Evaluation of Nutritional Potential of Five Unexplored Wild Edible Plants Consumed by the Tribal People of Arunachal Pradesh State in India

Tapan Seal^1, , Basundhara Pillai¹ and Kausik Chaudhuri¹

¹Plant Chemistry Department, Botanical Survey of India, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur, Howrah-711103, West Bengal, India

Cite this paper:
Tapan Seal, Basundhara Pillai and Kausik Chaudhuri. Evaluation of Nutritional Potential of Five Unexplored Wild Edible Plants Consumed by the Tribal People of Arunachal Pradesh State in India. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2017; 5(1):1-5. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-5-1-1

Abstract

The nutritional potential of five wild edible plants e.g. fruits of Melodinus khasianus, leaves of Solanum nigrum, Phytolacca acinosa, Piper pedicellatum and Pouzolzia hirta collected from Arunachal Pradesh in India, were assessed by determining their proximate and mineral's composition. These undomesticated eatable plants form an important constituent of traditional subsistences in Arunachal Pradesh. The present study divulged that for different plant species, the crude fat content ranged between 0.60±0.05 - 6.39±0.03 %. The crude protein content was determined high among the leaves of P. acinosa (21.90±0.02%), P. pedicellatum (21.22±0.03%) and S. nigrum (21.18±0.01 %) while the carbohydrate content was highest in the fruits of M. khasianus (80.88±0.13 %). The energy content ranged from 325.83±2.40 – 409.90 ±0.66 kcal/100g in the various wild edible plants. Among the various macronutrients estimated in the plants under study, potassium was present in the highest quantity (13.74±0.24- 75.72±0.45 mg/g) followed by calcium (12.07±0.32-25.73±0.07 mg/g) and sodium (0.21±0.01-0.42±0.002 mg/g). The micronutrients, such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese and magnesium were analyzed. The result indicates that nutritional values and mineral contents of these plants under investigation were richer than that of the commercial vegetables and could be used for the nutritional purpose. The present study also gives an account of ethnobotanies significance of the wild plants under investigation.

Keywords:
nutritional value of wild plants proximate composition mineral contents Arunachal Pradesh India

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