EVALUATION OF NUTRIENT AND NUTRACEUTICAL COMPOSITION IN SELECTED CULTIVARS OF SAFFLOWER (Carthamus tinctorius L.) LEAVES AT DIFFERENT GROWTH STAGES
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Date
2015
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PROFESSOR JAYSHANKAR TELANGANA STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, RAJENDRANAGAR, HYDERABAD
Abstract
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), a multipurpose crop, has been grown for
centuries in India for the orange-red dye (carthamin) extracted from its brilliantly colored
flowers and for its quality oil rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid, 78%). The
tender leaves, shoots and thinnings of safflower are used as pot herb, green leafy vegetable
and salad. Bundles of young plants are commonly sold as a green vegetable in markets in
India and some neighboring countries. The thinned out plants are harvested during thinning
and are consumed as leafy vegetable in many parts where the crop is grown. As the crop
matures, the bottom leaves are also consumed during various stages till the completion of
flowering stage. A study was taken up to study the “Nutrient and nutraceutical composition
in various cultivars of Safflower leaves” during different stages of maturity.
The results of proximate analysis revealed that, the moisture content was higher at
the earlier stages (30th day) as compared to 50th and 70th day in all the four cultivars of
Safflower leaves. The carbohydrates content was higher during 30th day as compared to 50th
day and 70th day in Annigeri-1, TSF-1 and NARI-6 varieties. Protein content varied
between 2.51 to 4.04g/100g during all maturity stages in all the four cultivars studied. The
fat content in the Safflower leaves was found to increase in all four cultivars from 30th day
to 50th day to 70th day. This could be due to the fact that Safflower being an oilseed crop,
the oil component increases in the leaves also as the plant matures. The crude fiber analysis
results indicate Safflower leaves are a very rich source of crude fiber ranging from 8.77 to
9.58g/100g during various stages of maturity in the four cultivars. The ash content of
Safflower leaves ranged between 13.68 to 17.36% which indicates that Safflower leaves are
a rich source of minerals. The energy values of Safflower ranged between 58.82 to
111.44kcal/100g. Results of iron and calcium estimation show that Safflower leaves are rich sources
of both iron 3.42 – 5.33mg/100g) and calcium 240 – 333.33mg/100g) during various stages
of maturity in all four cultivars. However, the differences in the calcium and iron content
were not statistically significant, indicating that consumption of safflower leaves at any
stage from any cultivar would give almost similar calcium and iron content.
The total carotenoids content was highest during the 30th day in all the four cultivars
ranging from 7122.56 - 14892.80μg/100g, while it was lowest during 70th day ranging from
1476.00 – 4066.40μg/100g indicating that the stage of maturity does have a remarkable
influence on the total carotenoid content. The results showed that, as the stage of maturity
increased, there was a significant decrease in the total carotenoid content of Safflower
leaves. The results indicate that, ascorbic acid content was highest during 50th day in
Annigeri-1 and Manjira, whereas it was highest on 70th day in NARI-6 variety. The results
also indicate that TSF-1 is a poor source of ascorbic acid when compared to Annigeri-1,
Manjira and NARI – 6.
The DPPH scavenging activity and total flavonoids of Safflower leaves were higher
at 30th day while superoxide anion activity and total phenolics were higher at later stages
(70th day and 90th day in NARI-6 variety). This shows that the Safflower leaves exhibits
antioxidant activity at various stages through different mechanisms such as acting as weak
oxidant, scavenging singlet oxygen molecules (Superoxide anion activity and total
flavonoids) when consumed at earlier stages and scavenging hydrogen peroxide radicals
when consumed at matured stages (DPPH activity and total phenols). Hence, consumption
of the safflower leaves at any stage of maturity provides antioxidants to the diet.
Two products namely Safflower leaves roti and Safflower leaf powder “Karam
podi” were prepared during different stages of maturity with Annigeri-1, Manjira, TSF-1
and NARI-6 varieties and sensory evaluation was performed. Results of sensory evaluation
revealed that 35% percent incorporation of Safflower leaves in roti and 15% incorporation
of Safflower powder in “Karam podi” sample had high scores for overall acceptability and
there was not much difference among the cultivars used in the study. Hence, from this it
can be interpreted that 35 and 15 percent incorporation of fresh and dried leaf powder
respectively had no detrimental effects on sensory attributes and there was no statistically
significant difference among the cultivars.
The results of the study show that, the optimum period to harvest Safflower leaves
to be consumed as vegetable can be done during any stage of maturity - 30 days, 50 days
and 70 days for spiny varieties of Safflower like Annigeri-1, Manjira and TSF-1, where as
non spiny varieties like NARI-6 can be consumed up to 90 days. There is a very good
distribution of carbohydrates, proteins, fiber, iron, calcium, carotenoids, antioxidants during
all the stages of maturity though the content varies during the stages of maturity. Hence,
harvesting age is not very crucial in case of Safflower leaves to be consumed as a green
leafy vegetable but availability of the safflower leaves all through the year is more crucial.
Safflower leaves and leaf powder which are potential sources of nutrients and antioxidants
during various stages of maturity, can be popularized as a green leafy vegetable for
attainment of nutritional security.
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Keywords
developmental stages, crops, fruits, biological phenomena, diseases, acidity, antioxidants, planting, vitamins, aromatic compounds