Comparative Nutritional Study and Minimal Processing of Dark Green Leaf Vegetables Found in Batticaloa District

Abstract

The study dealt with the relationship between consumption patterns and the method of minimal processing of dark green leafy vegetables.Tenindigenous varieties of Dark Green LeafyVegetables (DGLV) were analyzed in ten villages of the Batticaloa district. The study showed clear differences in consumption pattern of the DGLVamong the tested individuals. Alternanthera sessili, Dregea volubilis and Moringa pterygota widely consumed in all the ten villages. A. sessili, D. volubilis, Solanum trilobatum and Sesbania grandiflora were available throughout the year. Other six leafy vegetables are mostly available during the rainy seasons of the year. There was a wide spread awareness of basic nutrition principles associated with preparation of various categories of people sampled. There was a clear preferential pattern to someDGLVs which was not related to any variables. All ten DGLVs that are consumed in the local villages were analyzed for nutritional composition, minerals, - carotene and ascorbic acid content. The protein ranged from1.90 – 3.86%,fatfrom0.16 – 2.6%,fiberfrom9.4 – 19.7%andmineralsfrom1.1 – 3.8%. The moisture contentof theDGLVs ranged from 75.6 – 87.6%, ascorbic acid ranged from 4.6 – 12.5 mg/100g and - carotene from 3440 – 7174 μg/100g. Minimal processing and shelf life of DGLVs were analyzed with sensory evaluation and were found to be suitable for minimal processing with no significant difference in nutritional and sensory qualities during processing and storage.