NUTRITIVE-VALUE OF THE CHEBULIC MYROBALAN (TERMINALIA-CHEBULA RETZ) AND ITS POTENTIAL AS A FOOD SOURCE

The edible fruit tissue of the chebulic myrobalan (Terminalia chebula Retz.) was analyzed for certain organic and mineral nutrients. Compared with commercial apples the tissue contained 10.3 and 14.5 times more vitamin C and protein, respectively. Of the 14 macro- and micro-nutrients studied, the minimum Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for Se, K, Mn, Fe and Cu can be met (100, 63.5, 32, 30 and 28.5%, respectively) if 100 g of the raw fruit is eaten. Aspartic acid, glutamic acid, arginine, proline and lysine constituted 39.6, 8.6, 6.7, 6.4 and 5.0%, respectively, of the total amino acids. These results demonstrate that the chebulic myrobalan is highly nutritious and could be an important source of dietary supplement in vitamin C, energy, protein and mineral nutrients.