Author(s):

Deepak Kumar, Satendra Kumar and Chandra Shekhar

Abstract: Green leafy vegetables have generated interest worldwide as they exhibit multiple benefits for health of human beings. This paper reviews the literature on nutritional components in some important frequently green leafy vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are major components of a healthy diet, and their sufficient daily consumption could help prevent major diseases. These vegetables may help to meet daily requirements of these and other essential nutrients, especially in individuals with marginal nutritional status. Vegetables can form the cheapest and most readily available sources of important fibers, vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids and substances that help protect you from disease particularly. The type and composition of nutritional components vary among genera and species of different edible leafy vegetables plants. The aim is to evaluate the nutritional value of these plant species and their potential impact on the nutritional status. The low caloric value of leafy vegetables makes them ideal for weight management and these are a rich source of nutrients, high in dietary fiber, low in lipids, and rich in foliate, vitamin˗C (ascorbic acid), vitamin˗K (phylloquinone), magnesium, and potassium. Mineral nutrients like iron and calcium are high in leafy vegetables than staple food grains. Also, leafy vegetables are the only natural sources of folic acid, which are considerably high in leaves of spinach, asparagus, lettuce, mustard green, colocasia green leaf and turnip green plants as compared to other leafy and non-leafy vegetables. The consumption, cultivation and possibly the commercialization of these leafy vegetables should therefore be promoted.

Pages: 2498-2502  |  11063 Views  7517 Downloads

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