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The aim of this study was to examine the influence of Al on nutrient profile of soil grown with various pea genotypes. The study involved growing two tolerant pea (Kashi Samrath and Kashi Samridhi) and two susceptible (Matar Ageta-7 and AP-3) genotypes with increasing added rate of Al (0, 12 ppm and 24 ppm) in soil. Al application in soil resulted in significant decrease in nutrient availability of soil mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The addition of Al caused decrease in soil pH causing a negative effect on the yield of susceptible pea genotypes. However, in tolerant genotypes, there was no significant effect on yield, despite a decrease in soil pH and an imbalance of nutrients.

Garcinia, an evergreen polygamous tree and shrub distributed in tropical Asia, Africa and Polynesia belong to the family Clusiaceae. This genus consists of several species which are widely used as a source of edible fruits, timber, resin, and other natural products, and are also utilized in the treatment of various ailments in Indian ayurveda. About 35 species are found in India, many of which are endemic and economically important with immense medicinal properties, and are a rich source of bioactive molecules including xanthones, flavonoids, benzophenones, lactones and phenolic acids. Species of Garcinia grow extensively in semi wild state, in the Western Ghats covering Maharashtra, Goa, coastal areas of Karnataka, Kerala, Nilgiri Hills, the evergreen forests of North East Hill region, West Bengal, Andaman Islands, Orissa, and Bihar among others. Garcinia is the source for a natural diet ingredient Hydroxy Citric Acid (HCA) which is an anti-obesity compound. Most of the species also possess antibacterial, antifungal, anti-ulcerogenic, cardioprotective, anticancer, chemopreventive, free radical scavenging, and antioxidant properties. However, lack of consciousness and awareness coupled with habitat destruction led to the genetic erosion of this forest resource, and many species are threatened which need to be conserved and further studied for its nutrient and phyto-pharmacological properties. This paper reviews the nutritional value, the phytochemical compounds, traditional uses and validated pharmacological properties of different Garcinia species.

The present study was carried out with the aim to screen out the nutritional characteristics of three underutilized fruit species of the genus Spondias which are seen grown wild in the forest of the north-eastern region of India, as the detail information on nutrient composition of these fruit species is scarce and people are unaware of the nutritional factor though inadvertently consuming a good amount of nutrients from these fruits. The present nutritional assessment revealed that the fruit of Spondias pinnata was found to possess highest TSS content (15.27 °Brix) however it was observed to exhibit higher acidity (4.59%) as well. The minimum titratable acidity was found in Spondias axillaris (2.45%). Spondias pinnata exhibited the highest ascorbic acid content (74.16 mg/100 g) followed by Spondias axillaris (61.60 mg/100 g) while the lowest (31.55 mg/100 g) was found in Spondias cytherea. Further, from the experiment, it was found that Spondias pinnata having the highest ascorbic acid was also found to exhibit highest DPPH free radical scavenging activity (68.49%). Spondias pinnata was also found to possess maximum reducing sugar (7.32%), total carbohydrate (12.51%), total chlorophyll (0.03 mg/g), total carotenoid (1.30 mg/100 g) and starch content (195.72 mg/100 g). As far as total free amino acid was concern, Spondias cytherea recorded highest total free amino acid content (158.67 mg/100 g) showing a wide variation in comparison to Spondias axillaris (25.33 mg/100 g) and Spondias pinnata (22.67 mg/100 g). These wild fruit species under study proved to be a good source of nutrients with a potential to fulfill the nutritional requirements locally.