Roots And Tubers Crops: Nutritional Value And Functional Food Potential – A Comprehensive Review.

Abstract

Every nutritional value of food matters to us in order to maintain a healthy diet. Every food has a nutritional value that should be understood for our overall health. For a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet, functional foods play a crucial role. Roots and tuber crops like turmeric, ginger, and ashwagandha have been used in India since ancient ages as functional foods for various therapeutic uses. The major tuber crops of India are cassava, sweet potato, yams, elephant foot yam, taro, tannia, yam bean, arrow root, etc. They played a key role in the diet of the early human population before the evolution of settled agriculture. Numerous phytochemical components of tuber crops have antioxidant and antibacterial effects that should be explored for improving health and reducing the risk of disease.