Bioprospecting of the local staple food to address the issue of malnourishment in Thane district
Student name: Ms Kaviita Chaudhary
Guide: Dr Chaithanya Madhurantakam
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: TERI Western Regional Centre, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Anjali Parasnis
Abstract: The Jawhar block in the Palghar district of Maharashtra faces an acute problem of malnourishment
attributed to nutritional deficiency. The tribal block, though, is dependent on forestry resources for
meeting medicinal and dietary requirements, but the issue of malnourishment is still prevalent in this
area. The biodiversity richness in the region and associated traditional knowledge has to be
documented for study and reintroduction of these species in the dietary patterns of local tribes for
enhancing nutritional consumption. The literature review revealed that existing plant species in the
vicinity of this region have high nutritive content that can help in the course of mitigating
malnourishment in this area.
The report presents background research on jawhar region that is blessed with abundant natural
resources and biodiversity. During participatory rural appraisal targeted at collecting information
on dietary patterns various plant species are photo documented in preparation of digital herbarium.
The laboratory test conducted on Ragi crop provided key research insights to develop an alternative
source of nutrition. Primary research suggests that these tribal blocks dependent on forestry
resources have access to many of the species as documented in this project that can be consumed for
nutrition. To sensitize the tribal blocks about nutrition and acceptance of locally available plants as a
rich source of nutrition awareness workshops are proposed that will guide people on the
consumption techniques.
Key words: Malnourishment, Tribal Blocks, Bio prospecting, Digital Herbarium, Local Staple Food
