Green Leafy Vegetables of Rural India: Ethnobotany and Contribution to Eye Health

232 Pages·2010·4.1 MB·English

by  Julie Bélanger

Green
Leafy
Vegetables
of
Rural
India:
Ethnobotany
and

Contribution
to
Eye
Health


Julie
Bélanger


Degree
of
Doctor
of
Philosophy



Plant
Science
Department,
Faculty
of
Agricultural
and
Environmental

Sciences


McGill
University


Montreal,
Quebec,
Canada


May
2010


A
thesis
submitted
to
McGill
University
in
partial
fulfillment
of
the

requirements
of
the
degree
of
Doctor
of
Philosophy


©Julie
Bélanger
2010.
DEDICATION


This
dissertation
is
dedicated
to
the
women
of
Madanapalle,
who
generously

gave
their
time
and
shared
with
us
their
knowledge
of
the
plants
they
use
and

value.



i
ABSTRACT


Recognition
 of
 the
 contribution
 of
 biological
 diversity
 to
 human
 health

demands
more
scientifically
sound
evidence
than
currently
exists,
while
the

multifactorial
 nature
 of
 this
 relationship
 calls
 for
 innovative
 research

frameworks.
 This
 thesis
 presents
 a
 multidisciplinary
 case
 study
 on
 the

contribution
of
elements
of
biological
diversity,
namely
wild
and
cultivated

leafy
 vegetables,
 towards
 age-related
 cataract
 prevention
 in
 a
 rural

developing
country
context.
At
the
center
of
this
thesis,
an
ethnobotanical

study
 identified
 determinants
 of
 consumption
 of
 leafy
 vegetables
 and

demonstrated
how
perceived
properties
and
cultivation
status
significantly

influence
consumption
patterns.
Plant
species
of
interest,
analysed
by
High

Performance
 Liquid
 Chromatography,
 were
 found
 to
 exhibit
 high

concentrations
 of
 lutein
 and
 β-carotene.
 Drawing
 on
 ethnobotanical
 and

analytical
data,
an
eye
hospital-based
case-control
study
was
conducted
to

compare
leafy
vegetable
consumption
and
diversity,
along
with
lutein
and

zeaxanthin
intake,
in
female
patients
identified
with
and
without
age-related

cataract.
Conflicting
results
for
associations
between
leafy
vegetable
species

and
 age-related
 cataract,
 and
 protective
 associations
 for
 elements
 of

traditional
diets,
including
yogurt
and
tea,
were
observed.
The
integration
of

results
 across
 isolated
 studies
 in
 a
 multidisciplinary
 framework
 further

ii
reflected
 the
 complex
 biological,
 socio-economic
 and
 environmental

components
of
eye
health
and
leafy
vegetable
diversity,
and
highlighted
new

knowledge
with
important
application
in
the
eye
health
of
populations
at
risk.

iii
RÉSUMÉ


Afin
de
reconnaître
la
contribution
de
la
biodiversité
à
la
santé
humaine,
de

solides
preuves
scientifiques
additionnelles
sont
requises.
Dʼautre
part,
la

nature
multifactorielle
de
cette
relation
nécessite
lʼélaboration
de
cadres
de

recherche
 innovateurs.
 Ce
 mémoire
 présente
 une
 étude
 de
 cas

multidisciplinaire
 sur
 la
 contribution
 dʼéléments
 de
 la
 biodiversité,
 en

particulier
 les
 légumes
 feuillus
 cultivés
 et
 sauvages,
 en
 relation
 avec
 la

prévention
de
la
cataracte
liée
à
lʼâge
dans
le
contexte
rural

de
lʼInde
du
Sud.

Au
coeur
de
ce
projet,
une
étude
ethnobotanique
a
permis
dʼidentifier
les

facteurs
déterminant
la
consommation
de
légumes
feuillus,
et
de
démontrer

lʼinfluence
 significative
 des
 propriétés
 qui
 leur
 sont
 attribuées
 et
 de
leur

statut
de
culture
sur
les
habitudes
de
consommation.
Les
espèces
analysées

par
 chromatographie
 en
 phase
 liquide
 à
 haute
 performance
 ont
 affiché

dʼimportantes
concentrations
de
lutéine
et
de
β-carotène.
Se
basant
sur
ces

données
ethnobotaniques
et
analytiques,
une
étude
cas
témoin
a
été
conduite

dans
 un
 centre
 dʼophtalmologie
 afin
 de
 comparer
 la
 consommation
 de

légumes
feuillus,
en
quantité
et
en
diversité,
et
de
lutéine
et
zéaxanthine,

chez
 des
 patientes
 diagnostiquées
 et
 des
 témoins
 sains.
 Des
 associations

contradictoires
concernant
la
consommation
de
légumes
feuillus
et
le
risque

de
cataracte
ont
été
observées.
En
revanche,
certains
aliments
traditionnels,

iv
comme
le
yaourt
et
le
thé,
ont
démontré
une
association
négative
avec
la

cataracte.
 Lʼintégration
 de
 ces
 études
 à
 lʼintérieur
 dʼun
 cadre

multidisciplinaire
a
permis
de
tenir
compte
des
relations
complexes
entre
les

composantes
 biologiques,
 socio-économiques
 et
 environnementales
 de
 la

santé
de
lʼoeil
et
de
la
diversité
botanique,
permettant
ainsi
la
découverte

dʼimportantes
connaissances
applicables
à
la
prévention
de
la
cataracte
chez

des
populations
à
risque.

v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


My
first
word
of
thank
is
to
my
supervisor,
Professor
Timothy
Johns,
for
his

precious
advices
and
constant
positive
and
encouraging
support.
Professor

Johns
is
an
exceptional
mentor,
and
his
deep
involvement
in
his
research
on

the
conservation
of
indigenous
food
and
health
systems
and
environment,
is

truly
inspiring.


 I
also
express
profound
gratitude
to
Dr.
Shoba
Katumalla
without

whom
this
complex
project
would
never
have
been
possible.
We
conducted

the
study
in
the
world-class
eye
hospital
she
herself
established,
and
she

personally
 examined
 each
 participant
 of
 this
 study.
 Her
 professionalism,

dedication
and
sincere
desire
to
make
a
difference
by
helping
people
in
need

were
for
me
very
influential
examples.

I
would
like
to
thank
the
numerous
participants
of
this
study
who
gave

their
time
and
shared
their
knowledge
with
us
in
the
course
of
this
study.


 I
am
very
thankful
to
my
two
research
assistants,
Hymavathi
Kalimidi

and
Girija
Rani,
for
commitment
and
attention
to
detail
in
their
work,
and

above
all
for
their
friendship
and
introducing
me
to
their
culture.
Also,
I
am

indebted
to
the
Siloam
Eye
Hospital
staff
for
their
extensive
technical
and

logistic
support
throughout
this
adventure,
especially
Mr.
Anand
and
Ms.

Salome.


vi
The
carotenoid
analysis
was
made
possible
thanks
to
Dr.
P.
Sudhakar,

and
Dr.
R.
K.
Reddy
of
the
Acharya
Ranga
Reddy
Agricultural
Research

Station
(Tirupati).
I
would
like
to
thank
Mungara
Balakrishna
for
technical

and
logistic
support,
as
well
as
for
advices,
friendship
and
patience.
Many

thanks
also
go
to
Dr.
Latha,
Mr.
Sreenu
and
the
other
members
of
the
Plant

Physiology
Laboratory.


 Thanks
to
the
invitation
of
Dr.
Rodriguez-Amaya
and
the
supervision

of
her
graduate
students,
I
acquired
skills
and
knowledge
of
the
analysis
of

carotenoids
in
foods.
The
advices
and
logistic
help
from
Dr.
P.
Nirmalan,
Dr.

M.
Aruna
and
Mrs.
Salome
Yesudas
were
invaluable
in
finding
appropriate

contacts
and
research
location.


I
 am
 grateful
 to
 my
 advisory
 committee
 members,
 Dr.
 Jacqueline

Bede,
Dr.
Alan
Watson,
and
to
Dr.
Grace
Egeland
and
Dr.
Grace
Marquis

for
providing
constructive
criticism.
Dr.
Jose
Correa
of
the
McGill
Statistical

Consulting
Service
gracefully
provided
advices
for
statistical
analysis.
I
also

express
gratitude
to
Louise
Johnson-Down
for
advices
on
dietary
data
and

methodology
to
estimate
intakes.

I
thank
many
people
for
useful
discussions,
and
ought
to
mention
my

colleagues
Dr.
Patrick
Owen
and
Bronwen
Powell.
My
gratitude
also
goes
to

the
secretaries
of
the
Plant
Science
Department,
Mrs.
Carolyn
Bowes
and

Mrs.
Roslyn
James.

vii
I
 acknowledge
 the
 International
 Development
 Research
 Center

(IDRC),
Fonds
Québécois
de
la
Recherche
sur
la
Nature
et
les
Technologies

(FQRNT),
 and
 Natural
 Sciences
 and
 Engineering
 Research
 Council

(NSERC)
for
providing
funding
through
graduate
scholarships.
I
also
thank

McGill
 University
 for
 funding
 through
 Graduate
 Studies
 Fellowship
 and

Recruitment
Excellence
Fellowship.

Last
but
not
least,
my
gratitude
goes
to
my
family
and
friends
for
their

continuous
encouragements,
and
my
deepest
gratitude
goes
to
my
partner

François
for
infinite
patience,
support
and
motivation
throughout
my
studies.


viii
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS


DEDICATION(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124).(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)..i

ABSTRACT(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124).(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)..ii

RÉSUMÉ.(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)..iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)(cid:124)...vi

TABLE
OF
CONTENTS.................................................................................ix
LIST
OF
TABLES...........................................................................................xv
LIST
OF
FIGURES.......................................................................................xvii
LIST
OF
ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................xviii
THESIS
FORMAT..........................................................................................xx
1.
Introduction ..............................................................................................1
1.1
General
context..................................................................................1
1.2
Methodological
considerations..........................................................3
1.3
Thesis
components.............................................................................5
1.4
Traditional
diets,
biological
diversity
and
green
leafy
vegetables.....6
1.5
Overview
of
cataract...........................................................................8
1.6
Lutein
and
zeaxanthin......................................................................10
1.7
Cataract
in
India...............................................................................12
1.8
Leafy
vegetables
and
cataract
in
Andhra
Pradesh........................... 13
1.9
Objectives.......................................................................................... 15
ix