Role of genus Cassia in combating malnutrition in Sahariya dominated Sheopur Kalan Region of Madhya Pradesh

The devastating condition of malnutrition prevails in Madhya Pradesh. Wild edible plants on their nutritional grounds can serve as novel potential source of food to the tribals suffering from malnutrition. Four species of Cassia were evaluated for their nutritional status and compared to the RDA value for further recommendation as food source. The comparison of various nutritional parameters of four species of Cassia genus was done to establish their potential to fight against conditions like malnutrition. Different parts of four different species of genus Cassia were selected for investigation on account of their edibility. The study reveals that, the flowers of C. fistula contain 88.64 % of moisture and 23.75% of total lipids. The leaves of C. tora contain 20.25% of total proteins, 2.7% of calcium and 3.24% of nitrogen. Seeds of C. occidentalis possess 6.4% of potassium while the seeds of C. hirsuta possess 65.45% of total carbohydrates and 1.75% of sodium.