Job's Tears: an Unexploited Multipurpose Shrub in North Eastern Hilly Region of India

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Job's Tears: An unexploited Multipurpose Shrub in North Eastern Hilly Region of India

Rakesh Kumar 1, Narendra Kumawat 2* and U. N. Shukla 3 1Scientists (Agronomy), ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Nagaland Centre Jharnapani 797 106 2SRF, Agricultural Research Station, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner 334 006 3Assistant Professor, Jodhpur Agriculture University, Mandore, Jodhour 342304 *Email of corresponding author: [email protected]

Job’s tears plants are an ancient cereal grain most often grown as an annual, but may survive as a perennial where frosts do not occur. Job’s tears ornamental grass makes

an interesting border or container specimen. Job’s tears cultivation is easy and the plants start quickly from seed. In fact, the plant produces strings of seeds that resemble beads. These seeds make excellent natural jewelry and have a hole in the center that wire or jewelry thread passes through easily.

Introduction Job's tears are the grains of a tropical Asian grass ( Coixlacryma jobi ). These grains have a number of uses, from foods to ornaments and cultivated for thousands of years. Many Asian markets sell them in their grain sections for cooking. Beaders and craftspeople also use grains, and they may be found at beading and craft stores for this purpose. The common name for Job's tears comes from their distinctive teardrop shape, although tears are sometimes ascribed to different people, such as Mary's tears, Christ's tears, and so forth. The plant does not appear to have any religious significance, despite Biblical references in its common names, although the grains are sometimes used as the beads in rosaries. The scientific name suggests that the plant was originally known as Job's tears, whatever else it might be called, since this is what lachryma-jobi means. Many people mistakenly believe that these grains are a form of barley, probably because many markets label them as “Asian barley” or “Asian pearl barley.” In fact, barley is in an entirely different botanical genus, although two plants are in the same family. Like barley, Job's tears are dense, rich in minerals, and easy to use in a variety of recipes, so case of mistaken identity can be forgiven. Plants are also cultivated as ornamentals, incidentally, and Western gardeners may not be aware that large grains on these grasses are perfectly edible. Job’s tears is also known as Adlay (Filipino), Jagradi in Sanskrit, Sankru in Hindi, Gurgur in Bengali, Megaru in Garo, Sohriew in Khasi and Kunch in Tripuri. Job's Tears is native to East Asia and Malaysia and in U.S. has naturalized to Hawaii, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Cultivated in gardens throughout the world. Job's tears grow as a perennial in areas without frost; on the east coast, it is grown primarily

Popular Kheti ISSN: 2321 -0001 118 Kumar et al. , 2014, Pop. Kheti , 2(4): 118 -122 Popular Article as an annual. It is listed as a weed in Polynesia, Italy, Korea, Hawaii, Iran, Japan, and other areas. Job's tear is a very useful and productive grass increasingly viewed as a potential energy source. Before Zea became popular in South Asia, Coix was rather widely cultivated as cereal in India. Still taken as minor cereal, it is pounded, threshed and winnowed, as a cereal or breadstuff. The pounded flour is sometimes mixed with water like barley for barley water. Classification Coixlacryma-jobi L. Kingdom Plantae – Plants Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class Liliopsida – Monocotyledons

Subclass Commelinidae

Order Cyperales Family Poaceae – Grass family Genus Coix L.– Job's tears Species Coixlacryma-jobi L.– Job's tears

History In southern India, Job’s tears have been cultivated for at least 4000 years. The seeds are commonly found in archaeological sites. The grass is often growing in rice fields nearby and archaeologists call the seeds, rice beads. Although extensively used by Asians, the grass is considered a weed in commercial rice fields. The teardrop shaped seeds have a hard shiny coat with a hole at the tip where the flower emerges. When seed drops from the plant, another hole opens at the base which makes them perfect for stringing. In Japan, seeds are called juzudama which means prayer beads referring to the use by Buddhists for their meditations. By 1400s, this grass was cultivated in southern European monasteries. It is in the monasteries that the seeds were first called LachrimaIob (Job’s tears). Their natural colour is white, but they can be dyed shades of red, blue, green and yellow. Depending on where you are in the world, this plant goes by various names including ~ David’s tears, Saint Mary’s tears, Christ’s tears and just plain tear drops. The leaves are used as fodder in parts of India, and are especially relished by elephants. Job’s tears were introduced into China in first century A.D. by a Chinese general who conquered Tong king , where the grains were widely used as a cereal. The general became so fond of Job’s tears that he carried back several cartloads of the seeds to his own country. In Central America, strings of Job’s tears are used for the arms and legs of little seed dolls. Strings of Job’s tears were reportedly given to teething babies. Job’s tears is also used for musical instruments.

Job's Tears are Edible and Valued in the Far East During the Vietnam War, Job's Tears was a staple in South, when supplies of rice were low. Most Americans are more familiar with cereal grains such as rice, wheat, barley and corn and initially came to Japan from China and is used in traditional Japanese Kampo herbal medicine. The grain is valued as a nutritious food and has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to support beautiful hair, skin and nails, and as a digestive aide, among other claims. In some U.S. specialty markets, and China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and other parts of the world, Job's Tears is

Popular Kheti ISSN: 2321 -0001 119 Kumar et al. , 2014, Pop. Kheti , 2(4): 118 -122 Popular Article available as flakes or powder and often added to other grains and to bath products, candy, liquors, vinegar and tea. Food scientists have found that Job's Tears are a rich source of photochemical, having actions of an anti-inflammatory, as well as a detoxifying agent. Description: This annual grass is native to south-east Asia and grows to a height of around 3 feet, with knobbly, bamboo-like stems from bases of which new ‘tillers’ arise, these sometimes self- layering. The glossy deep green leaves are upto 2 inches wide with slightly wavy edges. The flowering and fruiting spikelets are insignificant, but shiny, pea-sized receptacles that enclose their bases harden in autumn to a pale bluish gray and have often been used for beads and other decorative purposes. Other than this, spikelets terminal and in upper axils, unisexual, staminate spikelets two-flowered, in twos or threes on continuous rachis; pistillate spikelets three together, one fertile, and two sterile; glumes of the fertile spikelet several-nerved, all enclosed finally in a bony beadlike involucres, the grain, white to bluish white, or black, globular orvoid, 6-12 mm long. Some selected strains are cultivated for their edible grains and perennial growing to 1-2 m. It is in leaf from May to October, in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from September to November.

Fig Fig. Job's tears plant showing inflorescence and seeds (Beads)

Properties: Diuretic, antirheumatic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, Anodyne; Anthelmintic; Antipyretic; Antispasmodic; Diuretic; Hypoglycemic; Pectoral; Refrigerant; Sedative; Tonic. Chemical composition: Per 100 g, seed is reported to contain 380 calories, 11.2 g H2O, 15.4 g protein, 6.2 g fat, 65.3 g total carbohydrate, 0.8 g fiber, 1.9 g ash, 25 mg Ca, 435 mg P, 5.0 mg Fe, 0.28 mg thiamine, 0.19 mg riboflavin, 4.3 mg niacin, and 0 mg ascorbic acid.

Popular Kheti ISSN: 2321 -0001 120 Kumar et al. , 2014, Pop. Kheti , 2(4): 118 -122 Popular Article Benefits: Job's tears, also known as adlay and coix, is a member of the grass family and popular in Asian cultures as a food source and for making jewelry. But the plant has also been used for centuries in folk medicine to treat dozens of conditions from arthritis to smallpox. A. Folk Medicine: The fruits are used in folk remedies for abdominal tumors, esophageal, gastrointestinal, lung cancers, various tumors, as well as excrescences, warts, and whitlows. This folk reputation is all the more interesting when reading that coixenolide has antitumor activity. Job's tear is also a folk remedy for abscess, anodyne, anthrax, appendicitis, arthritis, beriberi, bronchitis, catarrh, diabetes, dysentery, dysuria, edema, fever, gotter, halitosis, headache, hydrothorax, metroxenia, phthisis, pleurisy, pneumonia, puerperium, rheumatism, small-pox, strangury, tenesmus, and worms. B. Cholesterol: Diabetic mice were fed the seeds from Job's Tears plants along with a high- cholesterol diet for four weeks in a study published in the "International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research". Compared to a control group, the seed-eating mice had significantly reduced levels of total cholesterol and harmful low-density lipoprotein. C. Cancer Prevention and Treatment: Several research teams in China have studied the effects of Job's tears on cancers of colon, pancreas, lung, liver, breast and also leukemia, with promising results. One study, published in the "Journal of Ethnopharmacology" in September 2008, found extracts of Job's Tears significantly inhibited fatty acid synthase activity in the liver. D. Osteoporosis: A study published in 2008 in the "Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found that Job's tears seeds improved levels of several osteoporosis biomarkers in the blood of the mice as compared to a control group. The scientists concluded that the extracts may be capable of reversing osteoporosis in rats and could also be a helpful healthy food for osteoporosis prevention. E. Weight Loss: Obese mice were injected with extracts from Job's Tears for four weeks in research published in 2004 in the journal "Life Sciences." Compared to a control group, the mice fed the extracts had reduced body weights, food intake, fat size, adipose fat tissue mass and levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. F. Medicinal Uses: In Chinese medicine, the seeds strengthen the spleen and counteract “damp heat”, and are used for edema, diarrhea, rheumatoid arthritis and difficult urination. Drains dampness, clears heat, eliminates pus, tonifies the spleen. This herb is added to medicinal formulas to regulate fluid retention and counteract inflammation. It is very good for all conditions and diseases associated with edema and inflammation, including pus, diarrhea, phlegm, edema or abscesses of either the lungs or the intestines, and rheumatic and arthritic conditions. A tea from the boiled seeds is drunk as part of a treatment to cure warts. It is also used in the treatment of lung abscess, lobar pneumonia, appendicitis, rheumatoid arthritis, beriberi, diarrhea, edema and difficult urination. The roots have been used in the treatment of menstrual disorders. Considerations: There have been few human trials of Job's Tears, and side effects are largely unknown. A 2005 study in the "Journal of Toxicology & Environmental Health" found pregnant rats fed Job's Tears experienced a higher rate of abortions and the extracts also poisoned the developing embryos. Distribution: Native perhaps to Southeast Asia, but now rather pantropical as cultigens and weed. Listed as a serious weed in Polynesia, a principle weed in Italy and Korea, a common weed in Hawaii, Iran, Japan, Micronesia, and Puerto Rico, also in Australia, Borneo, Burma, Cambodia,

Popular Kh eti ISSN: 2321 -0001 121 Kumar et al. , 2014, Pop. Kheti , 2(4): 118 -122 Popular Article China, Congo, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Melanesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines. Ecology: Ranging from Cool Temperate Moist to Wet through Tropical Very Dry to Wet Forest Life Zones, Job's Tears is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 6.1 to 42.9 dm (mean of 31 cases = 17.9) annual temperature of 9.6 to 27.8°C (mean of 31 cases = 21.5) and pH of 4.5 to 8.4 (mean of 23 cases = 6.2). (Duke, 1978, 1979) Cultivation: Propagation by seeds, sown during monsoon (India) at rate of 6-10 kg/ha. Seed dibbled 2.5 cm deep, at spacing of 60 × 60 cm. One inter-cultivation, before the plants tiller, and shade on ground may be necessary. Sufficient rains in early stage of growth and a dry period when grain is setting are necessary for good yields. Harvesting: Crop harvested in 4-5 months after sowing. Plants are cut off at base and grain separated by threshing. Seeds are dried in sun prior to milling. Yields and Economics: Yields vary as to strains cultivated in different countries: yield of unhusked grains in Philippine Islands is about 3.5 t/ha; in Sri Lanka, 2.1 t/ha. Adlay is extensively cultivated in Philippine Islands, Indochina, Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka, and is used as an auxiliary food crop, especially as a substitute for rice. It does not enter international trade, although it is used locally in large quantities. Energy: Annual productivity ranges around 5 MT/ha, but few data are available. Duke's field observations in Panama suggest that in Tropical Fresh Water Swamp situations, standing biomass visually suggests closer to 10 20 MT/ha. In Mali, it provides only 45-53 MT fresh fodder/ha. If perennial in the tropics, there is the good possibility that 2 MT grain and 10 MT biomass could be harvested renewably, with proper soil management. Prospects in the hills: Job's tear may opt a place in uncultivated and marginal lands. Farmer’s would be willing to increase ease the area under coix cultivation if seed of new high yielding varieties is provided. There appears to be a tremendous potential for cultivating coix in the hills. The major bottlenecks of production and processing technology need to be resolved by taking research on priority areas viz., yield enhancement by increasing harvest index, synchronous maturity, lodging resistant etc. A population improvement programme for locally adapted varieties as well as programme for development of composites in coix may be undertaken by research centres located in the hills. Besides promoting coix cultivation in the upland of hills, special efforts should be made to introduce coix cultivation to uncultivated marginal and degraded lands in the hills. This will not only generate income for poor farmers but also improve structure of these lands to sustain agriculture for future generations. A concerted efforts are thus, needed by research institutions and farmers in making improvement of such a valuable crop. Research priorities • Studies on the adaptation of different land races. • Development of short duration, dwarf, synchronous maturing high yielding varieties. • Identification of sources of drought tolerance. • Search of a suitable production system for coix in the hills. • Conduct of production demonstrations in the new areas of the hills. • Development of domestic processing devices.

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