Precooking processing of bamboo shoots for removal of anti-nutrients.

Bamboo shoots being low in fat, high in dietary fiber and rich in mineral content, like an ideal vegetable have been used traditionally. Besides nutrients, bamboo shoots also contain lethal concentration of the anti-nutrient (cyanogen) that need to be removed before human consumption. Therefore an attempt has been made to find out the best processing method for confiscation of cyanogens. B. bambos, B. tulda, D. strictus and D.asper were selected for the study. Fresh and processed bamboo shoots were analyzed for their various nutritional and anti-nutritional contents. Carbohydrate content in fresh shoots of studied species ranged from 2.39%-3.6%, proteins from 1.65%-2.08%, phenols from 0.36%-0.63%, cyanogens from 0.011%-0.018%, minerals did not vary significantly among the species except potassium which ranged from 0.32%-0.52%. The shoots were processed by boiling in water and different concentrations of NaCl (1%, 5% and 10%) for different intervals (10, 15, 20 and 25 min) to achieve maximum removal of cyanogens with minimum loss of nutrients. Boiling shoots in 5% NaCl for 15 min was found to be the best method for B. bamboos, 10 min boiling in 1% NaCl for B. tulda, 15 min boiling in 1% NaCl for D. strictus and 10 min boiling in 5% NaCl for D. asper. These processing methods will be very useful in utilization of bamboo shoots as these are very simple and can be used by the local inhabitants and shoot processing industries.

Estimation of Embelin in Embelia tsjeriam-cottam Fruits by HPLC to Standardize Harvesting Time.

Embelin (2,5-dihydroxy-3-undecyl-2,5-cyclohexadiene-1,4-benzoquinone) is a phenolic compound found in the fruits of Embelia tsjeriam-cottam and is responsible for the medicinal properties of the plant Thus the fruits are harvested at a large scale before maturity leading to depletion of population. Since the chemical constituents of medicinal plants are directly associated with the harvesting time, a study was conducted in different forest areas of Chhattisgarh, India, to standardize the harvesting time of Baividang fruits on the basis of their embelin content during 2005-08. The embelin content was determined by RP-HPLC and varied from 1.09 to 5.21% (w/w). The immature fruits collected in October contain an average of 1.67% embelin whereas mature fruits collected in December on an average contain 4.64% embelin. On the basis of our findings it can be concluded that fruits should be harvested after attaining maturity to get better quality produce and also to maintain the sustainability of plant.