Chemical analyses of salt-substitutes derived from phelo and its role in the health care system of the local indigenes

Abstract

Today salt is the most desired and routinely added major food ingredient used in many food preparation and food processing technologies as well as in many therapeutic purposes. The taste of salt or saltiness is universally accepted by the human society since time immemorial. There are many literatures describing about the modern human civilizations obtaining salt from different sources to satisfy their gustatory senses. Likewise the Karbi tribe, a hilly tribe of Assam, India, have been observed practicing extraction of a liquid condiment as salt-substitute from different plants and plant parts since time immemorial. The extracted condiment is known as Phelo in the region and it provides a unique flavour and many essential minerals to the local diets. But at present it is observe that such salt-alike condiment extraction practice is vanishing from this region because of replacement of these local condiments with the commercially available refined salts and soda powder. Therefore the present study was an attempt to help uncover the forgotten salt resources and transform these liquid condiment used as salt-substitute to a solid form and also highlight its therapeutic potentialities. Today many man-made harmful food ingredients and food additives causing many deleterious health issues are the main cause of concern among the people, so the present study will provide a new herbal salt-substitute with an up-to-date nutritional information which is very natural and safe for human consumption.