The chemical composition and nutritional evaluation of Canavalia virosa: awild perennial bean from Eastern Ghats of Peninsular India

Seeds of Canavalia virosa (Roxb.) Wight & Am. (Fabaceae), known locally as Kaattuthambattan in the Tamil language, consumed as a staple food by Malaya li tribals in the Kolli hills of Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu in Eastern G hats of Peninsular India, were analyzed for proximate composition, total (t rue) seed proteins, amino acids, minerals, and some antinutritional factors . Crude protein, crude fat, ash, and nitrogen free extractives constitute 3 1.3%, 4.9%, 3.8%, and 48.2% respectively. The calorific value of seed mater ial was 1512.4 kJ/100 g Dm. The essential amino acids, isoleucine, histidin e. cystine+methionine, and threonine, were present in relatively large quan tities. The seeds are rich in calcium, zinc, manganese, and iron. Antinutri tional factors such as tannins (5.8%), L-DOPA (4.3%), hydrogen cyanide (0.0 13%), and phytic acid (1.1%) are present in variable quantities. The trypsi n inhibitor activity (29.8 units) and hemagglutinating activity of the seed meat were also assayed.