ABSTRACTGuar and velvetbean contain valuable phytochemicals which are effective nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals with potential as new alternative crops in sub tropical areas worldwide. Guar seed contains dietary fiber plus additional products including the flavonoid, quercetin which has been shown to reduce diabetes and lowers lung cancer. Velvetbean contains the phytochemical known as L dopa which may ease the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in humans. Many other phytochemical traits from velvetbean have been identified and include glutamic acid which is potentially useful for chemotherapy induced mucositis. Both of these species contain additional health enhancing phytochemicals to be economically feasible for commercial applications in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical areas. Both species were either direct seeded or transplanted to fields in Georgia, U.S.A. between May 1st and June 1st during all years tested. More than 100 accessions of guar and velvetbean were evaluated for their regeneration capability. High quality plants regenerated from all accessions produced up to 8,000 seed. This spring, summer, fall regeneration provided high quality seed from these guar and velvetbean genetic resources for use as nutraceuticals and phytopharmaceuticals.
Buy this Article
|