FUNCTIONAL FOOD D. DHYANI1*, SHALINI DHYANI2 *Corresponding author 1. Society for Conserving Planet And Life (COPAL), Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India 2. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur, India D. Dhyani Nutritional, food and energy value of Perilla frutescens: an underutilised traditional oilseed crop of Western Himalaya, India KEYWORDS: biochemical, bhangjeera, nutrients, oilseeds Perilla frutescens has been a food supplement of hill people of Himalayan region of Uttarakhand. Due to Abstractinsufficient utilisation techniques, poor research and marketing strategies, this oil seed crop species always remain neglected. Here an effort has done to highlight the potential of this underutilised species for its better utilisation and conservation through identifying the nutritional, food and energy value of Perilla. The analysed results showed that Perilla seed contains a total of 7.6% moisture and 3.5% of ash contents. Proximate nutrient revealed a good composition of fat (43.57%), fibre (21.54%) carbohydrate (19.48%), protein (11.14%), lipids (15.43%) and organic matter (94.5%). Seed also contained imperative macronutrients in which the amount of potassium was 497.35mg/100g, magnesium was 322.43mg/100g, calcium was 226.33mg/100g and phosphorus was 212.25mg/100g. Micronutrients included significant amount of iron (16.22mg), zinc (11.6mg) and copper (1.04mg) per 100g. Besides, the energy value of 1091.45kJ was estimated for 100 g of seeds. Present investigation could be an informative database on nutritional and food potential of Perilla and could be a platform for researchers, scientists, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies to explore possibilities of endorsing, conserving and commercialising this underutilised traditional oilseed crop. INTRODUCTION aromatic crop of mint family Lamiaceae. Morphologically the plant comprises of villose stems, branching hollow, Underutilised traditional crops (UTCs) play an important square, purple or green in colour with four parallel role in diversification of cropping system together with grooves. Leaves are opposite, broadly ovate or orbicular, enhancement of nutritional and economical security in 7-13 cm long and 4.5-10 cm wide, with mucronate tips. the Himalayan regions (1). North-West Himalayan region The flowers are pink, bilabiate, androgynous, decussate, of Uttarakhand state in India is distinguished by cultivation each subtended by a single folded bract. Perianth is of over 40 traditional crop species of cereals, millets, complexed, five lobed. Inflorescence forms a spike. The pulses and oil-seeds. (2). Unfortunately, a number of sub-globose fruits are reticulate nutlets, grayish-brown, traditional crops are at the verge of extinction due to about 1.5 mm in diameter (5). P. frutescens is frequently insufficient research and development activities and used as one of the most popular garnishes and food partly because nutritional values of these crops are colorants in some Asian countries. Generally the seeds known to the wider community and local farmers are and leaves are consumed and utilised as a food source. unable to meet their economic development aspirations This is one of the most important oil crops in Korea. Seeds from cultivation of these crops (3,4). This ignorance is also and seed oil are used for condiments whereas, leaves are leading to the genetic erosion of their diversity and used as a fresh vegetable and food colouring purposes usefulness, further restricting development options for the (6). Perilla seeds are also used in preparation of tea and rural poor. Besides, the policy of supplying staple food soup (7). Seeds are consumed as a delicacy after frying grains at subsidized price, cultivation of cash crops and or in combination with cereals and vegetables in north absence or low priced market of traditional agro- east parts of India. To some extent, the expelled oil is also products jeopardised the traditional agro-biodiversity of used as a cooking medium (8). Seeds are well known for higher Himalayan region of Uttarakhand. Perilla their highly rich essential oil components. The Perilla seeds frutescens, having high food, nutritional and medicinal are considered rich in minerals, vitamins, and especially value, is one of the underutilised oil yielding traditional on poly-unsaturated fatty acids (9). The oil comprises up to crops facing threat of extinction in North West Himalayan 51% of the seed’s weight, it’s a very rich source of the region of Uttarakhand, India. omega-3 fatty acid; alpha-linolenic acid (ALA); about 50 to Perilla frutescens L. Britton, commonly known as beefsteak 60% of the oil consists of ALA. On the other hand, other poly- plant is an annual 80-100cm height herbaceous and unsaturated fatty acid derivatives are omega-6 (lioleic acid) 24 Agro FOOD Industry Hi Tech - vol 25(1) - January/February 2014 and omega-9 (oleic acid) (10). transferred to muffle furnace at 550 OC for 6 hours. The Besides, the plant has been used as an edible biologic sample was cooled in a desiccator and weighed (15). The medicine in Eastern Asia for more than a thousand years. ash in the sample was calculated as: The leaves, stems, and fruit of this plant are used individually to treat a variety of diseases (11). Asian Ash (%) = Wt of ash in sample (g) experts in medicinal herbs administered P. frutescens as ______________________ x 100 an antitussive and a medicine for respiratory diseases, as Wt of the sample (g) means of the prevention of flu, in cases of poisonings with seafood, and in cases of improper nutrition (12). It has Organic matter was determined by combustion in a been known for years that P. frutescens has antimicrobial, muffle furnace according to method no 942.05 of AOAC antibacterial, desensitizing, antiseptic, antipyretic, (16). Concentrations of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins spasmolytic, antiseizure, antiasthmatic, antitussive, and phosphorous were determined with the UV expectorant, restorative and tonic properties (13). The spectrophotometer respectively following the methods leaves are said to be helpful for asthma, colds and flus, given by Hedge and Hofreiter (17), Zak et al., (18), Layne and to regulate stomach function, while the seeds are (19), Fiske and Subbarow (20) methods. Fat content in employed for dyspnea and cough relief, phlegm seed samples was determined by extracting a known elimination, and the bowel relaxation (11). In amount of powdered seed material with petroleum ether Uttarakhand, North West Himalaya region of India, Perilla using Soxhlet apparatus (15). The content of crude fibre in frutescens L. Britton is locally known as Bhangjeera. The seed samples of P. frutescens was determined by fibre last two decades ago, it was extensively cultivated apparatus according to AOAC (15) by using the following between the altitudes of 1,000m amsl to 2,500m amsl in equation rural villages of Uttarakhand. Generally it was cultivated with the potato and rice on the bunds or as a mixed crop Crude fibre (%) = Loss of weight after ignition (g) with moong lentils, amaranth grain or finger millet (7). __________________________ x 100 Recently, the area under cultivation of this crop has Weight of Sample (g) drastically declined. Number of factors behind the loss of this valuable oil seed plants include introduction of cash Flame Photometer was used for estimating calcium and crops to the farmers field, availability of grains under potassium concentrations (21). The content of government policy, low sale price, limited market, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc were estimated by an unawareness of people lives in urban areas, atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Total energy underutilisation of seed oil and insufficient research base was calculated according to the following equations (22): data for popularising this traditional oil yielding crop. Phytochemical analysis is one of the important aspects of Energy (kcal) = 4 x (g Protein + g Carbohydrate) + 9 x (g conservation of various underutilised wild edible plants Lipid) (14). In this context the present study focuses on the Energy (kJ) = 17 x (g Protein + g Carbohydrate) + 37 x (g phytochemical analysis of P. frutescens to provide a Lipid) nutritional statistics’ impact on the modern scientific societies, environmentalist regarding conservation, Statistical analysis cultivation and popularization of this underutilized Statistical analysis (descriptive statistics) was performed traditional oil yielding crop at mass scale. using Microsoft Excel 2007. The analysed nutritive elements of Perilla seeds were expressed as means of at least 3 independent replicates and were presented as MATERIALS AND METHODS mean ± standard deviation. Plant material and sample The ripened seeds of P. frutescens were collected RESULTS AND DISCUSSION randomly from 20 healthy plants two each from 10 agriculture fields in Ghes village of Pinder valley in the The phytochemical screening of P. frutescens extract month of August 2011. The samples taken for analyses revealed that the seeds contain essential proximate were collected from single harvest. A total of 2000 g nutrients as well as a balanced profile of other seeds 100 g each from 20 healthy plants were pooled for macronutrients (Table 1). In general the Perilla seeds bio-chemical analyses. The collected seeds were packed have been studied for essential oil composition, anti- in cotton bags and kept at room temperature for further inflammatory, anti-allergic constituent, polyphenols, phytochemical experiment.