A walk in the mountains, just after the rains, is an instant mood-lifter. Everything looks washed, fresh and pleasant. And, invariably, you come across tribals collecting mushrooms in bamboo or reed baskets.
They know what is poisonous and what is not, just as they know that some of the tastiest mushrooms are found in termite homes. Tribal life, especially tribal cuisine and tribal medicine, reflects an elaborate primitive knowledge on nature, life, biology and plants.
Plants have been used as traditional medicine for several thousands of years. The Kani medicine men know exactly where a rare medicinal plant can be found on the forest floor and the time of the year when the plant is most potent. More than 80 plants belonging to over 40 families make up the regular pharmacopoeia of the traditional medicine man.
The tribal botanical knowledge extends beyond medicinal plants. Bamboo shoots, bamboo seeds, different kinds of tubers, mushrooms and a huge variety of green leafy plants make up the tribal cuisine. Not only do they make purely vegetarian dishes, but often blend it in with meat as well.
The civilised world has suddenly realised that utilisation of wild food plants could be a sustainable, cheap and locally available alternative to resolving the food shortage crisis that threatens humankind. Much effort has been concentrated on production of myriad kinds of seeds, while leafy vegetables have to a large extent been ignored.
The botanists of the University College here have begun an interesting work on identifying, analysing and multiplication of selected plant varieties used as green leafy vegetables from the Western Ghats.
‘’Many people are afraid of using such strange wild plants as they fear the presence of toxic or even anti-nutritional factors. So, we are going in for a complete biochemical and nutritional analysis,’’ said T S Swapna, a faculty member and the principal investigator of the project.
Scientists have recorded 102 species of locally available edible wild greens. However, the botanists are not going after all the wild plants, but just three of them. They will look for total lipid content, protein, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and amino acids and also quantify anti-nutritional factors such as phytic acid, tannic acid and trypsin inhibitors. Phytic acid has been reported to reduce the bioavailability of trace elements and minerals.
What makes green leaves a good food supplement is the easiness with which it can be cooked and also the cost factor. They are relatively inexpensive for all the minerals and vitamins that are packaged into the leaves. They are rich in carotenoids, iron, calcium, ascorbic acid, riboflavin and folic acid and therefore are expected to alleviate malnutrition.
Once the researchers at the University College are done with the analysis part, and if the plants are found to be promising, they will go in for multiplication of these wild plants through tissue culture. The project also envisions the popularisation and promotion of selected edible leafy vegetables through school and college gardens as well as self-help groups.
Besides finding a source of nutritious food, there is an urgent need to arrest the erosion of knowledge of tribal people at the earliest. Traditional food systems provide positive synergies between human and ecosystem health. In many low-income countries, diet is often a monotonous affair with a single staple and a few other food items.
Regions enclosing the Western Ghats possess several species-rich habitats that are yet to be explored for taxonomic diversity and utility. Scientists believe that selected plants from among the wild greens can be domesticated as food, providing a small solution to the looming food crisis.
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