AGRO-SCIENTISTS ADDRESSED technical sessions on the third day of the international conference on “Post harvest technology and value addition in cereals, pulses and oilseeds” at the Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology (CSA) today.
Speaking about fenugreek seeds, Priti Mathur and Maya Choudhary of MP University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur said that it had been found to be the best agent for maintaining sugar levels in diabetes patients, if taken after appropriate processing. They said that during research they standardised and analysed fenugreek seeds for nutrient changes after processing and then the same were fed to diabetes patients for a month.
The effect was assessed by post-blood analysis and post-prandial glucose levels and lipid profile. A pre and post-blood analysis revealed a 14.16 per cent reduction in fasting and 14.68 per cent reduction in post-prandial glucose levels.
The cholesterol reduced by 12.38 per cent, triglycerides by 11.5 per cent, LDL by 19.43 per cent and VLD by 11.5 per cent, while the HDL level increased by 10.48 per cent.
It was observed that protein, iron, potassium, calcium and phosphorus increased significantly along with the soluble dietary fiber (SDF) like lysine and niacin, which too showed three to four fold increase. The gum and saponins fractions decreased marginally. Scientists said that fenugreek seeds could prove to be the best alternative to medicines taken to control blood sugar level.
{{/usCountry}}It was observed that protein, iron, potassium, calcium and phosphorus increased significantly along with the soluble dietary fiber (SDF) like lysine and niacin, which too showed three to four fold increase. The gum and saponins fractions decreased marginally. Scientists said that fenugreek seeds could prove to be the best alternative to medicines taken to control blood sugar level.
{{/usCountry}}Presenting a joint study paper on the “Under utilised legumes: Potential sources for low-cost protein”, Garima Upadhayay, Samiksha Suri, Jyoti Barthwal and Dhan Prakash from the National Botanical Rresearch Institute Lucknow, said that to meet the nutritional requirements of an ever-increasing population, it had become necessary that proper technological knowledge was acquired to explore the plant wealth.
They said that a huge quantity of leguminous seeds were wasted every year.
They also claimed that they had undertaken research on eighty five leguminous species belonging to seventeen genera for extensive analysis of their fiber, carbohydrates, ash oil fatty acids, protein and amino acid composition. Many of these leguminous could help people meet the protein deficiency, they added.
K Janardhanan, N Suchitra and other scientists said that exploitation of the pulses of tribal utility deserved urgent attention, as they were rich in property and were under utilised. They said that among the Indian tribal pulses, the velvet bean merited urgent attention as an alternate source of cost effective protein.