Review Article: Arrowroot - Gluten-free, Multipurpose Crops

Abstract

Arrowroot is a starchy vegetable obtained from rhizomes of the tropical plant Maranta arundinacea. Its contains several medicinal properties such as antioxidant properties, anti-anemic properties, anti-diabetic properties, anti-inflammatory properties, hepatoprotective properties, antimicrobial properties and chemoprotective properties. Arrowroot is in general employed to obtain starch and may yield near about 12-15% of the starch by dry weight. Arrowroot is said to be a tropical tuber native to Indonesia. It’s usually processed into a powder, also called arrowroot flour that comes with a dense store of energy and used widely in both sweet and savoury dishes alike although it may have medicinal properties as well. The powder is extracted from the plant’s rhizome, an underground stem with the multiple roots that store it’s starch and energy. Arrowroot powder is fine, clear white, and odorless item like corn starch but ranks high on nutritional content found use as a thickening agent in the food industries. Some of the potent Ayurveda and medicinal properties of arrowroot includes alexeteric that thwarts toxin and infection, anti-dysenteric relieves and averts stomach as upset, aphrodisiac stimulates sexual drive, antipyretic subsides fever, depurative works as a purifying agent and hypocholesterolemic diminishes cholesterol levels of the blood. Aside from being high in protein and several nutrients, arrowroot is very easy to digest, making it ideal for children and older adults who may need gentler food.Its high starch content, arrowroot may be suitable for gluten-free diets, promote weight loss, help treat diarrhea, and strengthen your immune system.