Nutritionally Rich and Medicinally Potent Leafy Vegetables of North East India: Problems and Prospect

Green leafy vegetable that are consumed traditionally by various communities of Northeast India have excellent nutritional and medicinal values. Malnutrition caused by deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in macro/micronutrients, has been considered as a threat to human health. Climate change exacerbates the problem of food security and malnutrition in its all form. Alteration in food pattern by changing the conventional food system may help in mitigating the problem of malnutrition. In this context, underutilized nutrition rich leafy vegetables can play a role to address this modern-day problem largely in developing and under developed countries. Proper scientific investigation on the nutritional and medicinal properties of these vegetables as well as optimization of agronomic practices as well as their preservation and packaging methods may help to unearth their potential as a game changer to tackle with the growing problem of mal-nutrition and unemployment. Here we have systematically discussed the problems as well as prospects of exploiting leafy vegetables as an alternative potential nutritious food for masses.