Vol. 10, Issue 8 (2021)

Author(s):
RK Naresh, M Sharath Chandra, NC Mahajan, Pradeep Kumar Singh, Aryan Baliyan, Prashant Ahlawat and Polepaka Shalini

Abstract:
Far too many individuals are suffering from hunger and under nutrition: nearly 690 million people are undernourished; 144 million children suffer from stunting, a sign of chronic under nutrition; 47 million children suffer from wasting, a sign of acute under nutrition; and in 2018, and 5.3 million children died before their fifth birthdays, in many cases as a result of under nutrition. The promotion of NUS in any country, regardless of its state of development, is an opportunity to promote and make use of the crop diversity and associated food traditions present at the local level, which are the unique expression of the work of generations of farmers and users. Safeguarding such a heritage is an important contribution to protecting the identity of local communities and reinforcing their self-esteem and confidence to counteract threats of standardization of local food culture arising from globalization trends and changes in life styles. NUCS are important source of household incomes and substantially contribute to poverty reduction. However, most of the species are rich in nutrients and have some proven medicinal values and the promotion of their use would help in combating malnutrition and improving the health status of the local populations. The100 g edible portion of dried seeds of Macrotyloma geocarpum contain water 9.7 g, energy 1457 kJ (348 kcal), protein 21.3 g, fat 1.1 g, carbohydrate 66.6 g, fibre 5.5 g, Ca 103 mg, P 392 mg, Fe 15.0 mg, zinc (4.42 to 4.92 mg), potassium (235.73 to 341.94 mg), thiamin 0.76 mg, riboflavin 0.19 mg, and niacin 2.3 mg and the content of essential amino acids per 100 g food is arginine (9.3 g), histidine (2.1 g), and phenylalanine (3.2 g), tryptophan 155 mg, lysine 1280 mg, methionine 267 mg, phenylalanine 1125 mg, threonine 738 mg, valine 1209 mg, leucine 1485 mg, and isoleucine 871 mg.