''Macrotyloma uniflorum'' (horsegram, also known as horse gram, kulthi bean, gahat, hurali, or Madras gram) is a

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

native to tropical southern Asia, known for its distinct taste and texture, widely used legume in many cuisines. It is also known for human consumption for its rich nutrients and medicinal properties. It is commonly grown for horse feed, hence the name “horse gram”. Horse gram grown in parts of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, as well as

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and is introduced to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. It is consumed whole, sprouted, or ground. It is consumed in many parts of India and is also known as a superfood, as many

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

use them to gain nutrients that is not normally found in their

sattvic Sattva (Sanskrit: सत्त्व, meaning ''honesty'') is one of the three guṇas or "modes of existence" (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept understood by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James ...

(

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

) diet. Horse gram is also allowed to be eaten on some Hindu fasting days. Medical uses of these legumes have been discussed and is described in the

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...

Description

''Macrotyloma uniflorum'' is a perennial climbing plant with a

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

, growing to a height of about . The stem sprouts from the rhizome each year. It is clad in varying amounts of whitish hairs and bears alternate, trifoliate leaves with petioles up to long. The leaflets are obovate or elliptical, and up to long. The flowers are borne in twos or threes in the leaf axils, and are typical of the bean family with banner, wings and keel. They are cream, yellowish or green, often with a purple blotch inside. These are followed by linear-oblong, upcurving pods up to long, containing up to ten reddish-brown, speckled or black seeds. The seeds have a length of .Kumar D (2007) Production technology for horse gram in India, Central Arid Zone Research Institute. Evergreen Printers, Jodhpur, India, pp 1–27, http://www.cazri.res.in/publications/KrishiKosh/113-(PRODUCTION%20TECHNOGY%20).pdf File:Macrotyloma Uniflorum young plant 01.jpg, Young plant File:Macrotyloma Uniflorum flower 01.jpg, Flowers File:Macrotyloma Uniflorum fruit 01.jpg, Young fruit File:Macrotyloma Uniflorum dissected flower 01.jpg, Dissection of floral parts

Distribution

Horse gram is native to tropical southern Asia and has been found in archaeological sites in India, starting from 2500 BC. The plant was probably first domesticated in India, and is now grown as a legume from India to Myanmar. Additionally, the crop is also grown for

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

and

green manure In agriculture, a green manure is a crop specifically produced to be incorporated into the soil while still green. Typically, the green manure's biomass is incorporated with a plow or disk, as is often done with (brown) manure. The primary goal ...

in tropical countries in southeastern Asia, and in northern Australia. Generally, the major growing areas of ''Macrotyloma uniflorum'' are located in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.Aditya, J. P.; Bhartiya, Anuradha; Chahota, Rakesh K.; Joshi, Dinesh; Chandra, Nirmal; Kant, Lakshmi; Pattanayak, Arunava (1 September 2019). "Ancient orphan legume horse gram: a potential food and forage crop of future". Planta. 250 (3): 891–909. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-019-03184-5.

Cultivation

Horse gram is drought tolerantBhardwaj, Jyoti; Chauhan, Rohit; Swarnkar, Mohit Kumar; Chahota, Rakesh Kumar; Singh, Anil Kumar; Shankar, Ravi; Yadav, Sudesh Kumar (23 September 2013). "Comprehensive transcriptomic study on horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum): De novo assembly, functional characterization and comparative analysis in relation to drought stress". BMC Genomics. 14 (1): 647. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-14-647. and also withstands harsh environmental conditions such as

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

or metal stresses.Prasad, Saroj Kumar; Singh, Manoj Kumar (1 May 2015). "Horse gram- an underutilized nutraceutical pulse crop: a review". Journal of Food Science and Technology. 52 (5): 2489–2499. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-014-1312-z. Generally, Horse Gram is planted with low agronomic inputs and without weeding. Furthermore, the crop grows on a broad range of soil types with different pH ranges. Cultivation is also possible on soils with poor

organic matter Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...

and

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

availability. Horse gram thrives where the temperature is in the range of . Frost tempratures are lethal. Due to the drought-resistance ''Macrotyloma uniflorum'' is grown in areas with low precipitation (). In wetter areas, Horse gram is usually sown at the end of the rainy season to still facilitate cultivation. Nonetheless, ''Macrotyloma uniflorum'' does not tolerate waterlogging. The plant is not only cultivated as a monoculture, but also as an

inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...

- or mixed crop together with

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** ''Vigna sub ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesmaize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

finger millet ''Eleusine coracana'', or finger millet, also known as ragi in India, kodo in Nepal, is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating species p ...

pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most w ...

amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...

, marvel grass or

kidney bean The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). It resembles a human kidney and thus is named after such. Red kidney beans should not be confused with other red beans, such as adzuki beans. Classification There are d ...

. Furthermore, ''Macrotyloma uniflorum'' can also be grown along with trees such as

neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afr ...

, white siris or babul. Both, grain and green

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

yield are highly dependent on the growing region as well as the selected

cropping system The term cropping system refers to the crops, crop sequences and management techniques used on a particular agricultural field over a period of years. It includes all spatial and temporal aspects of managing an agricultural system. Historically, cro ...

. Substantial yield differences in the various growing regions exist: In

green forage yield varies from 5 - 14 t/ha and in

approximately 4.4 t/ha are reported. Grain yield in

is around 0.13 – 1.2 t/ha and 1.1 – 2.2 t/ha in

Pests

Yield-impacting dieseases are

anthracnose A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

(''

Colletotrichum lindemuthianum ''Colletotrichum lindemuthianum'' is a fungus which causes anthracnose, or black spot disease, of the common bean plant (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). It is considered a hemibiotrophic pathogen because it spends part of its infection cycle as a biotro ...

''), the yellow mosaic virus as well as

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, as ...

. Other diseases affecting horse gram are dry root rot (''Macrophomina phaseolina''), rusts,

aerial blight Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush * ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands *Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) Performance art * Aerial sil ...

(''Rhizoctonia solani'') and

leaf spot A leaf spot is a limited, discoloured, diseased area of a leaf that is caused by fungal, bacterial or viral plant diseases, or by injuries from nematodes, insects, environmental factors, toxicity or herbicides. These discoloured spots or lesions ...

(''

Cercospora ''Cercospora'' is a genus of ascomycete fungi. Most species have no known sexual stage, and when the sexual stage is identified, it is in the genus ''Mycosphaerella''. Most species of this genus cause plant diseases, and form leaf spots. It is a ...

''). The pod borer (''Etiella zinckenella'') and the pod fly (''Melanagromyza obtusa'') are the most damaging insect pests. Others are

aphids Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

(''

Aphis craccivora ''Aphis craccivora'', variously known as the cowpea aphid, groundnut aphid or black legume aphid, is a true bug in the family ''Aphididae''. Originally of probable Palearctic origin, it is now an invasive species of cosmopolitan distribution. ...

''),

hairy caterpillar ''Metanastria hyrtaca'', called the hairy caterpillar as a larva, is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae first described by Pieter Cramer in 1782. It is found in Sri Lanka. Biology The adult has a grayish head and thorax and a whitish abdomen. F ...

(''Azazia rubicans''), pod caterpillar (''Helicoverpa armigera''),

American serpentine leaf miner ''Liriomyza trifolii'', known generally as the American serpentine leafminer or celery leafminer, is a species of leaf miner fly in the family Agromyzidae. ''L. trifolii'' is a damaging pest, as it consumes and destroys produce and other plant pr ...

(''Liriomyza trifolii''),

thrips Thrips ( order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...

leaf hoppers A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family (biology), family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified ...

and ''

Callosobruchus ''Callosobruchus'' is a genus of beetles in the family leaf beetle, Chrysomelidae, the leaf beetles. It is in the subfamily bean weevil, Bruchinae, the bean weevils.Tuda, M., et al. (2006)Evolutionary diversification of the bean beetle genus ''Ca ...

'' as a storage pest.

Nutrition

Horse gram and

moth bean ''Vigna aconitifolia'' is a drought-resistant legume, commonly grown in arid and semi-arid regions of India. It is commonly called mat bean, moth bean, matki or dew bean. The pods, sprouts and protein-rich seeds of this crop are commonly consu ...

are legumes of the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

, grown mostly under dry-land agriculture. The chemical composition is comparable with more commonly cultivated

s. Like other legumes, these are deficient in

methionine Methionine (symbol Met or M) () is an essential amino acid in humans. As the precursor of other amino acids such as cysteine and taurine, versatile compounds such as SAM-e, and the important antioxidant glutathione, methionine plays a critical ro ...

and

tryptophan Tryptophan (symbol Trp or W) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Tryptophan contains an α-amino group, an α- carboxylic acid group, and a side chain indole, making it a polar molecule with a non-polar aromatic ...

, though horse gram is an excellent source of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

and

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lea ...

. Comparatively, horse gram seeds have higher

trypsin Trypsin is an enzyme in the first section of the small intestine that starts the digestion of protein molecules by cutting these long chains of amino acids into smaller pieces. It is a serine protease from the PA clan superfamily, found in the dig ...

inhibitor and

hemagglutinin In molecular biology, hemagglutinins (or ''haemagglutinin'' in British English) (from the Greek , 'blood' + Latin , 'glue') are receptor-binding membrane fusion glycoproteins produced by viruses in the ''Paramyxoviridae'' family. Hemagglutinins ar ...

activities and natural phenols than most bean seeds. Natural phenols are mostly

phenolic acid Phenolic acids or phenolcarboxylic acids are types of aromatic acid compounds. Included in that class are substances containing a phenolic ring and an organic carboxylic acid function (C6-C1 skeleton). Two important naturally occurring types of ...

s, namely, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, caffeic, ''p''-coumaric, ferulic, syringic and sinapic acids. Though both require prolonged cooking, a soak solution (1.5% NaHCO₃ + 0.5% + 0.75%

citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOC(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in t ...

) has been shown to reduce cooking time and improve protein quality. Moth bean is mostly consumed as

dhal In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...

or sprouts. Horse gram seed contains

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...

(57.2% w/w),

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

(22% w/w),

dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...

(5.3% w/w),

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...

(0.50% w/w),

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

(287 mg),

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

(311 mg),

(6.77 mg) and

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...

s (321 kcal) as well as vitamins like

thiamine Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin, an essential micronutrient, that cannot be made in the body. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosphorylated forms of thi ...

(0.4 mg),

riboflavin Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...

(0.2 mg) and

niacin Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It can be manufactured by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variet ...

(1.5 mg) per 100 grams of dry matter. The nutritional content is partly dependent on soil conditions and the weather. The less appealing taste has led it to be not commonly eaten. The carbohydrate-fraction of horse gram flour consists of oligo-saccharides and

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

es. The starches can be divided in terms of digestability in those that can be digested and uptaken in the

small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the p ...

, and those that partly will fermented in the colon by the microflora. The latter ones, called

resistant starch Resistant starch (RS) is starch, including its degradation products, that escapes from digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals. Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods, but it can also be added as part of dried raw foods, or use ...

es, account for 43.4% of the carbohydrate content of horse gram flour. Oligo-saccharides such as

raffinose Raffinose is a trisaccharide composed of galactose, glucose, and fructose. It can be found in beans, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, other vegetables, and whole grains. Raffinose can be hydrolyzed to D-galactose and sucrose by ...

and

stachyose Stachyose is a tetrasaccharide consisting of two α--galactose units, one α--glucose unit, and one β--fructose unit sequentially linked as gal(α1→6)gal(α1→6)glc(α1↔2β)fru. Together with related oligosaccharides such as raffinose, stach ...

contribute to digestion difficulties. The fermentation in the colon often may lead to

flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...

and

diarrhoea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

, given the high concentration of both, resistant starches and oligo-saccharides, for horse gram longer cooking times, and other treatments are needed. Enzymatic treatments with

xylanase Endo-1,4-β-xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8, systematic name 4-β-D-xylan xylanohydrolase) is any of a class of enzymes that degrade the linear polysaccharide xylan into xylose, thus breaking down hemicellulose, one of the major components of plant cell w ...

has the goal to improve the functional and expansive properties of horse gram seeds in order to facilitate the use as an ingredient in the food industry. By following a high temperature short time (HTST) treatment, the content of

phytic acid Phytic acid is a six-fold dihydrogenphosphate ester of inositol (specifically, of the ''myo'' isomer), also called inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) or inositol polyphosphate. At physiological pH, the phosphates are partially ionized, resulting ...

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...

s and protease-inhibitors could be reduced by 46%, 61% and 92% respectively. The flour resulting from this treatment had higher water- and oil-absorption capabilities. Those improvements in digestibility and processibility could make horsegram an interesting protein- and flour source for the food industry.

Breeding

Globally, southwest

and the african continent are regarded as horse gram

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

-rich regions. From the 1970s,

germplasm Germplasm are living genetic resources such as seeds or tissues that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, preservation, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of seed collections stored in seed banks, tr ...

of horse gram has been conserved.Chahota, Rakesh & Thakur, Nisha & Sharma, Reecha. (2020). Efficient Improvement in an Orphan Legume: Horsegram, Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdi, Using Conventional and Molecular Approaches. 10.1007/978-3-030-47306-8_12. } The ''US Department of Agriculture's (

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

) Germplasm Resources Information Network ( GRIN)'' has preserved 35 accessions of horse gram, the ''Australian Tropical Crops and Forages Genetic Resources Centre'', has 38 accessions and the ''

Kenya Agricultural Research Institute Agriculture in Kenya dominates Kenya's economy. 15–17 percent of Kenya's total land area has sufficient fertility and rainfall to be farmed, and 7–8 percent can be classified as first-class land. A large amount of

drought resistance Drought tolerance is the ability to which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tolerance, detox ...

genes exist in horse gram and grain yield enhancement represents the main breeding goal. Little attention has been given to the

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...

structure and organization of horse gram. The use of new genes for horse gram breeding could benefit from genetic data on numerous

phenological Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples include the date of emergence of leaves ...

and morphological features. These may impact agronomic methods and crop productivity.Katoch, M., Mane, R. S., & Chahota, R. K. (2022). Identification of QTLs Linked to Phenological and Morphological Traits in RILs Population of Horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum). Frontiers in genetics, 12, 762604. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2021.762604 Many unfavorable traits such as late flowering, indeterminate twining growth habit, long and thin stem, thermo- and

photosensitivity Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving photons, especially visible light. In medicine, the term is principally used for abnormal reactions of the skin, and two types are distinguished, photoallergy and phototoxicity. ...

and a poor harvest index exist in horse gram. The digestability and processability improvements described in Nutrition section implicitly suggest to consider the reduction of

content,

s and protease-inhibitors as additional breeding goals.

Medicinal uses

Scientists from the

Indian Institute of Chemical Technology The CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology is a national-level research center located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). IICT conducts research in basic and applied chemistry, bio ...

have found that unprocessed raw horse gram seeds not only possess antihyperglycemic properties, but also have qualities which reduce

insulin resistance Insulin resistance (IR) is a pathological condition in which cell (biology), cells fail to respond normally to the hormone insulin. Insulin is a hormone that facilitates the transport of glucose from blood into cells, thereby reducing blood gluco ...

. The scientists made a comparative analysis between horse gram seeds and their sprouts and found that the seeds have greater beneficial effects on the health of hyperglycemic individuals. The majority of

antioxidant Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricant ...

properties are confined to the seed coat and its removal would not do any good. Raw horse gram seed is rich in

polyphenols Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of ...

flavonoids Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

, and proteins, major antioxidants present in fruits and other food materials. The seed has the ability to reduce postprandial

hyperglycemia Hyperglycemia is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. This is generally a blood sugar level higher than 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL), but symptoms may not start to become noticeable until even ...

by slowing down carbohydrate digestion and reducing insulin resistance by inhibiting protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1 beta enzyme.

Indian regional specifics

, it is also known as ''ulavalu, gahat, muthira, kulath'', or ''kulthi''. It is used to make popular dishes like ''Kulitan Saaru, Kulitan Upkari, Kulitan Ghassi'' (coconut curry preparation), and an ''

idli Idli or idly () is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from the South India,popular as breakfast foods in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and ric ...

''-like preparation (but not fermented) called ''Kulitan Sannan''. *In

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, horse gram is prescribed for jaundice or as a diuretic, and as part of a weight-loss diet. It is considered helpful for iron deficiencies. ''Ulavacharu'' (horse gram soup) is popular dish in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, it is served with cooked rice in some of the Telugu-speaking people's weddings and ceremonies. *In

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

and

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

, horse gram (called (''gahat'' in Nepali) is considered a medicinal food. It is given to children suffering from

mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gener ...

. Water in which gahat is soaked is taken by people suffering from

kidney stones Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...

in the belief that this dissolves the crystals. Gahat's use is specially reserved for the cold winters, when its heat-producing properties are most useful. *In

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, horse gram, (called മുതിര (''muthira'') in Malayalam which almost sounds like കുതിര (''kuthira''), Malayalam word for horse), is used in special kinds of dishes. *In

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, horse gram (called கொள்ளு ''- 'kollu' in northern districts and காணம் - 'kaanam in southern districts ) is commonly used in Tamil dishes, including ''kollu'' chutney, '', kollu avial, kollu sambar'', and ''kollu rasam''. *In

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, horse gram (called हुलगा) (''hulage/hulaga/kulith'' in Marathi and k''ulith'' in Konkani) is often used to make ' and ''shengule/shevanti.'' *In

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

cuisine, ಹುರಳಿಸಾರು (''hurali saaru''), ಹುರಳಿ (''hurali'') is a main ingredient. ''Hurali'' is also used in preparations such as ''usali'', chutney, ''bassaru'', and ''upsaaru'' or ''upinsaru'' (particularly in the Old Mysore Regions Mandya and Chamrajnagara Districts). *In

South Canara South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas o ...

region of Karnataka, in

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...

, it is also called ''kudu'' (ಕುಡು). *In

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

it is known by the name କୋଳଥ (Kolatha). *''Gahat'' or ''kulath'' is a major ingredient in the food of Pahari region of

northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

. * In

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

, ''kulath'' is used to make ''

khichdi ''Khichdi'' or ''khichri'' (, , , , Odia: ଖେଚୁଡି) is a dish in South Asian cuisine made of rice and lentils (''dal'') with numerous variations. Variations include ''bajra'' and mung ''dal'' ''khichri''. In Indian culture, in ...

''. In

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, it is cooked in a round iron saute pan (''

kadhai A ''karahi'' (; as, কেৰাহী, kerahi, bn, কড়া, koṛā, hi, कड़ाही, kaṛāhī, Marathi: कढई, ur, ; also ''kadai, kerahi, karai, kadhi, kadahi, kadhai'' ''sarai'', or ''cheena chatti'') is a type of thi ...

'') to prepare ''ras'', a favorite of most

Kumaonis Kumaonis, also known as Kumaiye and Kumain (in Nepal), are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who speak Kumaoni language as their first-language and live mostly in Kumaon region in the Indian Himalayas . Kumaoni is also used as an addr ...

. In Garhwal region, another more elaborate dish is ''phanu'' which is made in a ''kadhai'' with roughly ground ''gahat'' (previously soaked overnight) boiled over several hours. Towards the end, some finely chopped greens (''palak'' or spinach, ''rai'', tender radish leaves, or ''dhania'' (coriander leaves) if nothing else is available) are added to complete the dish. Served with boiled rice, ' (a millet-like grain, used as a staple by poorer Garhwalis only a decade ago and now a prized health-food). In

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

(Burma), horse gram is known as ''pe bazat'' () in Burmese. It is commonly used in making ''

pon ye gyi ''Pon ye gyi'' ( my, ပုန်းရည်ကြီး, ; also spelt ''pone yay gyi'' and ''pone ye gyi'') is a fermented bean paste commonly used as a condiment or marinade in Burmese cuisine, especially in pork and fish dishes. ''Pon ye gyi'' ...

'', a fermented bean paste used in traditional

Burmese cuisine Burmese cuisine () encompasses the diverse regional culinary traditions of Myanmar, which have developed through longstanding agricultural practices, centuries of sociopolitical and economic change, and cross-cultural contact and trade with ne ...

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1899077 Phaseoleae Edible legumes Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck