Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the mineral contents and some nutritional properties of five local wild vegetable; Allium griffithianum Boiss, Buglossoides arvensis (L.) I.M.Johnst., Caralluma tuberculata (N.E.Br.) D. C. H. Plowes, Chaerophyllum reflexum Aitch, and Stellaria media (L.) Vill., from district Kurram KP, Pakistan which are associated with folk knowledge in the region. This research is the first scientific report on the nutritional composition of the above mentioned species. Among five wild species, the Buglossoides arvensis had the highest carbohydrates content (71.99 ± 0.5%) and high lipid contents (4.8 ± 0.2%). Besides that, it has the highest total energy (349.024 kcal/100 g). Stellaria media was found to have the maximum ash (22.77 ± 0.1%) and lipids (4.87 ± 0.06%). Chaerophyllum reflexum showed the highest protein content (10.5 ±0.4%) and high total energy (332.68 ± 0.3 kcal/100 g). Mineral analysis showed that the local wild vegetables contained considerable amount of minerals; Calcium (2.20 ± 0.5-1506 ± 0.06 µg/g), Potassium (3.018 ± 1.7-1272.06 ± 0.005 µg/g), Phosphorous (2.98 ± 0.01-180.01 ± 0.1 µg/g), Chromium (0.98 ± 0.6-42.9 ± 0.5 µg/g), Cobalt (0.18 ±0.005-7.7 ± 0.2 µg/g), Sodium (0.78 ± 0.5-205.53 ± 0.4 µg/g) and Copper (5.5 ± 0.4-35.06 ± 0.7 µg/g). These data suggest that wild plants from district Kurram could be useful for nutrition or other applications. For instance, Caralluma tuberculata contains the highest number of mineral elements, which has been traditionally used as an anti-diabetic, blood purifier and for weight loss.
Highlights
All living creatures need food for survival
The aim of this research was to investigate the mineral contents and some nutritional properties of 5 uninvestigated wild plants (Stellaria media, Buglossoides arvensis, Caralluma tuberculata, Chaerophyllum reflexum and Allium griffithianum), which have been consumed as vegetables by local communities of the district of Kurram
While minerals analysis was carried out using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS): calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, chromium, cobalt and copper were analyzed using AAS, while Sodium and potassium were analyzed by flame photometry and phosphorous was analyzed by colorimetric method
Summary
All living creatures need food for survival. Increasing global population, the people have been suffering from malnutrition due to the unavailability of a balanced diet (1). Wild vegetables could be a cheap and good source of energy for human beings, in rural areas of the world (2, 3). Balanced food mainly depends upon the relative concentration of food supplements i.e. minerals, carbohydrates and vitamins in the diet (4). The vegetable food consumers are more than 85 - 90 % based mainly on staple food. It is a fact that in many parts of the world, wild edible plants have been a greater contribution to the daily intake of food (5-8). It is estimated that more than 3,50,000 various plant species have been identified, but a limited number, around 80,000 are considered as safe for human consumption (2, Plant Science Today, ISSN 2348-1900 (online)
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