Indigenous Vegetables at a Glance

Monday, April 18, 2016

Family:	ARACEAE
Scientific Name:	Schismatoglottis sp.
Local Names:	Bilagot (Ilok.)
Uses:	In Ilocos, all parts are edible, cooked into guinatan with fish paste and other viand without fish paste such as sautéed sardines
Note: Based on sensory evaluation conducted, bilagot cooked with coconut milk was highly acceptable although this dish resulted to tongue irritation/ itching in some respondents. Proximate analysis of fresh leaves resulted to 84.04% moisture, 1.57% fats, 4.24% protein, 2.14% ash, 2.13% fiber and 280.39 mgGAE/100g.

Family:	ARACEAE
Scientific Name:	Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.)
Local Names:	Tigi (Pal.); balbag (Pal.)
Uses:	In Ilocos, young stalk (with unopened leaves) is used for viand and boiled feedstuff is for pigs; In Palawan, stem is grilled, squeezed and cooked with coconut milk; stems also as feedstuff for pigs
Notes: Usage of this plant is somewhat restricted due to the irritant nature of the stems during preparation and upon ingestion hence, lowers palatability. This was according to the respondents surveyed during the conduct of the study. Other than its relevance for food, A. paeoniifolius is a plant that is very effective and safe for medicinal uses. In fact, it is widely cultivated throughout India due to the medicinal property of the tuber. From a literature review, the plant was found to be potent analgesic, anti-inflammatory, CNS depressant (due to the phytoconstituents present in the plant i.e. steroids and flavonoids), anthelmintic, antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic agent. [1]

[1] Ayu. 33(1): 27-32 (2012). Online at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3456858/

Family:	MALVACEAE
Scientific Name:	Hibiscus suratensis L.
Local Names:	Kalatuytuy (Tagbanwa), Bisulsug (Palawano)
Other common names:	Barbarinit, Inabu (Ilok.), Ahimit (Gad.), Andahalit (Sul.), Labneg, labog (Bis.), Labuag (Ak., Bis.), Sabnit, Sagmit, Sapinit (Tag.)
Uses:	Young shoots and leaves as souring agents in sinigang and even in tinolang manok
Notes: Proximate analysis of kalatuytuy leaves at the Analytical Services Laboratory, CSC-IPB, UPLB had these results: 81.90% moisture, 1.46% fats, 4.20% protein, 1.49% ash, 1.19% fiber, 9.77% NFE, 403.43 mgGAE/100g total phenol. Kalatuytuy is described as “a week-stemmed trailing plant covered with soft hairs and scattered prickles. Leaves are rounded, toothed, and deeply and palmately 3- or 5-lobed. Flowers are yellow with a dark red center. Capsules are hairy and ovoid while seeds are downy”. [1]

[1] http://www.stuartxchange.com/Labuag.html

Family:	SOLANACEAE
Scientific Name:	Solanum lasiocarpum Dunal
Local Names:	Balbalosa (Ilok.)
Other common names:	Dabutung, Dagutung (Sul.); Talong-ayam (Bik.); Tagutong (Bis.); Talong-gubat, Talong-talong, Tarambolo, Tarambulo (Tag.)[1]
Uses:	Fruits as ingredient in pinakbet, salad and in guinataan
Notes: Characters of balbalosa include upright growth habit, 28cm average plant height, 29.56cm leaf blade length and 27.74cm width, intermediate leaf blade lobing, obtuse leaf blade tip angle and 11.1cm petiole length. Leaves are covered with hairs and prickly spines. Petiole color was dark violet and leaf blade color was dark green. Most of the flowers opened from 7:15-7:40am though some other flowers opened from 3:00-3:30pm. It took 7-8 days before small fruits were observed and 20-25 days (from flowering) before fruits were harvested for consumption. Other fruit character include: fruit color at commercial ripeness – green; number of fruits per plant – 28; number of fruits per cluster – 3 to 5; weight of harvested fruit per plant – 67.2g; individual fruit weight – 2.4g.

[1] http://www.stuartxchange.com/Tarambulo.html

Family:	MOLLUGINACEAE
Scientific Name:	Mollugo verticillata L.
Local Names:	Papait (Ilok., Pal.)
Other common names:	Amargoso-babi, margoso-damulag (Pamp.); Malagoso, sarsalida (Tag.)
Uses:	Whole plant for salad, or mixed with sautéed mungbean and egg
Notes: Proximate analysis of papait leaves at the Analytical Services Laboratory, CSC-IPB, UPLB had these results: 91.23% moisture, 0.64% fats, 2.87% protein, 2.10% ash, 0.89% fiber, 2.27% NFE, 188.24 mgGAE/100g total phenol. Although very bitter, this plant was highly acceptable during the sensory evaluation conducted at CSC-IPB, UPLB. Papait is usually found growing in the wild (farmlands) especially after rice or after corn. In Tarlac however, some farmers are growing papait and they sell their produce in Urdaneta market and in other parts of the Ilocos Region. Papait is claimed to be rich in Iron and could be a good source of Calcium. Just like the bittergourd/ ampalaya, this plant also had anti-diabetic property and it is a potential source of natural antioxidants. [1]

[1] http://www.stuartxchange.com/Sarsalida.html

Family:	AMARANTHACEAE
Scientific Name:	Alternanthera sessilis (L.) R.Br. ex DC.
Local Names:	Lupo, Lupo- lupo (Pal. Ilonggo)
Other local names:	Aritana (Ilok.), Bunga-bunga (Tag.), Karitana (Bis.), Halangbang (If.), Gogoat (Bon.), Kapal-kapal (Sul.), Kokoong (Bon.), Lapak-lapak (Sul.)[1]
Uses: Young leaves mixed in sautéed mungbean and ‘sinabawang isda’
Notes: “Bunga-bunga is a spreading or prostrate, erect, more or less branched, glabrous, succulent herb, 0.4 to 1.4 meters high. The ultimate branches are covered with two lines of hairs on the internodes, and the flowering ones are ascending. Leaves are stalkless, simple or pinnately compound, the leaflets elliptic, crenate or obscurely toothed, usually about 2.5 to 7 centimeters long, thick and succulent. Flowers are minute, 5 to 7 millimeters long, paniculate, pendulous, white, and crowded in very short, axillary heads. Sepals are lanceolate, 2 to 2.5 millimeters long. Fruit is dry and flattened, broadly obcordate utricle, containing one seed” [2]

[1] http://www.stuartxchange.com/BungaBunga.html

[2] http://www.stuartxchange.com/BungaBunga.html

Family:	CUCURBITACEAE
Scientific Name:	Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng.
Local Names:	Sugod-sugod, libas, parog-parog
Uses:	Immature fruits and young leaves cooked into dinengdeng with other vegetables or sautéed
Notes: Other consumers used the young leaves and flowers as boiled or stir-fried vegetables; peeled immature fruit used in making soup while mature fruit used as coloring in rice dishes. According to the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, beta-carotene is low in shoots but extremely high in mature fruit, vitamin E is medium in shoots while high in fruit, folic acid is high in shoots while ascorbic acid is extremely high in shoots and immature fruit, protein is 3.0% in shoots and 0.9% in immature fruit. Fleshy coverings of seeds are rich in lycopene[1]. For the sensory evaluation of sugod-sugod at CSC-IPB, UPLB, sugod-sugod had high ratings in terms of appearance, tenderness, taste and overall acceptability. Proximate analysis revealed that immature fruit had 92.42% moisture, 0.27% fats, 0.60% protein, 0.83% ash, 0.99% fiber and 104.66 mg/100g carotenoids. Meanwhile, some other studies on carotenoid content of mature fruit ranged from 481ug/g to 2,926ug/g total carotenoids. [2] [3]

[1] http://avrdc.org/spiny-bitter-gourd-momordica-cochinchinensis/

[2] Biotechnology and Biochemistry. 66 (11): 2479–2482. (2002)

[3] Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry. 52: 274–279. (2004)