Research Article

Evaluation of Proximate and Mineral Composition of Wild Edible Leaves, Traditionally used by the Local People of Meghalaya State in India

Tapan Seal, Kausik Chaudhuri and Basundhara Pillai

The proximate composition and mineral contents of six wild edible leaves of the plant e.g., Allium porrum, Carpesium cernuum, Tricyrtis pillosa, Spilanthes acmella, Leea sambucina and Neptunia olearacea, collected from Meghalaya state in India were evaluated. These plants are used by the local people of Meghalaya state in India as their food. The present study revealed that for different plant species, the crude fat content ranged between 0.57±0.03-2.84±0.03%. The crude protein content was determined high in the leaves of Neptunia olearacea (46.24±0.02%), Allium porrum (29.53±0.03%), Spilanthes acmella (27.00±0.03%) and Leea sambucina (22.53±0.02%) while the available carbohydrate content was highest in the leaves of Leea sambucina (63.32±0.04%). The nutritive value ranged from 284.26±0.12-350.66±0.19 kcal 100 g^-1 in the various wild edible plants. Among the various macronutrients estimated in the plant samples of different wild edible plants potassium was present in the highest quantity (20.19±0.14-52.11±1.35 mg g^-1) followed by calcium (5.42±0.11-8.90±0.12 mg g^-1) and sodium (0.15±0.004-0.38±0.005 mg g^-1). Micronutrients, such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese and magnesium were analyzed in the different plant specimens. The result indicates that nutritional values and mineral contents of these leaves under investigation were richer than that of the commercial vegetables and could be used for nutritional purpose. The present study also gives an account of ethnobotanical importance of the wild plants under investigation.

PDF Fulltext XML References Citation

How to cite this article

Tapan Seal, Kausik Chaudhuri and Basundhara Pillai, 2013. Evaluation of Proximate and Mineral Composition of Wild Edible Leaves, Traditionally used by the Local People of Meghalaya State in India. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, 12: 171-175.

DOI: 10.3923/ajps.2013.171.175

URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ajps.2013.171.175

Asian Journal of Plant Sciences

Article Trend

Total views 626

Search

Authors

Tapan Seal

Kausik Chaudhuri

Basundhara Pillai

Keywords

Research Article

Evaluation of Proximate and Mineral Composition of Wild Edible Leaves, Traditionally used by the Local People of Meghalaya State in India

How to cite this article

Related Articles

Leave a Comment