Curcuma zanthorrhiza Roxb., a wild relative of turmeric belongs to the family Zingiberaceae, is an important under exploited rhizomatous herb. Inspite of its medicinal uses, the traditional benefits extends to the isolation of starch powder from its rhizomes, and could be used as nutritional supplement like arrowroot powder. In the present study, the crude starch powder was isolated from the rhizomes of C. zanthorrhiza, was subjected to various characterization and acute oral toxicity study. The results showed that the starch recovery percentage of C. zanthorrhiza as 10.40±3.65 and the presence of the coumarin and natural colourant curcumin content on the isolated crude starch powder. Relatively very small amount of moisture, crude protein, fat, fibre, and ash content was noticed. Acute oral toxicity studies of the starch powder in Swiss Albino Mice showed non-toxic and there were no significant change in body weights, food and water consumption by the animals from all dose groups (50-6400 mg/kg bw). Observations against various physico-chemical parameters and granular morphology were also noticed. The present work substantiates the usefulness of the starch powder isolated from this wild turmeric and supports its nutritional significance and non-toxic effect. This underutilized minor tuber crop is potential in many food and non-food applications based on their physico-chemical characteristics.

中文翻译：

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姜黄的野生亲缘姜黄（Cercuma zanthorrhiza Roxb）。-食用淀粉的来源

姜黄的野生近缘姜黄（Curcuma zanthorrhiza Roxb。）是姜科植物，是一种被利用的重要根茎植物。尽管具有药用用途，但传统的好处还包括从根茎中分离出淀粉粉，并且可以像葛粉一样用作营养补品。在本研究中，从C的根茎中分离出了粗淀粉粉末。山竹，进行了各种表征和急性口服毒性研究。结果表明，山竹果的淀粉回收率较高。为10.40±3.65，分离的粗淀粉粉末中存在香豆素和天然色素姜黄素。注意到相对少量的水分，粗蛋白，脂肪，纤维和灰分。瑞士白化小鼠中淀粉粉的急性口服毒性研究显示，所有剂量组（50-6400 mg / kg bw）的动物的体重，食物和水消耗量均无明显变化。还注意到对各种理化参数和颗粒形态的观察。目前的工作证实了从这种野生姜黄中分离出的淀粉粉的有用性，并支持其营养价值和无毒作用。基于其理化特性，这种未充分利用的小块茎作物在许多食品和非食品应用中具有潜力。