Thirty land races of the seed legume Vigna umbellata, collected from the hilly state of Nagaland, North-East India were screened for nutritive value. Crude protein content varied from 14.66% to 26.88%. Total carbohydrate varied from 44.3% to 57.6%; ash content from 3.6% to 6.32%. Lipid content varied from 1.0% to 2.04% and crude fibre varied from 3.8% to 4.4%. Calorific values were in the range of 271.04 kcal/100 gm to 316.04 kcal/100 gm. SDSPAGE analysis of seed protein revealed a total of 35 protein bands. Dendrogram revealed the presence of four major clusters. Diversity was evident from the fact that while RB-27, 28, 29 and 30 had 21 protein bands each, RB-11 had only 6 protein bands. Our study indicates that rice bean is a promising pulse crop for future because of its wide adaptability and high nutritive values.
Rice bean, Vigna umbellata, Nutritive value, SDS-PAGE, Seed protein
