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 |
