on cuts and ulcers. They are also used to treat pulmonary ailments and fevers and to promote the healing of fresh wounds, for dysentery. In folklore medicine, siziphus spina-christi has been used for the treatment of some diseases, such as digestive disorders, weakness, liver complaints, obesity, urinary issues, diabetes, skin infections, loss of appetite, fever, pharyngitis, bronchitis, anemia, diarrhea, and insomnia. The leaves are applied locally to sores, and the roots are used to cure and prevent skin diseases. The seeds are sedative and are taken sometime with buttermilk to halt nausea, vomiting and abdominal pains associated with pregnancy. The leaves are applied as poultices and are helpful in liver troubles, asthma and fever. Ziziphus spina-christi extract has also been reported to possess protective effect against aflatoxicosis, a fungal toxicosis that may result in death, and anti-conceptive properties in the rat and have a calming effect on the central nervous system. Flavonoids, alkaloids, triterpenoids, saponins, lipids, proteins, free sugar and mucilage are the main important compounds characterised in this plant.

Its useful

The fruits of ziziphus spina-christi have a number of other beneficial applications that include the use of leaves as fodder, branches for fencing, wood as fuel, for construction and furniture making, and the utilisation of different parts such as fruits, leaves, roots and bark in folk medicine. 

Nabag in Sudan

Nabag in Sudan is widely consumed. It is sold by street vendors in local markets. Nabag powder is also consumed as is, and also used to make Nabag sweetmeat, which in recent years, companies have begun to make and sell.