Volume 7 • Issue 1 • 1000573 J Nutr Food Sci, an open access journal ISSN: 2155-9600 Open Access Review Article Sinha et al., J Nutr Food Sci 2017, 7:1 DOI: 10.4172/2155-9600.1000573 Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences J o u r n a l o f N u t r i t i o n & Fo o d S c i e n c e s ISSN: 2155-9600 *Corresponding author: Vinti Singh, Centre of Food Technology, IPS, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India, Tel: +91-9450058842; E-mail: vintis18@gmail.com Received November 22, 2016; Accepted December 20, 2016; Published January 02, 2017 Citation: Sinha J, Singh V, Singh J, Rai AK (2017) Phytochemistry, Ethnomedical Uses and Future Prospects of Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) as a Food: A Review. J Nutr Food Sci 7: 573. doi: 10.4172/2155-9600.1000573 Copyright: © 2017 Sinha J, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Phytochemistry, Ethnomedical Uses and Future Prospects of Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) as a Food: A Review Jyoti Sinha 1 , Vinti Singh 1* , Jyotsana Singh 1 and Rai AK 2 1 Centre of Food Technology, IPS, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India 2 Department of Physics, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India Abstract Mahua is a common name used for Madhuca longifolia, it belongs to the family Sapotaceae. It is an important economic tree growing throughout India. Mahua is a highly nutritious tree and can also use as an herbal medicine for treatment of various disease. Present paper review the earlier work performed on mahua fower, fruit and seed and highlight the use of mahua fower in value addition. Phytochemistry study of mahua shows that it is rich in sugar, vitamin, protein, alkaloids, phenolic compounds etc. A lot of therapeutic research was carried out on mahua which shows its ethnomedical properties like antibacterial, anticancer, hepatoprotective, antiulcer, antihyperglycemic, analgesic activities etc. Mahua fower is not only used in preparation of liquor but can also utilized as a food ingredient for preparation of biscuit, cake, laddu, candy, bar, jam jelly, sauces etc. This review paper focusing on employment and income generation through commercial use of mahua fower, fruit and seed in medicine and food industry. Keywords: Madhuca longifolia; Ethnomedical; Phytochemistry; Hepatoprotective; Analgesic Introduction Some of the food plants are believed to be an important source of nutrition as well as chemical substances having potential of therapeutic efects. Tese plants are efective source of both traditional and modern medicines and are genuinely useful for primary healthcare. Plants have been rich source of medicine because they produce wide range array of bioactive molecule [1]. Since long, the ayurvedic period, the herbal drugs were the sole source of medication for majority of population pertaining to the holistic approaches consisting of easier method of uses and better results. Despite vast continuous developments in the drug therapy, herbal sources are still of great importance and nearly 60% of the world’s population continuously using such drugs. Tese are not only used for primary healthcare in rural areas in developing countries, but also in developed countries as well where modern medicines are predominantly available. Te use of plants as a source of medicine has been inherited and is an important component of the health care system in India and abroad even in the present era. Te ayurvedic treatments of several ailments have focused on the need of investigating newer but potent and safer herbal medicines for use various afictions of the public in general [2]. In the last few years there has been an exponential growth in the feld of herbal medicine and these drugs are gaining popularity both in developing and developed countries because of their origin and less side efects. Banerji and Mitra [3] studied that mahua (Madhuca longifolia) belonging to the family Sapotaceae, is one of those multipurpose forest tree species that provide an answer for the three major F’s i.e., food, fodder and fuel. It is widely distributed in the South Asian countries. Tis tree known under the name of Mahua, produces edible fowers and fruits with high medicinal value. It is highly regarded as a universal panacea in the ayurvedic medicine and large evergreen tree distributed in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal [4]. Madhuca commonly known as mahua or butternut tree, 17 m high with a large top [5]. Taxonomy Botanical profle of mahua (Madhuca longifolia) [4]. Botanical Name: Madhuca longifolia Family: Sapotaceae Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae Tribes: Caesalpinieae Genus: Madhuca Species: longifolia Order: Ericaleae Description A deciduous tree, 10-15 m tall and with a spreading, dense, round, shady canopy. Bark: Is rough, brown in color, slightly cracked and fssured, inner bark red, exudes white, milky sap when cut. Leaves: elliptic, 15-25 cm × 8-15 cm, tip pointed, base angled, texture thick, hairy beneath, nerves strong, about 12 pairs, tertiary nerves oblique, and margin entire but may be wavy. Stalk 2-4 cm, reddish. Flowers: In bunches at the end of the branches, white, 2 cm long, pointed, sweat scented, feshy. Fruits: ovoid, feshy, 2-4 cm across, greenish, 1-4 seeded. Seeds: elongate, 2 cm long, brown, shining [2]. Synonyms of mahua English: South Indian Mahua Hindi: Mahva, Mohva Kannada: Erappe Telegu: Ippa