A Review on the Nutritional Profile, Therapeutic Potential and Industrial Utilization of Asparagus officinalis
Karan Koushal
Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, 144411, Punjab, India.
Udit Sharma
Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, 144411, Punjab, India.
Rohit Kumar
Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, 144411, Punjab, India.
Monisha Rawat
*
Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, 144411, Punjab, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Asparagus, scientifically known as Asparagus officinalis, belongs to the family Asparagaceae. It can be found in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and India, although it is predominantly cultivated in India. A group of flavonoids, quercetin, steroidal saponins, sarsa sapogenins, Kaempferol, rutin, and polyphenols are the main bioactive ingredients that give the asparagus plants their medicinal significance. Because of its remarkable potential, the tuberous and other plant parts like stem, and leaves are widely used in the pharmaceutical industries in the creation of numerous herbal medicines. The asparagus plants are rich in nutrients and the extracts that are prepared from roots have been shown to have pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, rejuvenator, antibacterial, antiviral, antidiabetic, antifungal, antitumor, and anticancerous. Asparagus is also known as shatavari or satavar, but in ayurveda, it is known as ‘rasayana’ due to its therapeutic properties. The present review explores the nutritional, phytochemical constituent, therapeutic and pharmaceutical properties of asparagus that provide the plant medicinal significance.
Keywords: Asparagus officinalis, phytochemicals, therapeutics, antioxidants