[img][/img]Aidan fruit scientifically known as Tetrapleura tetraptera is a species of a flowering plant in the pea family native to West Africa.
It is popularly known in Ghana and Nigeria as Prekese and Uhio or Aridan respectively.

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Coming from such a competitive nutritional pea family, Aidan fruit possesses its own distinct qualities different from all other related pea tree species such as beans, clover, cowpea, honey locust, soybeans etc.

The Aidan fruit is a pod reaped when ready from an Aidan tree, thus giving it name Aidan fruit. It is mostly seen in our Ghanaian dishes such as Palm nut soup, light soup and others.

They are commonly used for purposes such as flavoring of food, giving food a nice aroma, for medicinal purposes etc. it is a funny saying that goes like “It aroma makes it difficult to hide food when cooking and even after it's cooked.”

The potential use of these fruit with some of their corresponding phytochemicals has been identified as molluscidal, antimicrobial, anticonvulsant, toxic and insecticidal. The insect repellent aspect of the fruit is due to the essential oil content giving a distinct fragrance.

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Its fragrance could be detected from a long distance due to its flavoring aroma that goes far. It has become an essential part of the West African dish that it has been transferred from old generations to today. Aidan fruit is not rare in most Ghanaians, Nigerians and other West African homes.