Solution Exchange for the Food and Nutrition Security Community Consolidated Reply

Query:  Nutrient Value of Green Leafy Vegetables - Experiences

From Vanisha Nambiar, The M S University of Baroda, Vaddodara

Posted 9 October 2007

Dear members,

The presence of phytochemicals in addition to vitamins and provitamins, in fruits and vegetables has been recently considered crucial nutritional importance in the prevention of chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. A significant inverse correlation has also been reported between total fruits and vegetables intake and cerebrovascular disease mortality. The complex mixture of phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables provide a better protective effect on health than a single phytochemical.

India’s flora comprises of 6000 species of plants used for consumption, 1/3rd of which are green leafy vegetables. Green Leafy Vegetables (GLVs) are a very good source of minerals and vitamins and when consumed regularly they can substantially improve micronutrient status of the Indian population. Several of these are used for medicinal purposes. These health promoting properties along with their rich nutrient profile make these GLVs an important nominee for their use in the food based approach to combat several public health problems of India.

However, GLV’s are highly perishable due to their high water activity, therefore methods involving removal of this moisture helps in their preservation. The percent retention of essential nutrients on dehydration using several techniques such as direct solar drying, shade solar drying, drying using electric cabinet and pretreated shade drying have been studied for different foods and they vary from 25.7 – 90%.

These dehydrated greens can also be used/incorporated into traditional recipes which if found to be acceptable could be promoted in the community as one of the strategies of food based approach for improving nutritional status.
I request the members of the FNS to share their experiences on:

1. Looking forward to a very interactive and fruitful discussion.
2. Inventory of green leafy vegetables including their chemical profile (with botanical names) identified in their areas of work.
3. Dehydration techniques used to preserve the greens along with the retention value of nutrients at several stages of drying and storage.
4. Experiences in using dried leaf powder in any large Community or National Feeding programme with acceptable recipes
5. Experiences or ideas for employment generation for women in using dried greens or associated recipes as an income generating activity

• K V Peter, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur
• Deeksha Sharma, World Health Organisation (WHO), New Delhi
• H S Sharma, Independent Consultant, New Delhi
• Kajal Pandya, Sitaram Bhartia Institute for Science and Research, New Delhi
• Anupam Paul, Agricultural Training Centre, Fulia, West Bengal
• Raj Ganguly, Independent Consultant, New Delhi
• Swarna K, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), New Delhi
• Rajeshwari Ramana, Nutrition Foundation of India, New Delhi
• Ardhendu S Chatterjee, Development Research Communication and Services Centre (DRCSC), Kolkata
• Neha Srivastava, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
• Indira Chakravarty, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata
• Susanta Roy, National Horticulture Mission, New Delhi

Summary of Responses

Comparative Experiences

Related Resources

Summary of Responses

Green Leafy Vegetables (GLVs) occupy an important place among the food crops as these provide adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals for humans. The nutritive value of greens remains underutilized due to lack of awareness and promotion of appropriate technologies for their effective utilization. Responding to the query on improving the nutritive value of food through GLVs, members highlighted on the nutritional properties, brought out constraints on their extensive use, shared experiences of the efforts towards inclusion of GLVs in the recipes and suggested ways of encouraging their use.
 
Highlighting on the enormous nutritive value of GLVs, members explained that vegetables are herbaceous, shrub, or tree origin where leaf is the edible part. The leaf contains Vitamin A, C, folic acid, riboflavin, thiamine, B carotene, minerals like iron and calcium, a lot of fiber and antioxidants. The carotene in GLVs is converted in the body into Vitamin A that prevents blindness. The nutritive value of vegetables varies with the season, type of chemical used and the variety used for cultivation. Vitamin C, B, sugar and antioxidants are comparatively less in chemically grown vegetables. The possibility of easy and cheap cultivation of GLVs with minimal labor and management was stressed.

Discussants listed various greens alongwith their chemical composition that are either grown or collected from the wild, from crop fields, field borders, wetland edges etc. They categorized these as young leaves of trees/shrubs like neem, drumstick, harsingar, papaya; leaves of vegetables like cabbage, pumpkin, chillies, sweet potatoes and beetroots that are considered to be tasty and nutritious and widely used in West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa; leaves of roselle and kenaf, sweet and bitter jute, curry leaf and bushy Bauhinia; young leaves of fruits like star fruit and star gooseberry; leaves and stems of weeds such as spiny amaranth, cockscomb and lambs quarter, commelina, centella, portulaca, talinum, brahmi, ivy-gourd etc consumed by people both in North and South India. Indigenous people consume many more kinds of leaves collected from shrubs and trees in the forest. Members also indicated various kinds of leaves consumed both in raw and cooked form like coriander, mint, basil, leafy onion, dill, fenugreek etc.

Referring to various issues and constraints in using GLVs, respondents put forward that contamination of greens with bacteria, germs, insects and other extraneous matter through water and soil is a major reason why mothers do not give them to children. There is basic lack of awareness of the fact that all greens require thorough washing under running water to remove such contaminants and prevent diarrhea. Another important point raised was wastage of 60% of fruits and vegetables due to lack of appropriate storage and preservation technologies. GLVs are delicate and highly perishable and long distance transport is not possible given the high ambient temperature and humidity, apart from other infrastructural constraints like power. Members emphasized the need to assess heavy metal and microbiological contamination of GLVs because of use of fertilizers/pesticides and sewage water for irrigation.  The increasing attraction towards western food like broccoli and red cabbage particularly in urban households cited as a reason for the decreasing demand for Indian vegetables.

Members shared experiences of the efforts made towards inclusion of GLVs in existing recipes. Nutrition Foundation of India has developed recipes that have helped inclusion of vegetables and GLVs in the existing menus so that children do not refrain from eating them. These recipes were included in visible and invisible forms to the meals served in government schools in Delhi under the Mid Day Meal Scheme. In West Bengal, small-scale trials of adding leaf powders of drumstick, fenugreek, curry leaf etc in badi, papad, sauce and soup powder keep up the quality and taste. Such recipes have ample potential for generating new livelihoods in rural areas.  Use of Cauliflower Leaf Powder (CLP) for fortification of wheat flour, rice flour and besan during preparations of a number of food items like chapati, puri, idli, dosa, pakora etc have helped in retaining the β-carotene content that help solve acute problem of Vitamin A deficiency. In Himachal Pradesh, dried leaf powders of amaranth (Chaulai) added to street foods has helped in improving the nutritional content.

Members shared the following suggestions that could encourage cultivation and use of GLVs

• Integration of GLVs, which have immense nutritive value, in the daily diet
• Concentrate on development of low cost technologies for preservation of GLVs
• Emphasis on the cooking practices during counseling or education programmes like avoiding excessive or overcooking of GLVs, avoiding frying of greens
• Find innovative ways for formulation of recipes to impair nutrient losses during cooking
• Preservation of seasonal greens to increase availability in the lean season and prevent wastage
• Encourage use of green leaf powders especially during summer months when availability of GLVs is poor, to overcome processing like washing, cleaning and cutting of GLVs /vegetables.
• Promote awareness among children about the importance of vegetables to bring about positive change in their eating habits
• Encourage use of non-conventional food crops to aid livelihood for the village women

A natural product having all known and unknown antioxidants is the answer to many of our nutrition related problems. Hence, increased intake of inexpensive, easily available, micronutrient rich vegetables is a sustainable method of increasing micronutrient intake in all segments of the population.

Comparative Experiences

Himachal Pradesh

Green Leafy Vegetables add Nutrition to Street Foods, Palampur (from   Swarna K , FAO, New Delhi )
An attempt was made to improve the nutritional quality of common Indian street foods like mathri and potato tikki with green leafy vegetables. Amaranth leaf powders were dried, the recipes were standardized and the food was supplemented with different levels of amaranth leaf powder. There was considerable improvement in the nutriitonal quality of both the food items. Read more

New Delhi

Mid Day Meal Enriched with Greens (from   Rajeshwari Ramana, Nutrition Foundation of India (NFI), New Delhi)
Extensive efforts were made by NFI to improve nutritional quality of mid day meals served in all government schools. Activities included sesitisation of students and teachers about vegetables inlcuding the greens and slight modfication of already served receipes by including greens and vegetables. This has helped in students realising the importance of vegetables and greens in their development and also appreciate the taste. Read more

Multiple States

Effective Use of Green Part of Vegetable (from   Susanta Roy, National Horticulture Mission, New Delhi)
The green leaves of cauliflower usually discarded contain more chlorophyll and B carotene. Cauliflower Leaf Powder (CLP) was produced from leafy portion by boiling and then drying the leaves.  Dried leaves were later converted into powder by an electrically operated hammer mill. These B carotene rich cauliflower leaf powder is used for fortification of wheat flour, rice flour, besan etc. Such preparapation help fight the acute Vitamin A deficiency in the country. 

Tamilnadu

Iron from Green Leafy Vegetables (from   T. N. Anuradha, Research Associate)
In a study carried out in Pannimadai village school where the students were given daily 25 g of drumstick leaves on two days and amaranthus on three days mixed with the local dish 'kootu' to supplement the school lunch, whereas Thaliyur village school children were not given any green leafy vegetables. After six months evaluation showed a considerable increase mean blood haemoglobin levels of the students receiving the green leafy vegetables. Read more

Related Resources

Recommended Documentation

Underutilized and Underexploited Horticultural Crops (from K V Peter, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur)
Book; by K V Peter; Vedams; New Delhi; 2007
Available at https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no49272.htm
Looks into leaf vegetables like agathi, chekkurmanis, waterleaf, drumstick leaf, basella and colacasia leaf that are rich in fibre, minerals and beta carotenes

From Raj Ganguly , Independent Consultant, New Delhi

Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination of Food Crops and Vegetables from Motor Vehicle Emissions in Kampala City, Uganda  
Technical Report; by Nabulo Grace; Makerere University; Kampala; September 2004
Available at http://idrinfo.idrc.ca/archive/corpdocs/119964/AGROPOLIS_TECHRPT
_2004.pdf (PDF, Size: 820 KB)
Study finds lead contamination of leafy vegetables was from aerial deposition while lead in root crops appeared from the soil similarly for Zinc

Imbibing Toxic/Heavy Metals Through Leafy Vegetables  
Article; by J. Somasundaram ; CSWCRTI, Research Centre; The Hindu; Kota; 16 November 2006
Available at http://www.hindu.com/seta/2003/11/06/stories/
2003110600110300.htm
Reports on high levels of heavy metal contamination with Cd, Zn, Cu, Mn and Pb in green leafy vegetables irrigated with sewage in Coimbatore district

From Swarna K , FAO, New Delhi

International Conference on Bitechnology Approaches for Alleviating Malnutriiton and Human Health
Abstract; University of Agricultural Sciences; Bangalore; January 2006
Available at http://www.nutritionforall.org/presentation/Conference_abstracts.pdf (PDF, Size: 1.29 MB)
Page 207 explains an effort to introduce green leafy vegetables in street food recipes like adding amaranth leaf powder

Storage of Organically Produced Crops
Report; by J.R. Bevan, C. Firth, M. Neicho; The Henry Doubleday Research Association; December 1997
Available at http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicveg/downloads/
Storage_organic_produce_report.pdf (PDF, Size: 2.15 MB)
Reviews best storage practices for organically grown green vegetables, potatoes, cereals and top fruit.

Evaluation Of Mid Day Meal Programme In MCD Schools (from Rajeshwari Ramana , Nutrition Foundation of India, New Delhi )
Scientific Report; by Sushma Sharma, Santosh Jain Passi, Salila Thomas, Hema S Gopalan; Nutriiton Foundation of India; New Delhi; 2006
Available at http://nutritionfoundationofindia.res.in/pdfs/evaluation.pdf (PDF, Size: 280 KB)
Assess the nutrition aspects of food served under mid day meal scheme and also explains various recipes to include green leafy vegetables to improve the nutritional value

From T. N. Anuradha, Research Associate

Green Leafy Vegetables
Article; Nutrition Foundation of India
http://nutritionfoundationofindia.res.in/nutrition_green.asp
Available at http://nutritionfoundationofindia.res.in/nutrition_green.asp
Illustrates green leafy vegetables are good source of calcium, iron, β -carotene (vitamin A), vitamin C and folic acid.

The Impact of the School Lunch Programme on the All Round Development of Children
Study Report; Sri Avinashilingam Home Science College for Women; Coimbatore
Available at http://education.nic.in/cd50years/r/2V/F4/2VF40F01.htm
Report emphasizes the need for the daily inclusion of green leafy vegetables in the school lunch programme.

Food Preservation
Book; National Institute of Open Schooling
Available at http://www.nos.org/SecHmscicour/english/LESSON_05.pdf (PDF, Size: 140 KB)
Provides importance of safe food preserving techniques including some simple methods to preserve the green leafy vegetables

Recommended Organizations and Programmes

National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad(from Deeksha Sharma, WHO, New Delhi))
Jamai-Osmania PO, 500 007; Tel: 91-40-27008921-27; Fax: 91-40-27019074; nin@ap.nic.in; http://www.ninindia.org/
Have conducted research and developed various awareness material on the nutritional value of green leafy vegetables

Nutrition Foundation of India, New Delhi (from Rajeshwari Ramana )

C-13, Qutab Institutional Area, 110016; Tel: 91-11-26962615; Fax: 91-11-26857814 nfi@nutritionfoundationofindia.res.in; http://nutritionfoundationofindia.res.in/index.asp
Have conducted extensive awareness among schools on the nutritional value of green leafy vegetables and introduced recipes that include GLVs in the mid day meal
Development Research Communication & Services Centre, Kolkata(from Ardhendu S Chatterjee)
58A, Dharmotola Road, Bosepukur, 700042,; Tel: 91-33-24427311 ; drcsc@vsnl.com; http://www.drcsc.org/
Have developed various publications in local language on the use and nutritional value of all greens - cultivated and wild

Recommended Portals and Information Bases

Rainbow of Nutrition (from T. N. Anuradha, Research Associate)
http://vickids.tamu.edu/nutrition/index.html
Portal provides details of different nutritional values of fruits and vegetables creatively described for children by relating the colour of vegetable to the rainbow colours

Related Consolidated Replies

Increasing Consumption of Micronutrient-dense Foods, from Anshu Sharma, Nutrition Foundation of India, New Delhi (Advice; Comparative Experiences)
Issued 19 October 2005. Available at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/food/cr/cr-se-food-18100501.pdf (PDF, Size: 200 KB)
Ways to increase consumption of nutrient-dense foods - like vegetables and fruits - by the common people for achieving greater nutritional security.

Promoting Consumption of Vegetables and Fruits through MDMP, from Shruti Marjara, Nutrition Foundation of India, New Delhi (Advice). Cross Posted with Education Community.
Issued 4 May 2006. Available at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/food/cr/cr-se-food-ed04050601.pdf (PDF, Size: 172 KB)
Ways to improve coverage and quality of MDMP through increased use of vegetables and fruits, to impact the nutritional and educational status of children