Annals of Phytomedicine 11(1): 53-67, 2022

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Annals of Phytomedicine: An International Journal 53
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Review Article : Open Access

Role and importance of spinach fortification in Indian traditional foods

Divya 
Dep artmen t of Food Techno logy and Nutrition, S chool of Ag riculture, Lovely Pro fessional University, Phagwara-1 44411 , Punjab,
In dia

Article Info Abstract

Ar tic le histo ry From the historical time in India, most of the population depends upon locally available traditional foods,
Received 25 April 2022 but the traditional food are deficient in some essential nutrients which in turn give rise to many nutritional
Revised 14 June 2022 deficiencies, for example folic acid deficiency. Folic acid deficiency mainly targets low income group
Accepted 15 June 2022 which may leads to many disorders. Folic acid deficiency can be overcome by the use of spinach fortified
Published Online 30 June 2022 traditional foods because spinach is an easily available and economic green leafy vegetable which enhance
the nutritive value of food and provide some additional nutrients like folic acid, lutein, calcium a nd
Ke ywor ds magnesium which may or may not be present in general traditional foods of various region. The folic acid
Disorders is an essential, organic, water soluble, micronutrient. It is not synthesized in the human body, so it is taken
Folic acid from the external sources in the form of folates. The daily requirement of the folic acid is too low but the
Fortification effects of its deficiency are long lasting. So, the selection of the right food is important to overcome the
Health benefits deficiency related issues. The main objective of this review is to study the nutritional value of traditional
Spinach
food and by fortification enhancement of nutritional content of traditional food as wella as supply the
Traditional foods
information related to the chemical composition, natural and synthetic sources, significance way of
enhancement and various deficiency related issues of the folic acid, for example spina-bifida, neurological
disturbances, cancer, microcytic anaemia, etc. It also provides information about the adequate value of
intake and daily value per cent on per serving of variety of food items. Current days most of the
population consume nutritionally deficient diet or consume fast food which becomes the major problem
and the addition of green leafy vegetable in the traditional food can become a defendable solution to
combat the folic acid as well as iron deficiency.

1. Introduction protein, calcium, carbohydrates and consumed as traditional foods

in eastern region (Mohanty et al., 2014). Further, more traditional
India is well known for its uniqueness in different languages and foods have good taste and many nutritional qualities besides various
culture because of people belongs from diverse socio-traditional health benefits like they supports immunity, anti-inflammation and
backgrounds. Different people in different regions and community brain functioning in the body, but most of these food are also deficient
have different dressing styles and languages also consume different in many vitamins and minerals. Also, naturally occurring folate get
type of food which varies regionally and all regions have their own destroyed during cooking and processing activities, so to overcome
unique traditional food which are consumed on different occasions this deficiency in food, we can use the method of fortification which
(Krishnakumar, 2019). All the traditional foods are affected by the includes the process of addition of the extra nutrients in to the food
traditions, cultural choices and religion because the food represents which may or may not be present in it. Fortification is a strategy in
the culture of that society (Hoque and Taufique, 2019). There is the welfare of public health to enhance the nutrients intake in a
diversity in consumption and preparation of traditional foods from population and it is effective in reducing the risk of the nutrient
region-to-region in India and most of the population consume plant deficiency such as goitre, pellagra, spinabifida, malnutrition, anaemia
based diet as medicine or their nutritional requirements (Majeed, (Olson et al., 2021). As per the regionally available variety of fruits
2017). For example idli, dosa with sambar are the traditional food and vegetables spinach is considered as the most commonly available
consumed in Southern region which are good source of carbohydrates alternative to be used in fortification of food to combat folic acid
and protein (Ramalingam et al., 2019). In Northern and Western deficiency related disorder. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) belongs
region chapattis, dal, paranthas, puri, curd are most commonly to the family Amaranthaceae and it is an annual plant and grows on
consumed and are good source of free fibre, zinc, carbohydrates as the loamy, moist as well as well-drained soil. It is a green leafy
well as vitamins (Roughani and Miri, 2019). Fish with Rice, rasgolla, vegetable which mainly originated in Persia (Gunnars, 2019). But,
gulab jamun (milk based sweets) are good sources of amino acid, its use is quite common among the Indian traditional foods. Spinach
leaves are edible and are ovate to triangular in shape, flat and tender,
Corresponding author: Ms. Divya with variability in their sizes (2-30 cm length and 1-15 cm breadth).
De p a rtme n t o f Fo o d Te c h n o log y a n d Nu tritio n , S c h o o l o f Flat leaf spinach has become a mainstay in the supermarkets and
Agriculture, Lov ely Professional University, Phagwara-1444 11, salad bars because of its mode of eating in raw or partly cooked
Pu njab , In dia
form. In India, there are three different varieties known as smooth
E-mail: [email protected]
leafed spinach, semi savoy spinach and savoy spinach (Tewani et
Tel.: +91-8307239054
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54

al., 2016). A cartoon character Popeye was attributed for his capacity In each per 100 g, spinach consists about 22-23 kcal, 91% water, 2.9
to eat the spinach and a high iron content was shown in it. But, apart g protein, 3.6 g CHO, 0.4 g sugar, 2.2 g fibre and 0.4 g lipids (Gunnars,
from the iron, spinach was found to be rich supplier of vitamins 2019). So, the fortification of spinach in Indian traditional food can
K,C,A,E,B2,B 6 manganese, magnesium, folic acid, iron as well as enhance the nutritional quality in present scenario. One of the most
potassium, flavonoids and omega-3 fatty acid. It also consists a rich widely accepted method for the treatment of disease related to the
amount of dietary fibre which lowers the cholesterol level (Roughani nutritional deficiency is the supplementation of medicine, but as per
and Miri, 2019). It contains antioxidants as well as anti-cancerous the increasing demand and acceptance of the traditional food among
agents with good amount of vitamin K and carotenoids (Maeda et the local people, the fortified food can be a better alternative to
al., 2010). It has many health benefits including bone protection, combat the nutritional deficiency related disorder among the people
eyesight protection and muscular degeneration (Al-Qumboz and Abu- of every age group and economic class. For example, idli is a good
Naser, 2019). Spinach is a fine source of calcium as well as vitamin source of calcium and carbohydrate but fortification of spinach add
A which prevent acidosis and night blindness (Tewani et al., 2016). some additional benefits of folic acid in it.
Table 1: Importance and nutritional value of traditional food per 100 g
Nutr ients Idli Dosa Bajr a D ho kl a Rasg ulla M akki Sar so n Po n g al
kh ic hd i ki roti sa ag
Moisture (%) - - - - 45 -5 5 - - -
Energy (kcal) 33 60 25 2 34 10 6 90 64 21 2
Carbohydrate (g) 6 -1 0 8.3 38 -4 1 6.9 25 14 -2 1 4 -7 29
Protein (g) 2 -3 0.7 6 -1 2 1 1.7 1 -7 1 -5 5.5
Fat (g) 0.1 2.6 1 -6 0.3 1.8 2 -3 4 -5 8.2
Folic acid (µg) 3.6 0.9 59 0.1 4.6 4.7 105.5 21 .8
Iron (mg) 3.6 0.1 3.5 0 0.1 0.5 2.4 0.8
Vitamin A (µg) 0.8 22 .8 91 2.8 66 .6 108.1 4776.9 68 .8
Vitamin B 1 (mg) - - 0.2 - - - - 0.1
Vitamin B 2 (mg) 0 0 0.1 00 0.1 0 0.2 0
Vitamin B 3 (mg) 00 .3 00 .2 1.4 1.9 0.1 00 .4 0.5 0.8
Vitamin C (mg) - - - - 2 - 25 .6 -
Vitamin E (mg) 0 0 0.1 0 0 0.1 1.7 0
Calcium (mg) 4 10 .9 36 .3 6 105.1 1.3 91 .9 13 .5
Magnesium (mg) 7.5 9.6 74 0.2 6.6 17 .5 57 47 .4
Phosphorus (mg) 19 .2 17 .1 81 .4 8.9 69 51 .7 26 .1 55 .2
Sodium (mg) 1.1 0.7 12 201.2 28 .8 25 .7 50 .7 5.6
Zinc (mg) 0.2 0.1 1.8 0 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.9
Fibre (g) 0.3 0.4 2.2-5.8 0 0 1.4-3.0 4.8 2.2
Re fer e nc e (Krishna Anonymous, (Anonymous, (Anonymous, (Gurveer (Anonymous, (Anonymous, (Anonymous,
moor thy 2020a) 201 9) 2020b) and 2020c) 2020d) 2021a)
et al., 2013) Goswami,
201 7)

2. Review of literature enriched with all the nutrients. For example in Table 1, the nutritional
values of some traditional foods has been mentioned (idli, dosa,
2.1 Nutritional importance of traditional food rasgulla, bajra khichdi, makki di roti, sarson ka saag and pongal)
Traditional foods are the choice for exceptionally nutritious foods (Sarkar et al., 2015). Idli is a fermented product prepared by steam
which adds functional and biological values to the health of people. cooking. Idli is a spongy product, white in colour, small in size,
They are consumed regularly in urban and rural region of India round in shape. It is a famous food of south India and is a finest
(Gudulkar et al., 2020). These are embedded with the capacity to source of minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, phosphorus, etc., but it
manage body with blood sugar, immunity, bodyweight, etc., the is not a good supplier of vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic
major functional properties includes the chemicals with body healing acid, vitamin A as well as folic acid. Consumption of one idli provides
capabilities, antioxidants, probiotics and dietary fibres. Role of about 2% of the total calorie requirement of the standard adult diet.
traditional foods is also exclusive in combating the vitamin, proteins Dosa is also another highly famous food of south India and also
and mineral deficiency related disorder because these foods are consumed highly in the other areas of the country. It is also good
 55

source of the proteins, carbohydrates and fat (Krishnamoorthy et patients or weight loss, so it is traditional food but not a healthy
al., 2013; Anonymous, 2020 a). food (Gurveer and Goswami, 2017). Sarson da saag and makki di
roti are the traditional foods of Punjab and are good source of iron,
Bajra khichdi is a one of the commonly consumed traditional food of
folic acid besides rich in vitamin A, C, carbohydrate and calcium.
Haryana and Rajasthan, it provides 13 per cent of the daily calorie
Pongal is rich source of protein, folic acid, magnesium and thiamine.
requirement. It is a rich source of protein for the people who consume
vegetarian diet besides rich in magnesium which lowers the insulin 2.2 State wise traditional food of India
resistance that is good for people suffering from diabetes and the Indian traditional food represents its culture, cast, religion, group
yellow moong daal used in this prevents the deposition of the bad identification (Srinivas, 2011) as well as finest source of antioxidants,
cholesterol as well as enhance the protein quality (Joshi and Shinde, probiotics and dietary fibre, so it is reported to have positive effects
2009). Dhokla is mainly consumed in Gujarat as probiotic breakfast on human health (Srinivasan, 2010). Table 2 represents different
food. It is prepared by using bengal gram and rice mixture with the regions of India prefer different type of foods, some people consume
help of fermentation process. Dhokla provides 2% of daily calorie vegetarian diet which is plant based diet or some prefer non-vegetarian
requirement as well as easy to digest and good source of carbohydrate (animal based) diet (Ananthanarayan et al., 2019). The traditional
and folic acid (Sarkar et al., 2015). Rasgulla is traditional food of foods consumed in east, west, north and south region as represented
eastern part of India and one serving of it provide 5% of total daily in Figure 1 are quite different because every region have their own
calorie requirement. It is a milk based desert and nice source of cooking style, climatic factor and availability of food (Hoque and
carbohydrate, protein, calcium, but it is not good for diabetics, heart Taufique, 2019).
Table 2: Traditional food consumed in different Indian states
State Traditional food
Andhra Pradesh Rice, dosa, vada and idli
Arunachal Pradesh Rice, fish, meat, boiled rice cake wrapped in leaves, thukpa
Assam Fish, chickens, ducks, pigeon, insects
Bihar Litti chokha, dalpuri, malpua, balushahi
Chhattisgarh Rice
Delhi Rajma chawal, paranthas, kulfi
Goa Sea food, meat, rice, fish
Gujarat Kesari, dhokla
Haryana Kadhi, pakora, bajra roti, churma, bathua rayta, bajra khichdi, tamatar chutney
Himachal Pradesh Lentils, rice, sidu, chukh, rajma and til chutney
Jharkhand Dhuska, mitha pitha, roti
Karnataka Bisi bele bath, idli, mysore masala dosa, ragi roti, kootu, kesari bhath, uppittu
Keral Sadya, idli, appam, puttu, biryani, coconut, sea fish
Madhya Pradesh Daal bafla, rogan josh, biryani, jalebi, Ladoos
Maharashtra Rice, masala bhat, pav bhaji, wada pav, aloo poha, shrikhand
Manipur Black rice, fish, bamboo shoots fermented
Meghalaya Spiced meat from pigs, fowl, ducks, chicken
Mizoram Rice, spinach, eggplant, beans
Nagaland Rice, meat, stewed and steamed vegetable
Odisha Fish and other sea food, dali, anna
Punjab Stuffed paratha, dairy product, makki di roti and sarson ka saag, tandoori food
Rajasthan Daal- baati, raabdi, ghevar, laapsi, kadhi and boondi, daalbati churma, imarti
Sikkim Dhindo, daal bhat
T N (Tamil Nadu) Saapadu, dosa, sambar, idli, pongal
Telangana Sarva pindi, pachi pulusu
Tripura Mui borok
Uttaranchal Rabri, arsa, gulthiya
UP (Uttar Pradesh) Dal, roti, rice, chaat, gulab jamun, kheer, ras malai, pooris
West Bengal Fish, rice, shondesh, rasgulla
Reference Hoque and taufique, 2019; Krishnamoorthy et al., 2013; Krishnakumar, 2019
56

Figure 1: State wise traditional food consumed in India.

2.3 Nutritive value of spinach reported in the powdered form of spinach (14-36 g) as compare to
fresh form (92-3.6 g),boiled form (0-2 g) and cooked form (2-4 g).
Processing is directly going to affect the amounts of macronutrients,
The powder form of spinach also reported to contain 29-31 g of
vitamins and minerals between raw, cooked, boiled and powdered
protein which is quite higher than fresh form (2-2.9 g) and also the
form of spinach (per 100g). Spinach is a nice source of protein,
boiled (2.2 g) or cooked form (2-3 g) (El-Sayed, 2020). The cholesterol
carbohydrate as well as high in fibre content. Spinach is rich in
amount is negligible in all groups. The fresh form reported to contain
minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, zinc and
manganese. It has high content of vitamins A, E, K, C, B2 and B6. less fibre content which is 1-2.2 g and the boiled and cooked form of
Spinach is also a acceptable food for diabetic as well as obese spinach also contain the similar amount (2-2.4 g), but the powder
individuals because of its low fat and high chlorophyll level which form of spinach consists higher amount of fibre (22-24 g). The sugar
helps in digestion (Roughani and Miri, 2019). Spinach also contains content is almost same in all groups and the value is between 0-4 g
vitamin K, fibre and thiamine and it is a plant based source of iron per 100 g. Moisture content is 90-92 per cent in fresh, boiled and
which helps in oxygen transportation in blood and magnesium present cooked form which is quite higher than powder form which contains
in spinach helps in energy metabolism as well as maintaining muscle. only 5-6% of moisture (Tewani et al., 2016). Spinach is a nutritious
Spinach also contains lutein, zeaxanthin, nitrates which are helpful and plant based source of iron and the fresh spinach contain 2-11 mg
in maintaining eye health to reduce inflammation. Spinach is highly per 100 g; on the other hand, powdered form consists 26-27 mg of
nutritious vegetable which contains high amount of phytochemicals, iron and boiled or cooked form consist in between the range of 1-4
vitamins as well as minerals and the value of all these nutrients are mg. Fresh form of spinach contains less amount of calcium (73-99
different in different form of spinach like the calorie value of fresh, mg) than powdered, cooked or boiled form. The boiled or cooked
boiled or cooked spinach is 20-30 kcal (Holmes and Kennedy, 2000). form of spinach consist the calcium in the range of 73-160 mg/100 g
The powder form of spinach reported to contains 2-3 g of fat which and the powder form contains 2988 mg of calcium. The powdered
is quite higher than the fresh form. The boiled and cooked form of form of spinach is also rich in potassium and magnesium while the
spinach reported to contains 0-0.8 g of fat; on the other hand, the fresh form of spinach consists only 558 mg of potassium and 74-79
fresh spinach has 0.4-0.7 g of fat. The high carbohydrate content is mg of magnesium (Ramdas et al., 2018; Tewani et al., 2016).
 57

Table 3: Comparison of nutritive value of fresh, boiled, cooked and powder form (100g) of spinach on the basis of fresh weight
Nutr ients Fresh spinach (raw) Spinach powder Boiled spinach Cooked spinach
Energy (kcal) 20 -2 3 - 20 -2 2 20 -2 3
Fat (g) 0.4-0.7 2 -3 0-0 .8 0-0 .3
Carbohydrate (g) 2-3 .6 14 -3 6 0 -2 2 -4
Protein (g) 2-2 .9 29 -3 1 2.2 2 -3
Fibre (g) 1-2 .2 22 -2 4 2.1 2.4
Sugar (g) 0-0 .4 0 -4 0.8 0.4
Moisture (%) 90 -9 2 5 -6 91 .8 90 -9 2
Iron (mg) 2 -1 1 26 -2 7 1.6 3.6
Calcium (mg) 73 -9 9 29 88 16 0 73-136
Potassium (mg) 55 8 33 34 23 0 146-470
Magnesium (mg) 74 -7 9 14 28 34 24 -8 7
Phosphorus (mg) 45 -4 9 - 28 21 -5 6
Sodium (mg) 75 -7 9 45 -7 0 12 0 60 -7 0
Zinc (mg) 0-0 .5 32 3 0.5 0-0 .8
Copper (mg) 0-0 .1 0.718 0.01 0-0 .2
Manganese (mg) 0-0 .9 4 -5 50 0 0-0 .9
Selenium (mg) 1 - 0-0 .38 1-1 .5
Vitamin A (µg) 52 4 37 52 635-640 52 4
Vitamin C (mg) 27-2 8.1 22 5 5 -8 9 -1 0
Thiamine B + (mg) 0.1 - 0.06 0.1
Riboflavin B‚ (mg) 0.2 - 0.05 0.2
Niacin B 3 (mg) 0.6-0.7 - 0.9 0.5
Vitamin B 5 (mg) 0.1 - - 0.1
+
Vitamin B (mg) 0.2 - 0.09 0.2
Folate B% (µg) 156-194 15 52 14 0 127-146
Choline (mg) 18-1 9.3 - - 19 -2 0
Beta-Carotene (µg) 56 26 - 38 40 62 88
Vitamin E (mg) 2 - 1.7 2-2 .5

Vitamin K (µg) 482.9 100.47 - 493.6

References (Holmes and (El-Sayed, 2020) (Hedges and Lister, (Panda and Shinde, 2017;
Kennedy, 2000; 2007; Gunnars, 2019; Ramdas et al., 2018 )
Aslam et al., 2017; Ramaiyan et al., 2020)
Tewani et al., 2016)

The fresh spinach contains almost 49 mg of phosphorus but the system. So, it is better to consume raw form of spinach because the
boiled and cooked form of spinach contains the range of phosphorus most of the nutrients are affected by the cooking and processing
between 21-56 mg so, the fresh form of spinach is rich source of methods.
phosphorus it also contains sodium in good amount which is almost 2.4 Potential health benefits of spinach
79 mg and the cooked form of spinach is also contain about 70 mg of
Spinach is an important green leafy vegetable and is an annual herb.
sodium. The fresh form of spinach is not containing zinc, copper
It is cultivated for its high nutritive value. It consumed in different
and manganese in higher amount and all these nutrients are also form for, example raw, dry or cooked form (Raughani and Miri,
present in small amount in other form. Fresh form is also nice source 2019). Each form of spinach have its own importance and provide
of various minerals, vitamins as well as compounds that may have many health benefits which includes improvement in eyesight, healthy
many health benefits including boost the immune system and digestive blood pressure (BP), bone mineralization, iron deficiency (anaemia),
58

good for pregnant women as well as prevent neural tube defects then for the treatment of the diabetes, spinach tea was fed to the
(NTD) (Liu et al., 2004). Spinach is reported to contain high rabbits. The tea was processed by adding 10 g of spinach in 100 ml
potassium and low sodium level, hence helps in maintaining blood of water and it was boiled for 30 min till the 90% of water get
pressure. It is very useful for patients having high BP because the evaporated. This concentrated solution of spinach was fed to the
high potassium level decreased the BP. The concentration of folate in rabbit before 6 h. of glucose monitoring and they were found with
spinach is helpful in decreasing the hypertension as well as release normal level of glucose. So, the regulated consumption of spinach
the blood vessels to maintain blood flow. The cardiovascular pressure tea helps in regulation of glucose level in blood (Kuti and Torres,
is also decreased which helps in proper functioning (Jovanovski et 1996). Spinach consumption is also helpful in the improvement of
al., 2015). It is reported to be a good source of vitamin K which motor learning. This is proved in the experiment performed on the
helps in the retention of calcium in the bone matrix which leads to aged rats feed with AIN-93 diet supplemented with spinach abstract
bone mineralization as well as having minerals like manganese, (Bickford et al., 2000) and also the rats feed with NIH-31 rodent diet
magnesium, copper, zinc, phosphorous which helps in building strong supplemented with powdered form of spinach shows improvement
bones, prevent from osteoporosis and also important for nails as in learning delay classical eye blink (Cartfort et al., 2002). In an
well as teeth (Karpouzos et al., 2017). Spinach reported to contain another experiment performed by Umar (2007) in which rats were
high content of essential nutrients for example, iron which helps in fed with a dose of 0.5 ml of 1,2,3 and 4% of n-hexane in 99, 98, 97,
the prevention of anaemia as well as required for energy. It also helps 96 ml of olive oil, respectively, for regular 30 days by Ryle’s tube.
in the oxygen transportation in body because it is a component of Due to which, the effect of arsenic get reduced in the body tissues
haemoglobin (Taneja et al., 2020). Spinach is beneficial for pregnant like spleen, liver, kidney, etc., hyperlipidaemia Increase in the blood
women because it is having many nutrients which are required by cholesterol level was achieved by feeding the rats with HFCD (high
developing foetus. It also increases the quantity of milk in lactating fat cholesterol diet). The high HFCD feed supplemented with 5%
mother (Tewani et al., 2016). There were several experiments which dried spinach powder leads to the improvement of the enzymatic
were performed on human being and the animals for example, rat and antioxidants status in the body, protection of DNA damage was also
rabbits to analyse the benefits of using spinach under certain observed (Ko et al., 2014). The diet supplemented with spinach
conditions on the health related aspect of human being like insulin powder also improve the healing of wound and also reduce the time
resistance, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, anti-ageing of healing process in diabetic rats (Rahati et al., 2016). Another case
effect, etc. There is an experiment performed on elderly women in for the improvement of cardiovascular state under the hypertensive
which they were feed with coconut beverage and spinach, so that the condition was treated with a diet of spinach soup rich in inorganic
production of antioxidant repetitions were improved (Cao et al., nitrate among rats. A course of seven days was observed in which
1998). In a certain analytical studies on the rabbits, they were induced improvement in arterial stiffness and blood pressure was observed
with the certain dose of glucose due to which rabbits acquired diabetes, (Jovanovski et al., 2015).
Table 4: Potential health benefits of different form of spinach
Type/ health status Spinach part/extract used/ Po tential health benefits Re fe r e nc e s
do se/time (days)
Healthy elder women Coconut beverage (250 ml) with 294 g Improvement in antioxidant capacity of Cao et al., 1998
raw spinach in breakfast for 10 weeks of serum in females and this directly
indicates the direct absorption and
increased production of antioxidants.
Rabbits: diabetic Feed with spinach tea (900 ml) 6 h before The blood glucose level of diabetic rabbit Kuti and Torres, 1996
blood glucose sampling. (10 g fresh leaves gets normalized.
boiled in 100 ml water until the volume
of water reduced to 90%)
Aged rats : motor Aged rats were fed modified AIN-93 The spinach feed animals can reach a Bickford et al., 2000
learning diets supplemented with spinach extract better level of performance (motor
1000 g/kg (8 weeks) learning task).
Rat : learning Delay Rats are feed with rodent diet (NIH-31) The aged spinach feed diet rats show Cartfort et al., 2002
classical eyeblink supplemented with dry spinach (0.02%) improvement in eye blink conditioning.
for 6 weeks
Rats: arsenic in tissues Rats are feed with 1-4% n-hexane Treatment with extract decreased the Umar, 2007
(0.5 ml spinach extrat) in olive oil arsenic level to (1.1-1.4 µg/g).
(99-96 ml) by Ryle’s tube (30 days)
Rat : Hyperlipidaemia Rats are feed with HFCD supplemented Spinach extract may improvement in Ko et al., 2014
freeze-dried spinach powder (5%) for 6 efficiency of enzymatic antioxidant
weeks. system it also reduced DNA damage in
leukocyte of rat and improved
antioxidant status.
Diabetic rats with Rats were feed with 10% concentration Partial weight loss, decreased blood sugar Rahati et al., 2015
streptozotocin : wound of 100 g spinach powder in 1 lt. of water level, improved diabetic-wounds as well
healing for 30 days as the healing time get shorten.
 59

Human: Hypertension Spinach soup rich in inorganic nitrate The dietary nitrate improve vascular Jovanovski et al.,
500 ml/d for 7 days health which decrease arterial stiffness 20 15
and central BP leads to good cardio
vascular health.

Mice: high fat or Mice were feed with nitrate rich spinach Helps in the regulation of glucose as well Li et al., 2016
fructose treated powder 60 mg/kg for 28 days as lipid metabolism positively, insulin
mice. resistance and endothelial dysfunction
markers in mice.

Rats: metabolic Rats were feed with spinach powder Improve glucose tolerance, enhance the Panda et al., 2017
syndrome extracted with methanol water, natural enzymatic process in lipid metabolism.
antioxidants (200-400 mg/kg, p.o) and
(60 mg/kg, p.o) gemfibrozil for 45days

Rat: spinal cord A single dose of 20 mg per kg and 50 mg After 72 h of spinal cord ischemia rats Farjah et al., 2018
ischemia-reperfusion per kg spinach extract were injected are found with better hind limb motor
injury intraperitoneally to rats (before 30 min function as well as less grey matter
of operation) injury (spinach extract group).

Rat: obese Rats are feed withdiet (high fat) supple- The spinach diet feed rat shows impro- Iqbalet al., 2018
mented with spinach powder (5%) for vement in weight loss of testes and
4 weeks epididymis.

Rat: NAFLD Feed with pulverized pellets of the Consumption of spinach decrease Elvira-Torales et al.,
standard diet or the high fat diet with cholesterol level in liver and increase 20 19
freeze dried spinach powder (2.5%, 5%) MUFA and PUFA, it also increase the
for 5 weeks level of protein which involve in fatty
acid metabolism.

Rats : hepatic Rats are feed with standard powder diet Overweight people suffering from type 2 Elvira-Torales et al.,
steatosis with spinach powder (12.75%) as well diabetes can be cured with an improvement 20 20
as tomato powder (25.5%) for 35 days rate of 58% for the metabolic regulations
when fed with diet supplemented with
spinach it reduce 5-8% 0f body weight
of rats.

Rats with PCOS Rats are feed with Letrozole (1mg/kg) Improved the result of fasting blood Sherafatmanesh et al.,
for first 28 days and then with met sugar, luteinizing hormone, the volume 20 20
formin (150 mg/kg), caraway (3 g/kg) of corpus luteum increased as well as the
and thylakoid 6 mg chlorophyll orally atretic follicles get reduced.
for 8 weeks

Obese women with Feed with hypo caloric diet with 5 g/day Improvement in the reduction of abdo- Tabrizi et al., 2020
PCOS: cardiometa thylakoid-rich spinach extract powder minal obesity indicator, diastolic blood
bolic risk factor for 12 weeks pressure, So the diet shows improvement
in the risk factor of CMRF in obese
women with PCOS.

Swiss-Kunming mice were treated with high fat as well as fructose with spinal cord ischemia, reperfusion injury. They are injected with
diet, then they were feed with nitrate rich spinach powder dissolved spinach extract intra, peritoneal and reported to found with improved
in 5% carboxymethylcellulose sodium and 0.4 ml m/v give orally hind limb motor function as well as less grey matter injury (Farjah et
once in a day for 28 days. After that, the mice found with a regulation al., 2018). The obese rats are also feed with high fat diet supplemented
of glucose as well as lipid metabolism. The study also shows many with spinach powder shows improvement in weight loss of
good outcomes on inflammation on high fructose diet feed mice. It epididymis (Iqbal et al., 2018). Diet supplemented with spinach
also provides information about the benefits of spinach resist the also helpful in NAFLD and also increase the level of protein which
disease persuaded by high fat as well as fructose (Li et al., 2016). involve in the fatty acid metabolism as well as help to treat hepatic
One study found that feeding spinach powder when extracted with steatosis (Elvira-Torales et al., 2019). Spinach extract is also good
methanol and water as diet therapy to a female rat suffering from for biological and stereological factors in rats with PCOS and improve
metabolic syndrome in the ratio of 70:30 exposed positive outcomes. fasting blood sugar, luteinizing hormone (Sherafatmanesh et al., 2020).
Glucose intolerance, lipid metabolism and diabetes were among the In obese women with PCOS, the diet supplemented with 5 g spinach
common disease to be treated (Panda et al., 2022; Panda et al., 2017). extract per day results in the decrease of cardiometabolic risk factors
The effectiveness of low carbohydrate spinach diet was also observed (Tabrizi et al., 2020). Another health benefits are help improve vision,
in the improvement of the enzymatic process of lipid metabolism. cognitive function, treats anaemia, prevent cancer further more boost
Spinach extract is also proved beneficial in an experiment on rats immunity (Figure 2).
60

Figure 2: Health benefits of spinach.

2.5 Traditional food fortified with spinach and their nutritional and preservation of spinach can preclude the wastage and enhance
value the availability in diet throughout the off season (Chadare et al.,
2019). The preserved spinach in powdered form can be used in
In many countries (low and middle-income groups), women and different concentrations in the preparation of Indian traditional food
young ones are diagnosed with various kind of micronutrient of various region where spinach availability is very low. For example,
deficiencies because there diet is not sufficient to full fill the daily spinach fortified chapatti are prepared with wheat flour containing
needs of micronutrients (Tyagi, 2017). There are some ways to raise (1-10%) of spinach powder, but chapatti prepared with 5% spinach
the micronutrient level like pharmaceutical supplements, bio- powder are very nutritious and it may increase all the nutrients like
fortification and food fortification. Among all these type of foods, carotenoids, calcium, vitamin C, Folate (Khan et al., 2015; Waseem
fortification is a good way to raise the micronutrient level (Dwyer et et al., 2021). Spinach fortified biscuits are also prepared with 5, 10
al., 2015). So, to address all these deficiencies, traditional foods are and 15% supplementation of spinach powder in bakery flour, but
supplemented with micronutrients which may or may not be present the most acceptable group of biscuits are made up with 5%
in it with the help of fortification process (Dary and Hurrell, 2006). supplementation of spinach powder. The nutritional value of these
There are many traditional foods which are fortified with green leafy biscuit is also improved after supplementation (Galla et al., 2017).
vegetable like spinach to address the deficiencies like folate, iron, Apricot snack bar are also fortified with spinach (powder) to enhance
calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin C (Morelock and the nutritional value and their storage can be done up to 3 months.
Correll, 2008). Fortification of Indian traditional food with locally The storage time period did not affect the nutritional value of snack
available green leafy vegetables is suitable, healthy and economic food bar (Munir et al., 2019). Traditional food, vada ingredient like
because green leafy vegetables (spinach) are the finest source of bengal gram, soybean are fortified with fresh spinach leaves in the
micronutrient. From generation to generation, plants are consumed ratio of 50:50 + 100 and namakparas ingredients like refined wheat
as food as well as used as medicine to cope up with various nutritional flour, semolina are fortified with spinach powder in the ratio of 60 :
deficiencies (Warrier, 2021).The appropriate method of preparation
20 : 20 (Tyagi, 2017). In India, salted wheat flour noodles are also
 61

consumed as traditional food, but the noodles lost many nutrients 2.6 Significance of spinach fortification to combat folic acid
during the wheat refinement and lack in many nutrient like dietary deficiency
fibre, vitamins and minerals. To enhance the nutritive value ,noodles
The basic need of body is most commonly met through the food
are supplemented with 10, 20 and 30% of spinach paste and the
which is not limited to any single category or region. We consume a
most acceptable supplementation is 20% which results in improved
wide variety of traditional foods to meet our daily nutritional needs
and additional nutritional value with increased protein, fat and ash
and also supplement the daily diet with additional nutrient with the
level (Ramu et al., 2016). To increase the folate content of bread
help of fortification process to address the nutrient deficiency. Folic
(white, whole-grain), fortification is done with 20 g/100 g or 40 g/
acid is a man-made form of folate and is required to prevent nutritional
100 g spinach paste and it was reported that the most acceptable
anaemia, neural tube defect during prenatal period, skin related
group of spinach paste supplementation is 40 g/100 g with increased
disorders, certain cancers (Kondo et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2004) as
folate content in bread (López-Nicolás et al., 2014). Rice flour pasta
well as Alzheimer’s disease (Kruman et al., 2002). Folate is also
is a great source of starch, but is not a good supplier of protein and
essential for pregnant women for proper growth and development
micronutrients. To improve the micronutrient value, rice flour is
of foetus. Inadequate intake of folic acid may leads to serious birth
supplemented with 03, 05, 07, 10% of spinach powder and the most
abnormalities like spina bifida and also leads to anaemia in pregnant
acceptable group is 5% which improve the nutritional value (Trivedi,
female (Mitchell et al., 2004; Lassi et al., 2013). As all these disorders
2018). The traditional foods of many regions of India is deficient in
are related to folic acid deficiency, there is a need to take some
folic acid naturally or some content of folic acid get destroyed during
additional amount of folic acid in natural or synthetic form for
the cooking and processing methods, so the lack of folic acid in diet
prevention. According to the RDA suggested by ICMR, the daily
may leads to anaemia as well as folic acid deficiency related disorders.
requirement of folic acid for Indians is different for every age group
The process of spinach fortification in Indian traditional foods may
as represented in the Table 5.
prevent all these micronutrient deficiency (Crider et al., 2011).
Table 5: Recommended dietary allowance for Indians as per ICMR 2020

Gr oup Particulars Body weight (kg) Free folate µg/day

Adult (man) Sedentary

Moderate 65 30 0

Hea vy

Adult (women) Sedentary

Moderate 55 22 0

Hea vy

Pregnant Women 50+10 57 0

Lactating (0-6 mth) 33 0

(6-12 mth)

New born (infants) (0-6 mth 5.8 25

(6-12 mth) 8.5 85

Children 1-3 years 11 .7 11 0

4-6years 18 .3 13 5

7-9 years 25 .3 17 0

Boy 10-12 years 34 .9 22 0

Girl 10-12 years 36 .4 22 5

Boy 13-15 years 50 .5 28 5

Girl 13-15 years 49 .6 24 5

Boy 16-18 years 64 .4 34 0

Girl 16-18 years 55 .7 27 0

Reference (Anonymous, 2020e)

62

Folate can be acquired by outside source and gut microbes because it example, per 100 g of vegetables contain different composition of
is not innate. Folate is a raw form of folic acid present in sevral fruits folic acid like spinach (51.0 µg), mint (9.7 µg), cabbage (13.3 µg),
and vegetables (green leafy), for example, spinach, fenugreek, brussels amaranth (41.0 µg). All the fruits and vegetable containing folic acid
sprouts, orange, papaya, legumes (Iyer and Tomar, 2009). For have different daily value (DV) and dietary folate equivalent (DFE)
as shown in the Table 6.
Table 6: Dietary folate equivalent per serving (25 g or 1
bowl) and daily value of different food items.
Food DFE per serving Percentage DV
microgram (µg)
Spinach leaves 131.0 33 .0
Peas (black eyed) 105.0 26 .0
Rice (white) 90..0 22 .0
Brussels sprouts 78 .0 20 .0
Spaghetti 74 .0 19 .0
Avocado 59 .0 15 .0
Fresh broccoli 52 .0 13 .0
Mustard (greens) 52 .0 13 .0
Peas (green) 47 .0 12 .0
Beans (kidney) 47 .0 12 .0
Turnip (greens) 32 .0 8.0
Papaya 27 .0 7.0
Reference (Anonymous, 2021b)
Table 7: Bioactive compounds in spinach and their health benefits
Bioactive compounds Therapeutic use Re fe r e nc e s
Flavonoids Cancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antiobesity, protect Bergquist, 2006; Bottino et al., 2009;
cardiovascular system, antidiarrhoea Manzoor et al., 2021; Kanabur and
Carotenoids Eye disease, Anticancer Reddy, 2014; Singh et al., 2018;
Ascorbic acid Anti-aging, growth and development of healthy bones, teeth, gums Ballard and Junior, 2019;
Folic acid Neural tube defect, megaloblastic anaemia Patel, 2008;
Phenolic acid Obesity, cardiovascular disease, anti-inflammatory Krinsky and Johnson, 2005;
Peptides Lower high blood pressure, anti-inflammatory, prevent Ravetti et al., 2019;
formation of blood clots Field and Stover, 2018;
Saponins Decrease blood lipid, cancer, lower blood glucose Bento-silva et al., 2020;
Alkaloids Anticancer, antimicrobial, pain relief, antifungal Cassidy, 2018;
Terpenoids Antimicrobial, antiviral, antiallergenic, anti-inflammatory Granado et al., 2003;
Tannins Antibacterial, heart disease, anti-inflammatory, cancer Craig, 2004;
Defensins Antibacterial, antiviruses, antifungal Ruxto, 2004; Gunnars, 2019;
Flavonols Anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant Duthie, 1999; Altemimi et al., 2017
Lutein Cataracts, anticancer
Betaine Prevent steatosis, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer disease
Omega-3 fatty acid Depression, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular disease,
behavioural problem
Zea xanthin Eye health
Nitrates Cardiovascular disease
Quercetin Anti-inflammation, antidiabetic
Kaempferol Anticancer, chronic disease
 63

Along with the natural source, there are many synthetic forms of During the prenatal stage, folic acid aids cell formation, production
folic acid and are consumed in the forms of various vitamins like B9. of brain cells, blood cells and DNA/RNA during pregnancy, which
vitamin B9 is a type of synthetic form of the folic acid. It is mainly helps to prevent serious birth abnormalities to the brain and spinal
obtained from the supplements and the fortified food. Many of the cord. Folic acid, when consumed in sufficient amounts, diminish the
foods which are produced on commercial basis like as bread and risk of neural tube abnormalities in young one. Simple deficiency of
cereals used in breakfast generally lacks the folic acid. The foods folic acid cause interruption in DNA biosynthesis and due to which
fortified with folic acid which are generally high in the folic acid are neural tube does not close properly and leads to neural tube defect.
actually consisting the synthetic forms of it, as these foods are Folic acid consumption by fortification of spinach in traditional
industrially processed or usually made artificially (Siciñska and Pelc, foods decreases the prevalence of NTD (Scott et al., 1994). Flavonols
2011). The average amount of folic acid in the supplement is about also have anti-inflammatory and anticancer property which is found
400-1000 micrograms. The absorbability of the synthetic form of in high number of cases in developing countries (Gezici, 2018). Lutein
folic acid is about 100 per cent when taken empty stomach and it present in spinach prevent cataract and betaine prevent liver disorder
lowers to about 85 per cent when taken in the form of fortified foods as well as Alzheimer disease. The consumption of omega-3 fatty
(DeSoto and Hitlan, 2012). High intake of synthetic folic acid may acid in spinach prevent depression and behavioural problem, it also
leads to over supplementation issue and cause many health effect have anti-inflammatory property (Ruxto, 2004). Zeaxanthin promotes
like autism. So, the traditional food fortified with spinach is a finest good eye health and the nitrates prevent from cardiovascular disease.
way to amplify the nutritive value of food. The quercetin and kaempferol have anticancer as well as anti-
inflammatory property and also prevent from chronic disease
2.7 Bioactive compounds in spinach
(Gunnars, 2019).
A copious consumption of different type of fruits and vegetables
2.8 Antimicrobial activity of spinach
provides many health benefits as well as the green vegetable like
spinach are good source of bioactive compounds. The bioactive Spinach leaves are the appropriate source of minerals, antioxidants
compounds provide many additional health benefits; for example, and antimicrobials in human diet. As a result, spinach leaves are
spinach is a good source of flavonoids which helps against diseases beneficial to one’s health and have been used to treat human disorders
like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disorder (Bergquist, 2006). since antiquity (Altemimi et al., 2017).The extract from all the plants
Carotenoid have anticancer property and also provide good eye has antimicrobial activity (Rex et al., 2019). Spinach is used as a
health (Eggersdorfer and Wyss, 2018). material for food fortification because it has a lot of beneficial health
effect which prevent from various pathogenic microorganisms as
Bioactive compounds like ascorbic acid have anti-aginge effect and
shown in Table 8. Various microorganism like Streptococcus mutans,
also helps in growth and development of healthy bones and teeth
S. salivarious, Salmonellatyphimurium, Pasteurella multocida,
(Ravetti et al., 2019). Consumption of spinach provide folic acid
Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Micrococcus luteus,
which prevent neural tube defect in new-borns and spinach is also
Proteous vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus
good source of phenolic acid which has anti-inflammatory property
and Staphylococcus epidermidis almost all the microorganisms growth
and prevent obesity. Folate is also essential for a healthy pregnancy.
were inhibit by various spinach extract.
Table 8: Antimicrobial activity of spinach against various micro-organism

Part used Extract preparation Micro-organism Antimicrobial

activity
(Inhibition zone
mm)

Leaves of spinach, In the extraction process shade drying was done (1 month) and dried material S. mutans 18
neem and tulsi converted in coarse powder and microwave extraction was done (ethyl acetate). For the S. Salivarious 20
preparation of herbal mouthwash spinach, neem and tulsi extract (4ml + 2ml + 2ml)
were dissolved in 10 ml distilled water and peppermint and methyl paraben added as
preservatives (Patil et al., 2020).

Fresh spinach Fresh spinach crushed and soaked in ethanol (24 h) and blended then the extract was S. aureus; S. typhimurium 4.3
filtered and centrifused at 400 rmp (30 min). Extract was concentrated in evaporator E. coli; P. multocida 10.0
(40°C) and stored for further analysis (4°C) (Iqbal et al., 2012). L. bulgaricus; M. luteus 6.0
K. pneumonia; P. vulgaris 3.3
S. epidermidis 4.66
2.0
4.0
5.3
6.6

Spoiled spinach Spoiled spinach crushed and soaked in ethanol (24 h) and blended then the extract was S. aureus 6.66
filtered and centrifused at 400 rpm (30 min), concentrated in evaporator (40°C) and S. typhimurium 7.3
stored for further analysis (4°C) (Iqbal et al., 2012). E. coli 14.3
P. multocida 3.66
L. bulgaricus 3.33
M. luteus 3.0
K. pneumonia 4.33
P. vulgaris 4.0
S. epidermidis 6.0
64

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Citation Divya (2022). Role and importance of spinach fortification in Indian traditional foods. Ann. Phytomed.,
11(1):53-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.54085/ap.2022.11.1.6.