Nutraceutical Studies of the Rhizome of the Genus Nelumbo Adans.- A Review

The paper deals with the review on the nutraceutical details of the rhizome of the plant Nelumbo having two species worldwide from which N. lutea is confined to North America and Canada to an altitudinal range beyond 2400 m a.s.l. whereas the other species N. nucifera is distributed throughout the World in the tropical parts up to 1400 m a.s.l. having good nutritional and medicinal properties. The rhizome is considered to be used for the sake of presence of starch, minerals and vitamins particularly vitamin B6, helpful in the mental and physical growth amongst fetus. Very little is known on the traditional use of rhizome of N. lutea and its chemical and pharmacological attributes as well as its toxicity needs to be studied in detail as it is not available before inclusion in nutritional diet especially for diabetic and cardiac patients as well as women bearing fetus.