Parkia roxburghii is considered delicious in the Northeastern part of India, especially in the state of Manipur. Though it is widely used, information about the biochemical composition and its changes, after processing, is hardly available. In the present experiment, effect of processing methods on dry matter, soluble sugar, phenolics and mineral composition in different developmental stages of P. roxburghii pods were studied. Total soluble sugar (TSS), total phenols (TP), and orthodihydric phenols (ODHP) were determined as per the methods of Morris (1948), Bray and Thorpe (1954) and Mahadevan and Sridhar (1986). Sodium (Na), potassium (K), sulphur (S) and phosphorus (P) were estimated as per the procedures of Tandon (1993). Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and cobalt (Co) were analyzed in an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Processing methods reduced dry matter, soluble sugar and phenolics in all the stages of the pod. TP and ODHP lost up to the extent of 72.78% in tender stage due to ordinary cooking, while higher loss of ODHP recorded in immature stage of the pod due to pressure cooking. Ca, Mg, K and Zn in different stages were found to be affected significantly by different methods of cooking, while no such changes were observed in case of S, P, Fe, Mn and Cu. The level of iron amongst the micro minerals is appreciably high recording up to 51.0 mg/100 g in the immature stage of the pod. As iron, zinc and manganese are antioxidant micronutrients, their higher presence in P. roxburghii might be of some nutritional importance.
Effects of domestic processing methods on the phytochemical content of watercress (Nasturtium officinale)