In situ nutrient variability in rice landraces from garo Hills, meghalaya in North East India

Abstract

Traditional rice genotypes are valuable sources of diverse phenotypic traits. The Garos inhabiting Garo Hill Districts in Meghalaya conserve and grow numerous rice landraces. Yet the nutritive value which are pivotal trait of traditional rice genotypes remains grossly under investigated. Nutrient profiling of 32 rice landraces including 8 glutinous varieties as brown rice and their milled counterparts (5 and 10 % DoM) was carried out. Both non-glutinous and glutinous rice landraces showed mean protein content of 7.54 g/100 g (13 % c.v.), total fat 2.79 g/100 g (15 % c.v.), total dietary fiber 5.78 g/100 g (5% c.v.), ash 1.08 g/100 g (16 % c.v.) niacin 2.74 mg/100 g (23 % c.v.), pantothenic acid 2.08 mg/100 g (44 % c.v.), iron 1.28 mg/100 g (34 % c.v.), zinc 2.31 mg/100 g (16 % c.v.) and phytate 256 mg/100 g (1% c.v.). Rice landraces had significantly higher dietary fiber and lower phytate content as compared to contemporary varieties. There were no significant differences in the nutrient content between glutinous and non-glutinous genotypes. Milling resulted in substantial reduction of all nutrients even at 5% DoM and the loss was most profound for micronutrients. The substantial variability of nutrients that exist within these 32 Garo rice landraces can be used for nutrient improvement in rice