Bamboosare fast-growing species in the grass family (Poaceae), mainly growing in
temperate and tropical regions of the world. Bamboos have multiple utilizations
(including building materials, medicinal ingredients, nutritious vegetables and
animal feed stocks) depending on bamboo species, bamboo types, plant parts and
growing regions of a country. Bamboo shoots and leaves are very nutritious and have
been used for human consumption and animal feed for many years. There are a
number of studies published on nutrient value of bamboo shoots but very few on
bamboo leaves. Newly emerging bamboo shoots are rich in protein, amino acids,
vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals and are consumed as Popular
vegetables, especially in Asian countries. Bamboo leaves, stems and shoots are
a staple food for giant pandas. Research has shown that as shoots age, all
nutrient values (except dietary fiber) decrease.
Bambooleaves are used as a food source for goats, sheep, yaks and cattle. However,
there is a lack of information available on the nutrient value of leaves
harvested at different seasons and specific locations. The genetic diversity of
the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System’s (NPGS) bamboo germplasm
accessions maintained in Byron, GA was previously characterized using SSR
markers but there was no nutritional information available for these accessions
or for those maintained at the Tropical Agricultural Research Station.
The lack ofnutritional information on bamboo germplasm greatly hinders its utilization as
a food or feed crop. To address this issue, leaf samples from more than 200
bamboo accessions collected from three locations and two harvesting seasons
were used for chemical analysis (including leaf crude protein content, amino
acid composition and mineral element concentrations).
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