Tag: Rice

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Herbs & Plants

Rice

Botanical Name : Oryza sativa
Family: Poaceae
Genus:     Oryza
Species: O. sativa
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class:     Liliopsida
Order:     Poales

Synonyms: Nivara. Dhan. O. montana. O. setegera. O. latifolia. Bras.

Common Name : Rice or paddy

In bengali dhan or chal

Part Used:The seeds.

Habitat:Rice is native to the tropics and subtropics of Southeast Asia, rice is now cultivated in many localities throughout the world with favorable climatic conditions. More than 90% of the world rice production is in Asia; China and India being the largest producers .

Description:
Rice is an annual plant with several jointed culms or stems from 2 to 10 feet long,(depending on the variety) the lower part floating in water or prostrate, with roots at the nodes, the rest erect. The panicle is terminal and diffuse, bowing when the seed is weighty. It is probably indigenous to China, and certainly to India, where the wild form grows by tanks, ditches and rivers. It was early introduced into East Africa and Syria, and later into America, where it already appears as a native plant. In Europe, rice was brought into the Mediterranean basin from Syria by the Arabs in the Middle Ages, but is now grown largely only in the plain of Lombardy, and a little in Spain. In England it has been cultivated merely as a curiosity, and may be seen in the hothouses of most botanic gardens, treated as a water plant. The Cingalese distinguish 160 kinds, while 50 or 60 are cultivated in India, not including the wild form, from which the grain is collected, though it is never cultivated. Most kinds require irrigation, but some need little water, or can be grown on ordinary, dry ground.
Oryza (the classical name of the grain), or the husked seeds, is called Bras by the Malays, and Paddy when it is enclosed in the husk. Carolina and Patna rice are the most esteemed in England and the United States. The grain of the first is round and flat, and boils soft for puddings; the latter has a long and narrow grain that keeps its shape well for curries, etc.

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The flour procured from the seeds is called Oryzae Farina, or rice flour, commonly known as ground rice.

The granules of rice starch are the smallest of all known starch granules.

A kind of spirit called Arrack is sometimes distilled from the fermented infusion, but the name Arrack is usually applied to Palm wine or Toddy.

Cultivation:
Rice should be planted on a smooth seedbed. In United States rice is seeded in spring at rate of 101–123 kg/ha when drilled and 130–225 kg/ha when broadcast; on virgin land, 140–145 kg/ha. This will give 80–300 plants/m2 0.1 sq. m. Cover seed 3.7–5 cm, or broadcast in water with airplane. In some countries (as India, Malaya, Philippines, China, Japan, and Spain), rice is transplanted into fields when 25 cm high, spaced 10–20 cm apart in 20–30 cm rows. Thirty-five laborers can plant 1 ha/day. Plant in very low water and then increase depth. Transplanting makes better use of limited land areas. Tipar (Upland) culture is still found in Sumatra, Thailand, Borneo, and the Philippines. It represents a primitive kind of culture and is of slight overall importance. Rice is sown 3–4 cm deep in holes 15 cm apart on hillsides where no irrigation is possible. Fields are worked as corn fields; crop rotation is practiced with bananas or sugar cane; yields are small. Continuous rice culture depletes soil nutrition and lowers yield. Rotations with soybeans, grain sorghums or small grains, vetch, safflower, field beans, burclover, horsebeans, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, lespedeza, or corn, have been used. Nitrogen to 90 kg/ha was found to increase yields; beyond that no further increase. Potash and phosphorus are used only on the basis of soil tests. All phosphorus and potassium and some nitrogen should be applied at time of seeding; the rest of the nitrogen at mid growing season as a top-dressing. Flood soon afterwards to eliminate weeds. Other fertilizers which are used; as rice straw, rice ash, stable manure, buffalo dung, green manure, fish guano, fish meal, natural manure, and human feces.

Ediable Uses:
Rice is cultivated primarily for the grain which forms an important part of the diet in many countries, especially in Asia.It is a staple food for many countries of the world. Grains are quite nutritious when not polished. In the US, 60% of domestic rice consumption went into direct food use, 11% into processed food, and 29% into beer production around 1975 (Rutger, 1981). US per capita consumption is between 3 and 4 kg/yr, up from 2.7 a few years ago (cf >50 kg in portions of Latin America). Common or starchy types are used in various dishes, cakes, soups, pastries, breakfast foods, and starch pastes; glutinous types, containing a sugary material instead of starch, are used in the Orient for special purposes as sweetmeats. Rice bran contains 15–17% oil, and is a source of vitamin B, used as a preventative and cure of beriberi. Grain is also used to make rice wine, Saki, much consumed in Japan. Fermented or Sierra rice is consumed in the Andean highlands and is used exclusively there in the preparation of dry rice.

Medicinal Uses:
According to Hartwell (1967–1971), the seeds are used in folk medicine for breast cancers, stomach indurations, other tumors, and warts. Reported to be antidotal, aperitif, astringent, demulcent, diuretic, excipient, larvicidal, refrigerant, stomachic, tonic, and vermifuge, rice is a folk remedy for abdominal ailments, beriberi, bowels, burns, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspepsia, epistaxis, fever, filariasis, flux, hematemesis, inflammations, jaundice, nausea, ophthalmia, paralysis, piles, psoriasis, skin ailments, sores, splenosis, stomach ailments, and swellings (Duke and Wain, 1981). According to Duke and Ayensu (1984), the flowers are dried as cosmetic and dentifrice in China, awns are used for jaundice in China. The stem is used for bilious conditions; ash for discharges and wounds, sapraemia in Malaya; infusion of straw for dysentery, gout, and rheumatism. The husk is used for dysentery and considered tonic in China. In China, rice cakes are fried in camel’s fat for hemorrhoids; rice water is used for fluxes and ulcers and applied externally for gout with pepper in Malaya. Boiled rice is used for carbuncles in Malaya and poulticed onto purulent tumors in the East Indies. The root is considered astringent, anhidrotic, and is decocted for anuria. Sprouts are used for poor appetite, dyspepsia, fullness of abdomen and chest, and weak spleen and stomach in China. The lye of charred stems (merang, Indonesia) is used as a hair wash and used internally as an abortifacient. In the Philippine Islands, an extract (tikitiki), rich in antineuritic B1 vitamin, made of rice polishings, is used in treatment of infantile beriberi and for malnutrition in adults. In Java, the vitamins are extracted and supplied as lozenges.

Other Uses: Rice hulls are sometimes used in the production of purified alpha cellulose and furfural.  Rice straw is used as roofing and packing material, feed, fertilizer  and biomass fuel.

A few years ago the injurious habit of chewing the raw white grains was practised by fashionable women and girls to produce a white velvety complexion.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Oryza_sativa.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryza_sativa
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/r/rice–15.html

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News on Health & Science

The colour brown

It’s not just the fibre and vitamins; wholegrain brown rice has a compound that may protect you from high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

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Replacing that familiar mound of white on your plate with a brown variety may do a world of good to your heart. Nutritionists have known for a while that brown rice is healthier, and been exhorting rice eaters to choose the wholegrain brown type instead of polished white ones. Brown rice, they said, is rich in certain minerals and vitamins and dietary fibre, which are lost in white rice following milling and polishing.

But that’s not the end of its goodness, it now emerges. A recent study by a team of US and Japanese scientists points to the “clinical significance” of brown rice. The researchers have found that brown rice contains a compound — which is, however, yet to be isolated and identified — that offers protection against high blood pressure and cardiovascular ailments. The compound is located in a layer surrounding the grain, called subaleurone layer, which is stripped off when the milled grain is polished to a shine. This layer lies between the white centre of the grain and the brown fibrous outer layer, and is abundant in certain beneficial carbohydrates and dietary fibre. It also accounts for a good measure of nutrients such as magnesium and iron, and vitamins like niacin, vitamin B1 and vitamin B6.

More significantly, the scientists found that a new milling process developed by a Japanese firm three years ago allows the rice to retain the subaleurone layer. Thisrice, available only in Japan, has a golden tinge and appears similar to brown rice, but tastes more like white rice as it is not tough and chewy like the other.

The scientists, led by Satoru Eguchi of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, found that when an extract of subaleurone compounds dissolved in ethyl acetate was applied to vascular smooth muscle cells cultured in a dish, it inhibited the activity of angiotensin II, a hormone strongly implicated in hypertension and atherosclerosis. Vascular smooth muscle cells are typical cells found in the walls of blood vessels. Their contraction and relaxation in tune with the local blood pressure and blood volume is responsible for the distribution of blood to different organs in the body. Excessive constriction of smooth muscle cells in normal blood vessels leads to hypertension, while in the case of heart muscles it leads to a hardening of the arteries.

“We strongly believe the compound may be present in all rice varieties (including those consumed in India), even though its strength may vary,” says Eguchi.

The researchers say that the compound apparently inhibits the production of angiotensin II by interfering with the body’s signalling mechanism that orders its conversion from angiotensin I, which is relatively harmless. Many modern drugs for blood pressure already target enzymes that trigger the production of angiotensin II.

“Our research suggests that there is a potential ingredient in rice that may be a good starting point for looking into preventive medicine for cardiovascular diseases,” says Eguchi. Such health benefits may accrue if half-milled or brown rice is included in the diet, he adds.

“Studies in the past have only partly answered what the mechanism behind this is. The particular compound which offers the benefit is yet to be identified,” Eguchi told KnowHow. The Japan-born scientist, who has been studying the beneficial effects of the subaleurone layer of rice for the last three years, says work is on to identify the compound and elucidate its chemical composition.

“This is an interesting find,” says Kanwaljit Chopra, associate professor at the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Punjab University, Chandigarh. “The study indicates the possibility of a promising drug molecule from rice for cardiovascular protection.” Chopra herself has worked on a compound called tocotrienol, which is abundant in rice and oil palm and has shown that it may have potential benefits for people suffering from diabetes-related kidney problems.

“Angiotensin II is a big villain when it comes to atherosclerosis,” she says. The Punjab University professor, however, feels there is a need for the scientists to identify the compound and repeat similar results in animals and humans before claiming that the study is a success.

Another study by a team of researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health last year had shown that eating two servings of brown rice every week lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 16 per cent. The research, led by Qi Sun — who subsequently moved to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston — showed that dietary fibre, found abundantly in brown rice, helps deter diabetes by slowing the rush of sugar into the blood stream.

White rice comparison:
Brown rice and white rice have similar amounts of calories, carbohydrates, and protein. The main differences between the two forms of rice lie in processing and nutritional content.

When only the outermost layer of a grain of rice (the husk) is removed, brown rice is produced. To produce white rice, the next layers underneath the husk (the bran layer and the germ) are removed, leaving mostly the starchy endosperm.

Several vitamins and dietary minerals are lost in this removal and the subsequent polishing process. A part of these missing nutrients, such as vitamin B1, vitamin B3, and iron are sometimes added back into the white rice making it “enriched”, as food suppliers in the US are required to do by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

One mineral not added back into white rice is magnesium; one cup (195 g) of cooked long grain brown rice contains 84 mg of magnesium while one cup of white rice contains 19 mg.

When the bran layer is removed to make white rice, the oil in the bran is also removed. Rice bran oil may help lower LDL cholesterol.

Among other key sources of nutrition lost are small amounts of fatty acids and fiber.

You may click to see:Neutrition facts & analysis of brown rice

This leaves no room for doubt that brown is better.

Source : The Telegraph ( Kolkata, India)

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Herbs & Plants Lentils

Mung

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Botanical Name :Phaseolus aureus Roxb.
Other scientific names ,Phaseolus mungo Blanco ,Phaseolus radiatus Merr.
Family :Fabaceae
Common Names :Balatong (Tag., Ibn., If., Ilk.),Mongo (Tag.),Mungo (Tag., Bis.) ,Mungos (Tag.) , Mongo bean (Engl.)  , Mung bean (Engl.) ,Green gram (Engl.)

Bengali name:  Mung dal

Habitat:The mung bean is native to Southwest Asia, where it was first cultivated 5,000-6,000 years ago. Currently it is grown in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Burma, China, Vietnam, Japan, and elsewhere. In the USSR it is grown in Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasia, and southern Kazakhstan (in small fields), using irrigation; it is planted in the spring or after the harvest. The seed yield of the mung bean is 10-16 centners per hectare; the foliage yield, up to 200 centners per hectare.

It is widely cultivated in warm regions of India and Indonesia and United States for forage and especially its edible seeds; chief source of bean sprouts used in Chinese cookery; sometimes placed in genus Phaseolus.


Description:
Erect, annual herb branching at the base, clothed with spreading brownish hairs. Leaves are long-petioled, compound, with three leaflets that are ovate and entire, broad based with pointed tips, 8 tto 15 cm long, the lateral ones inequilateral. The flowers are golden yellow, about 1 cm long, arranged near the end of the short stalks.

click to see the pictures..>....(1).…….(2).…...(3).…...(4)..…(.5)
The pods (beans) are narrow and cylindrical; they may be straight or curved, are 8-15 cm long, and contain seven to ten seeds. The ripe pods are nearly black. The seeds are rounded and cylindrical or barrel-shaped and may be green, yellow, or brown; 1,000 seeds weigh 25-80 g. The growing period for early ripening varieties in the USSR (such as Pobeda 104) is 80-100 days. The plants are heat- and moisture-loving. The seeds contain 24-28 percent protein, 46-50 percent starch, 2-4 percent oil, and vitamins. Mung beans are used as food in the form of groats, and the green beans and blanched sprouts are used as vegetables. The foliage is dried, ensiled, and plowed under as green manure; the straw and chaff are fed to livestock.

Chemical constituents and properties:-
*Seeds are high in carbohydrate (>45%) and protein (>21%); fair source of calcium, iron, vitamins A and B. deficient in vitamin C.
*Sprouts are a good source of vitamin B.
*Seeds are tonic and aperient.
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Edible Uses:
Extensively used in Philippine cuisine, in salads or boiled, in soups or stews. Mung is eaten in most part of Asian countries.

Medicinal Uses:
Folkloric
*Decoction of seeds as diuretic.
*The seeds, boiled or raw, used in poultices.
*Roots are thought to be narcotic, used for bone pains.
*Seeds, internally and externally, used for rheumatism and a variety of nervous system ailments.
*The seeds are used for hemorrhoids and liver afflictions.
*Powdered beans used to promote suppuration.
*Seeds used in anorexia.

Studies
• Hypotensive: The hypotensive effects of green bean (Phaseolus aureus), common rue (Ruta graveolens) and kelp (Laminaria japonica) in rats: All extracts in the PA study contained bioactive proteinaceous substances and were hypotensive.
• Anti-irritation: Clinical studies on the anti-irritation effects of mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) extract in cosmetics: The study of extracts applied to irritant-containing cosmetic formulations showed considerable anti-irritation efficacy and suggesting a potential use for cosmetic products.
• Cardiovascular: The cardiovascular effects of green beans (Phaseolus aureus), common rue (Ruta graveolens), and kelp (Laminaria japonica) in rats: Green beans (P aureus) showed negative chronotropic effect on isolated right atria. The plants showed a variety of effects and explains why herbs, as in herbal medicine, should be used together therapeutically.
• Hypolipidemic / Antiatherogenic: Changes in serum lipids in normal and diabetic guinea pigs on feeding Phaseolus aureus (Green gram): Study showed green gram feeding showed lowering of both free and esterified fractions of cholesterol, significant loweriing of triglycerides and decreased the total cholesterol / phospholipid ration indicating its antiatherogenic nature.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.


Resources:
http://www.stuartxchange.com/Mongo.html
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Phaseolus+aureus

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Pediatric

Get the White Out of Baby’s First Foods

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Almost every childcare book offers the same advice about a baby’s first solid meal — start them first on rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula. This has been received wisdom for 60 years.

But this is because in the 1950’s, baby food companies launched an advertising blitz trumpeting the benefits of white rice cereal.

But there is no scientific basis for this recommendation. None at all. And now, concerned about increasing childhood obesity, some pediatricians want to change how babies eat.

If babies are getting used to the taste of highly processed white rice and flour, it could set them up for a lifetime of bad habits.

USA Today reports:

“White rice — after processing strips away fiber, vitamins and other nutrients — is a ‘nutritional disaster’ … White rice and flour turn to sugar in the body ‘almost instantly,’ … raising blood sugar and insulin levels.”

Every mother need to know:
According to nutrition experts, white rice is the wonder bread of grains, stripped off of most of its nutritional value, including fiber, vitamins and minerals. White rice and white flour turn to sugar almost instantly in our bodies, spiking blood sugar levels.

Brown rice should be chosen by parents, and by building a preference for it from day one, toddlers growing into childhood will come to enjoy brown whole rice in its normal form for many years to come.

Aside from rice, it’s good to get your child used to as many types of veggies and fruit as possible early on, adding a new one to the plate every few days. Good entry points are:

* bananas – choose a ripe, just-about-to-brown banana and mash it well with the back end of a fork til smooth.
* carrot, zucchini, squash – peel, boil in water until soft, the mush with the back end of a fork until smooth.
Click to see : Baby’s first foods till one year old

Resources:
USA Today December 1, 2010

What should be  Baby’s First Solid Food

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Herbs & Plants Lentils

Cajanus cajan (Pegion pea)

Botanical Name :Cajanus cajan (Linn) Millsp.
Other scientific names:  Cystisus cajan, Cystisus pseudo-cajan  ,Cajan inodorum  ,Cajanus bicolor,Cajanus indicus
Family :Fabaceae

Genus: Cajanus
Species: C. cajan
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales

Synonyms:Cajanus indicus Spreng. (Valder 1895) and Cytisus cajan (Crawfurd 1852)

Common Names :Arhar, Red gram, Pigeon pea, Gablos (Tag.) ,Kadios (Mang., Tag., P. Bis.) ,Kagyos (Tag.) ,Kaldis (Ig., Ilk.)   Kagyas (Tag.) ,Kalios (Tag.) , Kardis (Ibn., Ilk., Ig.) ,Kidis (Ilk., Bon.) ,Kusia (Ig., If.) , Tabios (Bik., C. Bis.) ,Guandu (Brazil) .Pigeon pea (Engl.),toor dal or arhar dal (India), Congo pea or gungo pea (in Jamaica), Pois Congo (in Haiti), gandul (in Puerto Rico), gunga pea, or no-eye pea.   arhar dal  in Bengali


Habitat : Probably native to India, pigeon pea was brought millennia ago to Africa where different strains developed. These were brought to the new world in post-Columbian times. Truly wild Cajanus has never been found; they exist mostly as remnants of cultivations. In several places Cajanus persists in the forest. The closest wild relative, Atylosia cajanifolia Haines, has been found in some localities in East India. Most other Atylosias are found scattered throughout India, while in North Australia a group of endemic Atylosia species grow. In Africa Cajanus kerstingii grows in the drier belts of Senegal, Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria. Pigeon peas occur throughout the tropical and subtropical regions, as well as the warmer temperate regions (as North Carolina) from 30°N to 30°S (Duke, 1981a). In settled areas throughout the Philippines: cultivated, semicultivated, and in some places, spontaneous.

Description:

It is  is a perennial herb.An erect, branched, hairy shrub, 1-2 meters high. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate to oblanceolate with three leaflets. Flowers are yellow, in sparse peduncled racemes, about 1.5 cm long. Pod is hairy, 4-7 cm long, 1 cm wide, containing 2-7 seeds.

CLICK TO SEE THE PICTURES…>..(0).….(01).….(1)..…....(2)..…...(3).…..(4).….…(5).…….(6)...

Cultivation:
The cultivation of the pigeon pea goes back at least 3000 years. The centre of origin is most likely Asia, from where it traveled to East Africa and by means of the slave trade to the American continent. Today pigeon peas are widely cultivated in all tropical and semi-tropical regions of both the Old and the New World. Pigeon peas can be of a perennial variety, in which the crop can last 3–5 years (although the seed yield drops considerably after the first two years), or an annual variety more suitable for seed production.

Pigeon peas are an important legume crop of rainfed agriculture in the semi-arid tropics. The Indian subcontinent, Eastern Africa and Central America, in that order, are the world’s three main pigeon pea producing regions. Pigeon peas are cultivated in more than 25 tropical and sub-tropical countries, either as a sole crop or intermixed with cereals such as sorghum (Sorchum bicolor), pearl millet (Pennisetium glaucum), or maize (Zea mays), or with other legumes, such as peanuts (Arachis hypogaea). Being a legume, the pigeon pea enriches soil through symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

The crop is cultivated on marginal land by resource-poor farmers, who commonly grow traditional medium- and long-duration (5–11 months) landraces. Short-duration pigeon peas (3–4 months) suitable for multiple cropping have recently been developed. Traditionally, the use of such input as fertilizers, weeding, irrigation, and pesticides is minimal, so present yield levels are low (average = 700 kg/ha). Greater attention is now being given to managing the crop because it is in high demand at remunerative prices.

Pigeon peas are very drought resistant and can be grown in areas with less than 650 mm annual rainfall.

World production of pigeon peas is estimated at 46,000 km2. About 82% of this is grown in India. These days it is the most essential ingredient of animal feed used in West Africa, most especially in Nigeria where it is also grown

Edible Uses: Vegetable food crop ( seeds and pods) in South-East Asia.Pigeon peas are both a food crop (dried peas, flour, or green vegetable peas) and a forage/cover crop. They contain high levels of protein and the important amino acids methionine, lysine, and tryptophan.  In combination with cereals, pigeon peas make a well-balanced human food. The dried peas may be sprouted briefly, then cooked, for a flavor different from the green or dried peas. Sprouting also enhances the digestibility of dried pigeon peas via the reduction of indigestible sugars that would otherwise remain in the cooked dried peas.

In India, split pigeon peas (toor dal) are one of the most popular pulses, being an important source of protein in a mostly vegetarian diet. In regions where it grows, fresh young pods are eaten as vegetable in dishes such as sambhar.

In Ethiopia, not only the pods but the young shoots and leaves are cooked and eaten.

CLICK  &  SEE  THE  PICTURES

In some places, such as the Dominican Republic and Hawaii, pigeon peas are grown for canning and consumption. A dish made of rice and green pigeon peas (called “Moro de Guandules”) is a traditional food in Dominican Republic. Pigeon peas are also made as a stew, with plantain balls. In Puerto Rico, arroz con gandules is made with rice and pigeon peas and is a typical dish.

In Thailand, pigeon peas are grown as a host for scale insects which produce lac.

Pigeon peas are in some areas an important crop for green manure, providing up to 40 kg nitrogen per hectare. The woody stems of pigeon peas can also be used as firewood, fencing and thatch.

Nutrition
Used mainly for its edible young pods and seeds.

Chemical constituents :
Roots are considered antihelminthic, expectorant, febrifuge, sedative, vulnerary.
Seeds are rich in carbohydrates (58%) and proteins (19%).
Fair source of calcium and iron; good source of vitamin B.
Chemical studies reveal: 2′-2’methylcajanone, 2′-hydroxygenistein, isoflavones, cajanin, cahanones, among many others.

Analysis of dhal (without husk) gave the following values: moisture, 15.2; protein, 22.3; fat (ether extract), 1.7; mineral matter, 3.6; carbohydrate, 57.2; Ca, 9.1; and P, 0.26%; carotene evaluated as vitamin A, 220 IU and vitamin B1, 150 IU per 100 g. Sun-dried seeds of Cajanus cajan are reported to contain (per 100 g) 345 calories, 9.9% moisture, 19.5 g protein, 1.3 g fat, 65.5 g carbohydrate, 1.3 g fiber, 3.8 g ash, 161 mg Ca, 285 mg P, 15.0 mg Fe, 55 mg b-carotene equivalent, 0.72 mg thiamine, 0.14 mg riboflavin, and 2.9 mg niacin. Immature seeds of Cajanus cajan are reported to contain per 100 g, 117 calories, 69.5% moisture, 7.2 g protein, 0.6 g fat, 21.3 g total carbohydrate, 3.3 g fiber, 1.4 g ash, 29 mg Ca, 135 mg P, 1.3 mg Fe, 5 mg Na, 563 mg K, 145 mg b-carotene equivalent, 0.40 mg thiamine, 0.25 mg riboflavin, 2.4 mg niacin, and 26 mg ascorbic acid/100 g. Of the total amino acids, 6.7% is arginine, 1.2% cystine, 3.4% histidine, 3.8% isoleucine, 7.6% leucine, 7.0% lysine, 1.5% methionine, 8.7% phenylalanine, 3.4% threonine, 2.2% tyrosine, 5.0% valine, 9.8 aspartic acid, 19.2% glutamic acid, 6.4% alanine, 3.6% glycine, 4.4% proline, 5.0% serine with 0 values for canavanine, citrulline and homoserine. Methionine, cystine, and tryptophane are the main limiting amino acids. However, in combination with cereals, as pigeon peas are always eaten, this legume contributes to a nutritionally balanced human food. The oil of the seeds contains 5.7% linolenic acid, 51.4% linoleic, 6.3% oleic, and 36.6% saturated fatty acids. Seeds are reported to contain trypsin inhibitors and chymotrypsin inhibitors. Fresh green forage contains 70.4% moisture, 7.1 crude protein, 10.7 crude fiber, 7.9 N-free extract, 1.6 fat, 2.3 ash. The whole plant, dried and ground contains 1,1.2% moisture, 14.8 crude protein, 28.9 crude fiber, 39.9 N-free extract, 1.7 fat, and 3.5 ash. (Duke, 1981a)

Medicinal Uses:
Parts used
Leaves, roots.

Folkloric:-
*Decoction or infusionn of leaves for coughs, diarrhea, abdominal pains.
*Tender leaves are chewed for aphthous stomatitis and spongy gums.
*Pulped or poulticed leaves used for sores.
*In Peru, leaves are used as an infusion for anemial, hepatitis, diabetes, urinary infections and yellow fever.
*In Argentina, leaves used for genital and skin problems; flowers used for bronchitis, cough and pneumonia.
*In China, as vermifuge, vulnerary; for tumors.
*In Panama, used for treatment of diabetes (See study below).
*In Indian folk medicine, used for a variety of liver disorders.



Other Uses:
As forage or hay.
Branches and stems for basket and fuel. (Source)

Often grown as a shade crop for tree crops or vanilla, a cover crop, or occasionally as a windbreak hedge. In Thailand and N. Bengal, pigeon pea serves as host for the scale insect which produces lac or sticklac. In Malagasy the leaves are used as food for the silkworm. Dried stalks serve for fuel, thatch and basketry. (Duke, 1981a).

Studies:-
• RBC Sickling Inhibition: StudyClinical studies have reported seed extracts to inhibit red blood cell sickling and potential benefit for people with sickle cell anemia.

• Antiplasmodial constituents of Cajanus cajan: Study isolated two stilbenes, longistylin A and C and betulinic acid from the roots and leaves of CC and showed moderately high in vitro activity against Plasmodium falcifarum strain.

• Stilbenes / Neuroprotective / Alzheimer’s Disease: Study of stilbenes containing extract-fraction from C cajan showed significant amelioration of cognitive deficits and neuron apoptosis. Findings suggest sECC has a potential in the development of therapeutic agent to manage cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease through increase choline acetyltransferase activity and anti-oxidative mechanism.

• Hypocholesterolemic Effect: Study on the stilbenes containing extract-fraction of CC showed a hypocholesterolemic effect possibly through enhancement of hepatic LDL-receptor and cholesterol 7-alpha-hydroxylase expression levels and bile acid synthesis.

• Hyperglycemic Effect: Evaluation of traditional medicine: effects of Cajanus cajan L. and of Cassia fistula L. on carbohydrate metabolism in mice: Contradicting its traditional use for diabetes, CC did not have a hypoglycemic effect on sugar, instead at higher doses, it produced a hyperglycemic effect.

• Antimicrobial: Study shows the organic solvent extracts to inhibit E coli, S aureus and S typhi and the aqueous extract were inhibitory to E coli and S aureus.

• Antimicrobial / Antifungal: Nigerian study on the antimicrobial effects of the ethanol and aqueous extracts of locally available plants, including C cajan, showerd inhibition against S aureus, P aeruginosa, E coli and C albicans. The extracts of C cajam produced wider zones of inhibition against C albicans.

• Hyperglycemic Effect: Study of the aqueous extract of C cajan leaves showed a hyperglycemic effect, suggesting a usefulness incontrolling hypoglycemia that may be due to excess of insulin or other hypoglycemic drugs.

• Hepatoprotective: (1) Study of the methanol-aqueous fraction of C cajan leaf extract showed it could prevent the chronically treated alcohol induced rat liver damage and presents a promise as a non-toxic herb for therapeutic use in alcohol-induced liver dysfunction. (2) Study in mice with carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage showed the methanol extracts of B orellana, C cajan, G pentaphylla and C equisetifolia showed significant decrease in levels of serum markers, indicating the protection of hepatic cells in a dose-dependent manner.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeon_pea
http://www.stuartxchange.com/Kadios.html
http://vaniindia.org.whbus12.onlyfordemo.com/herbal/plantdir.asp

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Cajanus_cajun.html

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