PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF YAVA (HORDEUM VULGARE LINN.)

Abstract

Yava (barley) is a well-known cereal used as dietary article generally in north India. An Ayurvedic text entails the uses of Yava in religious ceremony, dietary and medicinal preparations. Disease specific dietary measures are the unique concept of Ayurveda. As per Indian traditional drug knowledge, Yava is used for lekhana karma. The drug which reduces or scrapes away the unwanted dhatu (tissue) and mala (metabolic wastes) and thus helpful in removing extra fat (meda dhatu) is known as Lekhana karma. Evaluation of nutritional status was required to check which could be a good nutritional substitute in overweight. The grains were collected, pulverized and analyzed for various physical, chemical, nutritional and organo-leptic qualities. The present paper deals with the physico- chemical and nutritional evaluation of yava (Hordeum vulgare Linn.)