Sayur pucuk atau daun turi yang saya ketahui adalah sangat sedap dan versatile cara masakannya.
Sayur turi atau nama dikenali sebagai pucuk geti. Pokoknya mudah tumbuh, dan senang didapati.
Pucuk atau daun turi dicelur dan di lurutkan daunnya dan dimakan bersama sambal air asam jawa yang dibancuh pekat dan dicampur dengan cili boh ditambah gula dan garam secukup rasa atau dimakan dengan sambal belacan yang ditumbuk diperahkan air asam jawa yang pekat.
Sayur yang amat versatile, dimasak lemak berencahkan bawang dan ikan bilis atau udang kering dan ditambahkan keledek atau dimasak asam pedas yang rebuscuma berencahkan cebisan ikan bilis dan bawang merah.
Sayur ini juga dikatakan dapat mengurangkan inflamasi atau gatal hidung
Masyarakat desa suka memasak sayur ini. Ianya senang tumbuh dengan di tanam atau tumbuh disekitar rumah dikawasan keliling rumah dan sawah.
Dikatakan jus dan bunganya sayur ini dapat mengurangkan inflamasi dan gatal hidung dan batuk.
Juga dikatakan air rebusan akar digunakan untuk mengurangkan batuk dan mengeluarkan kahak.
Pucuk turi mengandungi khasiat yang tinggi, vitamin C. Setiap 100 gram bahagian yang boleh dimakan mengandungi: air 77.2 g, protein 8.4 g, lemak 1.1 g, karbohidrat 9.7 g, serat1.8 g, kalsium 181 miligram (mg), fosforus 29 mg, besi 0.3 mg, natrium 23 mg, kalium 356 mg, karotena 5022 ug vitamin A 837 ug, vitamin B1 0.06 mg, B2 0.71, niasin 2.4 mg, vitamin C 114 mg.
Turi
(Petikan: Agromedia Bil. 6, 1999) jabatan pertanian manjung perak
Pokok turi, nama saintifiknya Sesbania grandiflora sememangnya tumbuhan semula jadi di Malaysia, Indonesia, Filipina dan India. Ia tahan keadaan kemarau, tanah tidak subur atau bermasalah dan kawasan air bertakung. Lazimnya ia ditanam sebagai sayuran atau sebagai tanaman hiasan. Ada dua jenis pokok turi yang dapat dibezakan melalui warna bunganya. Satu jenis bunganya berwarna putih, yang satu lagi bunganya samar kemerah-merahan. Pokok ini hidup subur di kawasan persekitaran kampung, di tepi-tepi jalan dan di batas padi.
Sejak dulu lagi (entah berapa lama) pokok turi ini diberikan status sebagai tanaman makanan untuk orang miskin. Orang kampung tak berkira sangat, nak beli sayuran mahal kurang mampu. Jadi apa yang ada di persekitaran asalkan halal dan boleh dimakan tanpa mendatangkan apa-apa kemudaratan, makan sahaja.
Pokok turi ini sebenarnya pokok serbaguna yang mempunyai banyak kelebihan. Dari akar hinggalah ke pucuk, semuanya boleh dimanfaatkan. Ia digolongkan dalam keluarga kekacang. Pada akarnya terdapat bintil-bintil besar yang dapat mengikat nitrogen di udara dan dikatakan dapat meningkatkan mutu tanah.
Pokok turi boleh mencapai ketinggian sehingga 10 m. Batang utamanya tumbuh menegak berbentuk selinder. Keratan rentas batang ini boleh mencapai sehingga 25 cm
Batangnya dari jenis kayu putih yang lembut. Ia boleh digunakan sebagai bahan akar atau diproses untuk dijadikan kertas. Kulit batang berwarna kelabu cerah beralur-alur dan tidak begitu elok. Daunnya dari jenis pinat 15-30 cm panjang, dengan 16-30 pasang anak duan. Tangkai bunga sepanjang 2.5 cm dengan 2-4 kuntum bunga. Bentuk bunganya seperti kupu-kupu. Ia merupakan bunga terbesar dalam keluarga tumbuhan kekacang. Kelopaknya sepanjang 7-9 cm.
Di Indonesia, pokok turi ini ditanam bagi menghasilkan bahan bakar. Ia ditanam semula pada selang 5 tahun. Penanaman seluas 1 hektar dapat menghasilkan 3m3 bahan bakar untuk tempoh 2 tahun penebangan. Selain itu, batang turi juga digunakan oleh petani sebagai tiang sokongan atau para-para bagi tanaman seperti sirih, lada hitam dan vanila. Pucuk turi, bunga dan lengai yang muda boleh dijadikan sayuran yang enak. Kandungan protin kasar daun turi amat tinggi kira-kira 30%, begitu juga dengan mineral dan vitamin. Pokok turi berbunga sepanjang tahun. Bunga ini jika dicelur, rasanya seperti cendawan, tetapi bahagian tengah bunga perlu dibuang dahulu supaya hilang rasa pahitnya. Lenggai turi yang muda dan lembut boleh dimasak dan dimakan seperti kacang panjang. Biasanya panjang lenggai mencapai 50-60 cm dengan lebih kurang 50 biji benih. Kandungan protinnya tinggi iaitu 40%.
Pucuk turi pula boleh dipelbagaikan masakannya. Namun, perlu diiingat daun turi ini agak pahit. Apa juga juadah yang dihidangkan, perlu dimasak supaya hilang rasa pahitnya. Masak lemak dengan keledek atau lobak merah ataupun dibuat urap/keluban sungguh enak sekali. Pucuk turi dimakan oleh manusia, forajnya pula sungguh baik jika diberi makan kepada ternakan, terutamanya ternakan ruminan. Di Pulau Jawa pokok turi ini memang ditanam. Forajnya dijadikan makanan lembu. Pokok ini dicantas dalam tempoh tertentu, sama aras dengan ketinggian yang dapat dicapai oleh ternakan. Selepas dicantas, pokok ini cepat bertunas semula. Ia tidak mempunyai kesan keracunan terhadap makanan. Dalam kajian yang telah dijalankan di Jawa, sebanyak 1.8 kg turi segar diberi makan kepada lembu setiap hari sebagai foraj tambahan kepada diet jerami padi. Didapati pertambahan berat badan yang diperolehi setanding dengan lembu yang diberi makan diet terumus. Mengikut satu lagi kajian yang telah dijalankan di Australia, apabila pokok ini ditanam pada jarak 90 cm, ia menghasilkan 4.5 - 9.1 kg daun setahun. Apabila 12000 pokok ditanam sehektar, 50 - 100 tan daun setahun dapat dihasilkan. Dengan kandungan air 75%, bahan kering yang dihasilkan ialah sebanyak 12-25 tan setahun.
Kegunaannya sebagai foder sampingan kepada ternakan lembu amat menggalakkan. Kegunaan pokok turi bukanlah setakat batang dan daunnya sahaja, ia boleh ditanam di tepi jalan sebagai tanaman hiasan atau sebagai penanda kawasan atau pagar hidup. Dengan kanopinya yang terbuka dan melebar, ia memberikan teduhan yang nyaman. Ia juga boleh digunakan sebagai pokok pelindung kepada tanaman yang memerlukan lindungan. Daunnya yang gugur menjadi bahan sungkupan serta baja kepada tanaman lain yang berdekatan. Namun, pokok ini tidak sesuai ditanam di kawasan tiupan angin yang kuat kerana dahannya yang lembut mudah patah. Apabila pokok ini ditebang atau kulitnya dikikis, kulit pokok mengeluarkan sejenis gam yang merah jernih. Gam ini menjadi hampir hitam selepas terdedah di udara. Ia boleh digunakan sebagai pengganti gam arab dalam pelbagai jenis pelekat. Juga, ia boleh disapu pada tangsi joran supaya tangsi tersebut tahan lebih lama.
Dari segi kesihatan, akar, kulit, daun dan bunga turi boleh digunakan sebagai penawar pelbagai jenis keuzuran. Tepung akar turi dari jenis pokok berbunga merah boleh digunakan sebagai penuam atau sapuan pada bengkak sendi, lebam-lebam atau sakit akibat terseliuh bagi mengurangkan rasa sakit. Daun juga boleh digunakan dalam kaedah yang serupa. Jus bunga turi boleh digunakan untuk merawat pening kelapa dan hidup tersumbat. Di Ambon, jus bunga digunakan bagi mengubati mata yang rabun dengan cara memerah jus terus ke dalam mata. Serbuk kulit turi juga boleh digunakan bagi mengubati kudis, jangkitan kulat pada kulit dan ulser mulut serta usus. Di Jawa, tepung kulit pokok turi dijadikan bahan asas persolekan. Ekstrak kulit ini juga boleh digunakan sebagai racun lipas. Cirinya yang paling istimewa ialah kadar pertumbuhan yang amat cepat dan mudah dibiak sama ada secara tampang atau menggunakan biji benih. Boleh hidup sendiri dengan sedikit penjagaan
http://pertanianmjg.perak.gov.my/bahasa/rencana1.htm
Nutriscene: By DR TEE E SIONG
THERE was a recent story on the health benefits of tomato, linking it to reducing cancer risk (The Star, July 29, 2007).
The functional ingredient in tomato believed to be responsible for this health benefit is lycopene (pronounced as lai-ko-pin). It reminded me of an article I read some years ago encouraging eating more pizza (and hence more tomato) to reduce risk to cancer.
Though the most wellknown food source of carotene is probably carrot, many green leafy vegetables contain high levels of carotene, too.
I recalled writing in to the papers to say that one need not be eating more pizza to consume more lycopene as our local fruits such as papaya contain large amounts of this carotene. Indeed, it may be unwise to be recommending eating more pizza at all!
Let’s talk about this exciting group of pigments called carotenoids, which includes lycopene. This was the subject of my research project some years ago. Carotenoids continue to fascinate me as research continues to unravel the potential health benefits of these pigments, so abundant in our local fruits and vegetables.
Carotenoids in nature
Carotenoids, believed to have derived their name from the fact that they constitute the major pigment in the carrot root, Daucus carota, are found throughout the plant kingdom, although their presence is often masked by chlorophyll. It is less known that they are also found in insects, birds and other animals.
These pigments provide a whole range of light yellow to dark red colourings. Thus, a wide variety of foods, for example, yellow vegetables, tomatoes, papaya, oranges, egg yolk, chicken, butter, palm oil, shrimp, lobster, salmon and yellow corn owe their colour principally to carotenoids.
Well, you guessed it. Carotenoids are not present in nature merely to serve as colourants, to provide aesthetic qualities. Carotenoids, synthesised exclusively by members of the plant kingdom and photosynthetic microorganisms, play important physiological roles in metabolism.
There are several hundred carotenoids occurring in nature. In food, probably less than a hundred have been identified, many of them in trace amounts. Amongst these, less than a dozen have been investigated in relation to human health.
Vitamin A deficiency
Telling a story about carotenes must include their close association with vitamin A. Some 75 years ago, vitamin A was discovered as a fat-soluble growth factor found in liver, and recognised as essential for normal vision in man and animals. It is, in fact, the first vitamin to be discovered.
Vitamin A is now also known to play an important role in the maintenance of growth and epithelial cellular integrity and immune function in the body. In other words, it is important for maintaining beautiful skin and reducing infections!
The most well known signs of vitamin A deficiency are those affecting the eye, known as “xerophthalmia” or “dry eye”. The earliest sign is night blindness, when affected young children stumble when going from bright to dimly-lit areas.
As the deficiency becomes more serious, changes occur to the conjunctiva and cornea. If not treated, the tragic consequence of severe vitamin A deficiency is blindness. The deficiency affects mainly young children and is an important cause of preventable blindness in several developing countries in the world.
Vitamin A deficiency was reported to be an important sight-threatening disorder in the 1950s in this country, among young children of the lower socio-economic groups. The problem was largely eradicated over the years and there are hardly any reports of children with manifest eye signs of vitamin A deficiency.
It is however recognised that marginal vitamin A deficiency occurs among the poorer segments of the community, especially among malnourished children.
To prevent vitamin A deficiency, the obvious solution is to have sufficient amounts of preformed vitamin A in the diet, also known as retinol. Only foods of animal origin contain preformed vitamin A and these include liver, meat of animals, egg yolk and milk.
For many communities, especially those in developing countries, the main source of vitamin A is carotenes found in vegetables and fruits. Now you see how the carotene story is intertwined with the vitamin A tale.
Carotenes and vitamin A
In communities where foods from animal sources are too expensive, carotenes from plant sources become important sources of vitamin A. After absorption from food, the carotenoid is converted to form vitamin A in the small intestine and stored in the liver.
Not all carotenoids can be converted to vitamin A. Indeed, only a few carotenoids can function as provitamin A. The best known is beta-carotene and it has been estimated that one molecule of this carotenoid can be enzymatically converted to two molecules of vitamin A in the body.
However, because of the poorer absorption and utilisation, the overall biological efficiency of conversion has been estimated to be one sixth of the amount consumed.
Only a few other carotenes can be converted to vitamin A in the body, for example alpha-carotene, gamma-carotene and cryptoxanthin. Conversion of these carotenes to vitamin A is even less efficient compared to beta-carotene. The conversion is estimated to be one-twelfth that of the amount consumed.
Antioxidant role of carotenoids
A new frontier in carotenoid research has been the examination of a possible association between carotenoids and the prevention of certain cancers.
Carotenoids are known to be able to act as antioxidants, and to inactivate highly active chemical species such as singlet oxygen and free radicals, which would otherwise induce potentially harmful processes including cell damage. Through these actions, it has been suggested that carotenoids may play important roles in cancer prevention.
The antioxidation function of carotenoids and their potential in reducing cancer risk is not related to the provitamin A activity of these pigments. Several carotenes that cannot be converted to vitamin A have been shown to be potential anticarcinogens. One of these is lycopene.
A large amount of research has been undertaken over the years to investigate this important relationship between carotenoids and cancer.
Carotenes and cancer risk
There has indeed been convincing evidence to support the role of fruits and vegetables in reducing cancer risk. An international review coordinated by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that eating fruit and vegetables may lower the risk of some cancers, particularly cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
IARC estimated that the preventable percentage of cancer due to low fruit and vegetable intake ranges from 5-12 % for all cancers, and up to 20-30% for upper gastrointestinal tract cancers worldwide. A Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases in 2003 has recommended the intake of a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables per day for the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity.
However, the evidence is much less convincing when the association between individual vegetable and cancer risk is examined.
In the tomato story I referred to earlier, it was reported that upon reviewing available evidence, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) “found no evidence that tomatoes reduced the risk of lung, colorectal, breast, cervical, or endometrial cancer. However, there was very limited evidence for associations between tomato consumption and reduced risk of prostate, ovarian, gastric, and pancreatic cancers. Based on this assessment, the FDA decided to allow qualified health claims for a very limited association between tomatoes and these four cancers”.
Upon reviewing the evidence for lycopene in the tomato with cancer risk, this July 18 report in the JNCI concluded that there was “no credible evidence that lycopene, either in food or in a dietary supplement, was associated with reduced risk of any of the cancers evaluated”.
Indeed, over the years, several large intervention trials, involving tens of thousands of subjects and followed up for several years have failed to provide evidence for the protective role of specific carotenes, in the form of supplements, in reducing cancer risk.
For example the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention trial (ATBC) of Finland, reported in 1994, showed that daily supplementation of these two vitamins did not provide any evidence of beneficial effect in terms of lung cancer. Indeed, men given beta-carotene were found to have lung cancer more frequently than those who did not receive carotene.
The American study of beta-carotene and retinol efficiency trial (CARET) of 1996 showed that a combination of beta-carotene and retinol had no benefit but may have an adverse effect on incidence of lung cancer. In the same year, findings from the Physicians’ Health Study showed that taking beta-carotene on alternate days neither benefited nor caused any harm in terms of incidence of malignant neoplasms, cardiovascular diseases or death from all causes.
Carotenes in local fruits and vegetables
The most well-known food source of carotene (although not the highest in content) is probably carrot. This orange coloured root contains very high levels of alpha- and beta-carotene. Many green leafy vegetables contain high levels of carotene, but only in the form of beta-carotene.
Hence, vegetables such as sawi, spinach, kai-lan and kau-kei-coy and several local ulam, such as cekur manis, pucuk paku and daun turi are very good sources of provitamin A. Unlike carrot, the high concentration of carotenes is not clearly evident because the orange colour of the pigment is masked by the chlorophyll present.
Among fruits, it is easy to recognise those with high carotenoid content. Orange coloured fruits such as mango, as expected, contain high amounts of carotenes, most of which are beta-carotene. The carotenes in papaya and watermelon are more varied, as the lycopene makes up the major proportion of the pigment present. The lycopene content of papaya and watermelon are in fact three and six times higher than in tomato respectively.
Orange-coloured sweet potatoes, pumpkin, tomato and red chilli are other commonly consumed foods with high levels of carotenes.
My message
It is abundantly clear that we can only obtain the health beneficial effects of carotenes by consuming the fruits and vegetables that contain them. The pills and tablets that contain the extracted carotene have not shown to have the same benefits. There must be other biologically active components in the fruits and vegetables that allow the beneficial effects to be manifested.
Do eat sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables. Carotenes are just another reason for you to consume these plant foods that are rich in many vitamins and minerals and dietary fibre.
Do make the effort to encourage young children to eat vegetables. It will require more effort and patience on the part of parents. I assure you that the effort is well worth it because I believe there will be more to the carotenes story.
*Data on carotene content of local foods cited in this write up are based on Nutrient Composition of Malaysian Foods, Tee et al., 1997, Institute for Medical Research.
• NutriScene is a fortnightly column by Dr Tee E Siong, who pens his thoughts as a nutritionist with over 30 years of experience in the research and public health arena. For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my.
The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2007/8/12/health/18549577&sec=health
The carotenes story
author : The Star Date :12 August 2007
Carotenoids in nature
Carotenoids, believed to have derived their name from the fact that they constitute the major pigment in the carrot root, Daucus carota, are found throughout the plant kingdom, although their presence is often masked by chlorophyll. It is less known that they are also found in insects, birds and other animals.
These pigments provide a whole range of light yellow to dark red colourings. Thus, a wide variety of foods, for example, yellow vegetables, tomatoes, papaya, oranges, egg yolk, chicken, butter, palm oil, shrimp, lobster, salmon and yellow corn owe their colour principally to carotenoids.
Well, you guessed it. Carotenoids are not present in nature merely to serve as colourants, to provide aesthetic qualities. Carotenoids, synthesised exclusively by members of the plant kingdom and photosynthetic microorganisms, play important physiological roles in metabolism.
There are several hundred carotenoids occurring in nature. In food, probably less than a hundred have been identified, many of them in trace amounts. Amongst these, less than a dozen have been investigated in relation to human health.
Vitamin A deficiency
Telling a story about carotenes must include their close association with vitamin A. Some 75 years ago, vitamin A was discovered as a fat-soluble growth factor found in liver, and recognised as essential for normal vision in man and animals. It is, in fact, the first vitamin to be discovered.
Vitamin A is now also known to play an important role in the maintenance of growth and epithelial cellular integrity and immune function in the body. In other words, it is important for maintaining beautiful skin and reducing infections!
The most well known signs of vitamin A deficiency are those affecting the eye, known as “xerophthalmia” or “dry eye”. The earliest sign is night blindness, when affected young children stumble when going from bright to dimly-lit areas.
As the deficiency becomes more serious, changes occur to the conjunctiva and cornea. If not treated, the tragic consequence of severe vitamin A deficiency is blindness. The deficiency affects mainly young children and is an important cause of preventable blindness in several developing countries in the world.
Vitamin A deficiency was reported to be an important sight-threatening disorder in the 1950s in this country, among young children of the lower socio-economic groups. The problem was largely eradicated over the years and there are hardly any reports of children with manifest eye signs of vitamin A deficiency.
It is however recognised that marginal vitamin A deficiency occurs among the poorer segments of the community, especially among malnourished children.
To prevent vitamin A deficiency, the obvious solution is to have sufficient amounts of preformed vitamin A in the diet, also known as retinol. Only foods of animal origin contain preformed vitamin A and these include liver, meat of animals, egg yolk and milk.
For many communities, especially those in developing countries, the main source of vitamin A is carotenes found in vegetables and fruits. Now you see how the carotene story is intertwined with the vitamin A tale.
Carotenes and vitamin A
In communities where foods from animal sources are too expensive, carotenes from plant sources become important sources of vitamin A. After absorption from food, the carotenoid is converted to form vitamin A in the small intestine and stored in the liver.
Not all carotenoids can be converted to vitamin A. Indeed, only a few carotenoids can function as provitamin A. The best known is beta-carotene and it has been estimated that one molecule of this carotenoid can be enzymatically converted to two molecules of vitamin A in the body.
However, because of the poorer absorption and utilisation, the overall biological efficiency of conversion has been estimated to be one sixth of the amount consumed.
Only a few other carotenes can be converted to vitamin A in the body, for example alpha-carotene, gamma-carotene and cryptoxanthin. Conversion of these carotenes to vitamin A is even less efficient compared to beta-carotene. The conversion is estimated to be one-twelfth that of the amount consumed.
Antioxidant role of carotenoids
A new frontier in carotenoid research has been the examination of a possible association between carotenoids and the prevention of certain cancers.
Carotenoids are known to be able to act as antioxidants, and to inactivate highly active chemical species such as singlet oxygen and free radicals, which would otherwise induce potentially harmful processes including cell damage. Through these actions, it has been suggested that carotenoids may play important roles in cancer prevention.
The antioxidation function of carotenoids and their potential in reducing cancer risk is not related to the provitamin A activity of these pigments. Several carotenes that cannot be converted to vitamin A have been shown to be potential anticarcinogens. One of these is lycopene.
A large amount of research has been undertaken over the years to investigate this important relationship between carotenoids and cancer.
Carotenes and cancer risk
There has indeed been convincing evidence to support the role of fruits and vegetables in reducing cancer risk. An international review coordinated by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that eating fruit and vegetables may lower the risk of some cancers, particularly cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
IARC estimated that the preventable percentage of cancer due to low fruit and vegetable intake ranges from 5-12 % for all cancers, and up to 20-30% for upper gastrointestinal tract cancers worldwide. A Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases in 2003 has recommended the intake of a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables per day for the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity.
However, the evidence is much less convincing when the association between individual vegetable and cancer risk is examined.
In the tomato story I referred to earlier, it was reported that upon reviewing available evidence, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) “found no evidence that tomatoes reduced the risk of lung, colorectal, breast, cervical, or endometrial cancer. However, there was very limited evidence for associations between tomato consumption and reduced risk of prostate, ovarian, gastric, and pancreatic cancers. Based on this assessment, the FDA decided to allow qualified health claims for a very limited association between tomatoes and these four cancers”.
Upon reviewing the evidence for lycopene in the tomato with cancer risk, this July 18 report in the JNCI concluded that there was “no credible evidence that lycopene, either in food or in a dietary supplement, was associated with reduced risk of any of the cancers evaluated”.
Indeed, over the years, several large intervention trials, involving tens of thousands of subjects and followed up for several years have failed to provide evidence for the protective role of specific carotenes, in the form of supplements, in reducing cancer risk.
For example the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention trial (ATBC) of Finland, reported in 1994, showed that daily supplementation of these two vitamins did not provide any evidence of beneficial effect in terms of lung cancer. Indeed, men given beta-carotene were found to have lung cancer more frequently than those who did not receive carotene.
The American study of beta-carotene and retinol efficiency trial (CARET) of 1996 showed that a combination of beta-carotene and retinol had no benefit but may have an adverse effect on incidence of lung cancer. In the same year, findings from the Physicians’ Health Study showed that taking beta-carotene on alternate days neither benefited nor caused any harm in terms of incidence of malignant neoplasms, cardiovascular diseases or death from all causes.
Carotenes in local fruits and vegetables
The most well-known food source of carotene (although not the highest in content) is probably carrot. This orange coloured root contains very high levels of alpha- and beta-carotene. Many green leafy vegetables contain high levels of carotene, but only in the form of beta-carotene.
Hence, vegetables such as sawi, spinach, kai-lan and kau-kei-coy and several local ulam, such as cekur manis, pucuk paku and daun turi are very good sources of provitamin A. Unlike carrot, the high concentration of carotenes is not clearly evident because the orange colour of the pigment is masked by the chlorophyll present.
Among fruits, it is easy to recognise those with high carotenoid content. Orange coloured fruits such as mango, as expected, contain high amounts of carotenes, most of which are beta-carotene. The carotenes in papaya and watermelon are more varied, as the lycopene makes up the major proportion of the pigment present. The lycopene content of papaya and watermelon are in fact three and six times higher than in tomato respectively.
Orange-coloured sweet potatoes, pumpkin, tomato and red chilli are other commonly consumed foods with high levels of carotenes.
turi
http://www.carotech.net/index/news/127.html?res=110carotech