Purpose: Water spinach (WS) (Ipomoea aquatica) is a popular leafy vegetable. However, WS is highly prone to bioaccumulation of toxic heavy metals. Sweet potato (SP) (Ipomoea batatas) is primarily a root tuber crop with fast growing shoots that can be used to replace WS to safe guard the human and livestock health. However, SP is an under-utilized leafy vegetable and no studies have been conducted to assess the consumer preference and food safety except photochemical assessments to profi le its high nutritious value. Therefore, in the present study, we assessed the heavy metal content, consumer preference and phytochemical contents to test the applicability of using shoot-tops of SP to replace bioaccumulation prone WS if grown in polluted sites. We also conducted a DNA barcoding analysis to discriminate SP from WS. Research Method:We obtained three greenhouse grwon shoot-top samples from WS (WS1, WS2 and WS3) and two greenhouse grown SP samples (SP1 and SP2) for all the analyses and two additional WS collected from the market (WSC) and a polluted site (WSP) a for XRF analysis. To assess the consumer preference we carried out a taste panel with 30 human subjects. For qualitative detection of the phytochemical contents, we performed routine laboratory tests. Finally, we carried out molecular based analyses using agarose gel electrophoresis and DNA barcoding using the markers rbcL and ITS. Findings:The sensory analysis revealed that human subjects equally preferred both WS and SP dishes. According to phytochemical assessment, SP contained higher amounts of anthocyanin, fl avonoids, phlobatannins, reducing sugars, tannins and terpenoids. The XRF analysis revealed that SP shoot-tops did not accumulate toxic heavy metals while WS shoot-tops grown in the same garden soil accumulated toxic heavy metals in trace amounts. Commercially available WS in Sri Lanka contained Hg (4500 mg/ Kg), Cd (1056 mg/Kg), As (598 mg/Kg) and Cr (74 mg/Kg). WSP contained Hg (1820 mg/Kg), Cd (228 mg/Kg), As (126 mg/Kg), Cr (138 mg/Kg), Sb (114 mg/Kg), Sn (464 mg/Kg) and Pb (2100 mg/Kg) and the highest amount of Fe (6894 mg/Kg). Research Limitation:It is imperative to study the heavy metal profi les of WS samples grown in diverse locations of Sri Lanka in collaboration with state consumer protection agencies to profi le the food safety levels.Originality/ Value: It is apparent from the present study that the consumption of WS is unsafe to human and animal health. DNA barcoding assays can be successfully employed by the consumer protection agencies to confi rm the identity of SP. Out of the two tested markers, ITS is more straight forward in exhibiting the length polymorphism. The sequence data confi rms band sizes detected using agarose gels and ITS is more informative in studying the genus Ipomoea than rbcL.
Asiatic pennyworts (AP) (Centella asiatica) are among the most popular leafy vegetable species in Sri Lanka. Five AP cultivars, namely, Lowland AP (LAP), Giant AP1 (GAP1), Giant AP2 (GAP2), Salad AP (SAP), and Medicinal AP (MAP) are grown in the country. Two other leafy vegetable species, water pennyworts (WP) (Hydrocotyle verticillata) and Korean pennyworts (KP) (Adenophora triphylla), are also designated under 'pennyworts' in Sri Lanka. The consumerpreference on the pennywort bunches available in the market and the salad properties are yet to be studied. Also, no attempts have been reported for the identification of species delimits and phylogenetic relationships among the different cultivars of C. asiatica. In the present study, consumer preference on the appearance of leaf bunches and salads of pennyworts were assessed. The intra-and interspecific variation of pennyworts grown in Sri Lanka were also studied. The genomic DNA extracted from the immature leaves was PCR amplified for the DNA barcoding markers matK-trnT, atpB-rbcL, and rbcL. The PCR products were sequenced and used to assess the intraand interspecific variation. The consumers mostly preferred to purchase the leaf bunches of GAP2 because of its large leaf size and appealing look. However, the highest preference for salads was reported for the dishes prepared using LAP, MAP, and WP. The clade structure of the phylogenetic tree drawn for AP cultivars shows an intraspecific variation. Our study also highlights the importance of producing an improved AP cultivar with larger leaf size, improved flavor properties, and sinuate leaf margin.
Background Even though traumatic injuries are the leading cause of hospitalization in Sri Lanka, demographic profile, causes, and severity of injuries sustained have not been reported. This data will be of assistance to policy makers in the effective prevention of violence and health care costs Results Of the 626 casualties, 535 (85.5 %) were due to assault, and 72 % of them were assaulted with a blunt weapon. Of the assaults, 75 % were in the 20-49year age group and 53.5 % occurred between 4 pm and 10 pm. Of 55 (8 %) casualties with accidental injuries, 38.2 % were caused by falls and 38.2 % by burns. Of 18 (2.9 %) child abuse cases, 61.1 % were sexually abused. The highest frequency of, both, assaults and accidents was between 6 pm and 8 pm, while all instances of child abuse occurred between 8 am and 8 pm. Abrasions were seen in 45.4 %, contusions in 40.7 %, lacerations in 29.2 % and fractures in 21.6 %, while 12.3 % did not have any injuries. Injuries sustained were non-grievous in 65.5 %, grievous in 30.7 %, endangering life in 1.4 % and fatal in the ordinary course of nature in 2.4 %. Conclusion Being aware of the types, weapons, time of day, age and sex of victims, subjected to violence will be beneficial to reduce these and thereby reduce the economic, physical and psychological burden to the country.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.