Abstract
Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica. L) is a wild, unique herbaceous perennial flowering plant with stinging hairs. It has a long history of use as a food sources as a soup or curries, and also used as a fiber as well as a medicinal herb. The current aim was to analyze the composition and bioactive compounds in Nepalese Stinging nettle. Chemical analysis showed the relatively higher level of crude protein (33.8%), crude fiber (9.1%), crude fat (3.6%), total ash (16.2%), carbohydrate (37.4%), and relatively lower energy value (307 kcal/100 g) as compared to wheat and barley flours. Analysis of nettle powder showed significantly higher level of bioactive compounds: phenolic compounds as 129 mg Gallic acid equivalent/g; carotenoid level 3497 μg/g; tannin 0.93 mg/100 g; anti-oxidant activity 66.3 DPPH inhibition (%), as compared to wheat and barley. This study further established that nettle plants as very good source of energy, proteins, high fiber, and a range of health benefitting bioactive compounds.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 119-124 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Food Science and Nutrition |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Open Access - Access Right Statement
© 2015 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Keywords
- barley
- flour
- stinging nettle
- wheat