Analysis of iron content in selected vegetarian food items

Analysis of iron content in selected vegetarian food items in Pokhara

Analysis of iron content

Analysis of iron content of 10 vegetarian food samples belonging to three different food (spices, lentils and locally available vegetables) categories was the objective of this study. UV-Vis spectrophotometry was used to estimate and evaluate the levels of iron in the studied vegetables, lentils and spices. Vegetarians are more vulnerable to the deficiency of iron as they consume non-heme iron which needs to be altered before it can be absorbed by the body. While, non-vegetarians are rarely a victim of iron deficiency as their diet consists of meat through which they consume proteins like hemoglobin and myoglobin directly in the unaltered form. Inevitably, there is a need to measure the amount of iron in the vegetarian food products to determine which food sources are rich in iron, so that they may be consumed during iron deficiency. Spectrophotometric technique of analysis was used to determine the iron content. It works on principle of the Beer-Lambert law. From the results thus obtained, the maximum contribution was shown by spices and condiments towards the dietary iron content whereas the minimum contribution was shown by vegetables and lentils.

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Gangetic Dolphin

Scientific name: Plantanista gangetica

Zoologist have divided the Dolphin into two parts as Gangetic Dolphin and Indus Dolphin. There are 10 species of Dolphin found in India, Nepal ,China,USA and Brazil. Among the 10 species of Dolphin the Gangetic Dolphin, Chinese River Dolphin, Indus River Dolphin and Amazon Dolphin are fresh water living ones. Gangetic Dolphins are found in rivers of India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Brown Bear

Scientific name: Ursus arctos

There are 8 different species  of Bear in the world one is this Brown Bear which is found to be  distributed in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet, Europe and North America.The male Brown Bear is 210cms-245cms long and female is a bit short than male. They weighs about 100-200 kgs and have a height of 1.5m-1.7m. It is listed in CITES Appendix-I and IUCN Red Data Book.

Black Buck

Scientific name- Antelope cervicapra

At present Black Buck is confined only to India and Nepal. There are 4 species of Black Buck present in this two countries. The male have two rounded horns and the horn does not shed every year and is not hollow also. They are usually 45 cms-50 cms long and have a height of 80cms -90cms. it is listed in CITES Annex-III and Red Data Book IUCN due to its low number and distribution.