Minerals and nutritional composition of radhuni (Carum roxburghianum Benth.) seeds

Radhuni (Carum roxburghianum Benth.) seeds of three indigenous cultivars grown in Bangladesh have been studied for minerals and various compositional properties as well as assess their role in human nutrition. Variability was observed among investigated cultivars in terms of physical characteristics (e.g. seed volume, seed density, hydration capacity, hydration index, swelling capacity and swelling index), proximate analysis (e.g. total ash, water soluble ash, acid insoluble ash, crude fiber, protein, carbohydrates and food energy) and mineral composition. The mineral compositions were determined by wavelength dispersive X-Ray fluorescence (WDXRF) technique. The significant amount of major mineral concentration were measured between 15879.30-17526.79 mg/kg Ca, 7627.433-8566.09 mg/kg Si, 5690.597-6428.60 mg/kg K, 2688.295-3162.62 mg/kg Fe, 2240.406-2498.74 mg/kg Mg, 2108.91-2368.93 mg/kg Al, 1035.71-1340.482 mg/kg S, 472.77-541.66 mg/kg Cl and 395.586-431.313 mg/kg Na. Co, Cd, As, Pb and Hg were not detected as toxic elements in the present analysis technique. The data showed that, in terms of both quality and quantity, the Radhuni seeds of Bangladeshi cultivars as significant source of nutritional and minerals supplement to meet the dietary contents as well as to help the formulation of herbal medicinal preparations.