Arid/semi-arid flora as a treasure trove of bioactives and bioenergy: the case for underutilized desert legumes towards environmental sustainability

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 31; no. 27; pp. 39025 - 39036
• Main Authors: Joshi, Tripti, Mandal, Sumit Kumar, Asati, Vidushi, Deepa, Perinkulam Ravi, Sharma, Pankaj Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-06-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Arid zones; Aridity; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biological activity; Carbohydrates; Cereal crops; Cleaner Production and Sustainable Processes for Environmental Remediation; Climate Change; Conservation of Natural Resources; Desert Climate; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Fabaceae; Flavonoids; Flora; Food; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; India; Indigenous plants; Legumes; Nutrients; Pesticides; Plants (botany); Renewable energy; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; India; Environmental sustainability; Desert legume; Nutraceutical; Underutilized plant; Bioenergy; Antioxidant; Functional food
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-29274-2

As the spectre of climate change gains in strength with each passing moment, many of our mundane food crops like rice face the heat, leading to uncertain yields and unforeseen disease outbreaks. Subsequently, mankind is forced to look for alternative food choices that should primarily come from indigenous plants that are less demanding in terms of usage of water and application of chemical-based fertilizers/pesticides. There are plants growing in the wild in the arid and semi-arid zones of Rajasthan, India, that can come to the rescue, with an added potential for development into valuable functional foods—i.e., not only as source of carbohydrates, proteins, and micro-nutrients but also that of health benefiting nutraceuticals (like antioxidant flavonoids) and relevant enzymes. The other parts (non-edible) of these plants have often also been traditionally validated via diverse ethnomedicinal practices; these could also be useful bioenergy sources. Keeping in mind the broader aim of looking at future functional foods that are also required to be environmentally sustainable, the current report: (a) reviews the extant literature on underutilized legumes from arid/semi-arid zones, (b) discusses current status with respect to biological activities present therein, and (c) suggests pertinent research questions and solution paths in the domains of bioactives, bioenergy, and sustainable environment.