Carissa carandus L. : A nutritionally important wild bio-resource

 

Carissa carandus L. : A nutritionally important wild bio-resource

 

            Carissa carandus L. is common wild plant of southwestern Maharashtra. It is known for its edible fruits. In Konkan region tender branches and tender leaves are also eaten. It is a thorny shrub growing throughout southwestern Maharashtra. It is growing in natural forests as a wild plant. In Konkan region it is used for protective hedge plantings. It belongs to family Apocynaceae. Different parts of this plant are used in various medicines. It is also mentioned as purgative and stomachic (Nizami et al., 1993). This plant is sturdy and tolerant to air pollution (Pandey, 2005), but sensitive to cement dust pollution (Iqbal and Shafiq, 2001). Fruits become dark purple seemingly black when ripe.  Ripe fruits are eaten commonly and both i.e. ripe and unripe fruits are sold in local markets. It is a seasonal bio-resource of some of the rural communities. At some places these fruits are termed as ‘Siteche Dohale’ in verhacular. In Konkan, it is observed that in addition to the ripe and unripe fruits, tender branches and tender leaves are also eaten very commonly by children. These are reddish in colour, astringent and slightly sour in taste. In vernacular these are termed as ‘Karvandache Komb’.

            Quantification of proteins, amino acids, sugars, starch, fibers, polyphenols, vitamin-C, ash, calcium and iron from the tender branches, tender leaves and unripe fruits is depicted in Table-1. Concentration of proteins and amino acids is highest in the tender leaves. Fruits are rich in sugars, starch and polyphenols. Tender branches and leaves are very rich in fibers. All the parts are rich in vitamin-C. Its concentration is higher in unripe fruits while lowest in the tender leaves. Polyphenols are also considerable in all the parts. Calcium is highest in tender branches while iron is highest in unripe fruits.

            The tender leaves, branches and unripe fruits can provide the nutrients such as proteins, amino acids, sugars and starch. Incorporation of fibers in diet is very important. Polyphenols and ascorbic acid may serve as antioxidants. Unripe fruit is the good source of iron. Therefore, the tender branches, leaves and fruits of C. carandus are important from ‘Community Health’ point of view. Especially in children these may serve as a Functional Food Supplement.

 

Table-1 : Quantification of some biochemical parameters from tender branches, tender leaves and unripe fruits of Carissa carandus L.

 

	Tender branches	Tender leaves	Unripe fruits
Proteins g/100 g	1.73	2.340	0.98
Amino acids mg/100 g	27.00	64.00	61.00
Total sugars g/100 g	2.850	5.960	10.270
Starch g/100 g	2.300	2.640	8.330
Fibers g/100 g	14.930	9.810	0.680
Polyphenols g/100 g	0.269	0.178	0.336
Vitamin C mg/100 g	190	104	226
Ash %	1.730	1.290	0.978
Calcium g/100 g	0.438	0.271	0.103
Iron mg/100 g	6.4	3.5	13.6