Nutritional and anti-nutritional analysis of wild edible plants in Hassan district of Karnataka, India

Abstract

The nutritional potential of twelve wild edible plants of Hassan district was botanically identified and analysed for their nutritional and antinutritional values. The present study showed that the crude protein varied from 0.26±0.05 g/100 g to 5.88±0.55 g/100 g for different plant species. Vitamin C was high and found to have a maximum content in fruits of Gardenia latifolia (71.2±1.7 mg/100 g), Buchanania lanzan (47.34±1.33 mg/100 g), and Canthium parviflorum (21.7±1.18 mg/100 g). In contrast, the tubers of Aponogeton echinatus has rich in carbohydrates (26.50±0.34 g/100 g). In the various wild edible plants, the energy content ranged from 83 to 158.3 kcal/100 g. Also, the minerals quantified in the fruit Grewia tiliifolia contained a fair amount of potassium (1179.6±8.35 mg/100 g) followed by calcium in Canthium parviflorum (356.2±3.75 mg/100 g), phosphorus in Buchanania lanzan (263.7±4.63 mg/100 g). We also examined at total phenolic contents, which ranged from 13.30.88 mg/100 g to 582.31.45 mg/100 g in fruits of Grewia tiliifolia and tubers of Dioscorea pentaphylla, as well as anti-nutritional factors like oxalate, which was present lowest in the fruit of Buchanania lanzan (7.8±0.72 mg/100 g). The findings show that the wild edible plants used were a good source of nutrients and could be used as a nutrition source.