Ethnobotanical knowledge and socioeconomic potential of honey wine in the Horn of Africa

Abstract

The traditional honey wine is a ceremonial drink made locally in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The drink is known as <em>Tej</em> in Amharic (a widely spoken language in Ethiopia) and <em>Mess</em> in Tigrigna (a widely spoken language in Eritrea). It is consumed mostly during social and religious ceremonies, albeit sold in honey wine bars. It is easy to prepare with varied tastes by local people from its main components; honey, chopped stems of <em>Rhamnus prinoides</em> or roots of <em>R</em>.<em> staddo</em> and water. Honey and the shrubs used for the preparation of the wine are recognized for their medicinal importance worldwide. Particularly, after the isolation of geshoidin<em>,</em> a bitter glycoside from <em>R. prinoides</em>, that is currently being investigated for its role in providing novel-pharmacological leads for Alzheimer’s treatment. On the other hand, <em>R. staddo</em> has been investigated for potential antimalarial candidate. These with other beneficial metabolites from the shrubs call for a wider investigation into the medicinal benefits of the honey wine. Furthermore, considering its declining consumption, limited efforts to preserve the indigenous knowledge of preparing the drink and lack of adequate promotion, further research is needed to lead into the sustainability of drink for generations and its global usage.