Eggplant/Brinjal/vangi - Health benefits, application, chemical constituents, side effects and many more

By Kbjawadwar October 24, 2021

Eggplant/Brinjal/vangi

Eggplant is the fifth most economically important solanaceous crop after potato, tomato, pepper, and tobacco. Eggplant can provide significant nutritive benefits thanks to its abundance of vitamins, phenolics and antioxidants. There are many varieties that range in size and color. And while eggplants with a deep purple skin are most common, they can be red, green or even black.

It shows anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anti-obesity, hepatoprotective, and hypolipidemic properties.

Click here for more information about Antioxidants and Free radicals

It has different names in different languages such as English Name(Brinjal, Eggplant, Aubergine), Marathi Name(Vange, Vangi), Hindi Name(Bhanta, Baingan, Baiguna, Baijani), Telugu Name(Vankaya), Tamil Name(Katarikai, Kattiri), Gujarati Name(Ringana, Vantaka, Baingan), Kannada Name(Badane), Bengali Name(Beguna), Arabic Name(badhingan), Portuguese Name(berinjela),

Vitamin and Mineral content

Vitamin : B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, E, K

Minerals : Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc

• Raw eggplant is 92% water, 6% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and has negligible fat.

• Major phytochemicals in brinjal, caffeic, chlorogenic (phenolic components) glucoside, delphinidin and nasunin (flavonoid).

• Anthocyanins, an important group of naturally occurring pigments of red and/or purple colored fruits, are the main phenolic compounds in eggplant peel. Eggplant contains a higher content of free reducing sugars, anthocyanin, phenols, glycoalkaloids (solasodine) and amide proteins. Bitterness in eggplant is due to the presence of glycoalkaloids.

• Fruits contain arginine, aspartic acid, histidine, 5–HT, delphinidine −3 bioside (nasunin), oxalic acid, solasodine, ascorbic acid, tryptophan, etc. Leaves contain chlorogenic, hydrocaffeic and protocatechuric acids. Some of the alkaloids present are tropane, pyrrolidine, quinazolizidine, steroid alkaloids and glycoalkaloids. Two steroidal saponins - melongoside L and melongoside M, and three new saponins melongoside N, O and P, have been isolated from seeds.

• Nasunin, a major component of anthocyanin pigment, was isolated from the eggplant peels

Properties and Benefits

Taste – sweet
Potency (virya) – hot
Taste conversion after digestion – pungent
Effect on Tridosha : increases kapha and pitta
Click here for more information about Tridosha (vata-Kapha-Pitta)
Tikshna – penetrating in nature
Laghu – light to digest
Deepana – kindles digestive fire
Hridya – cardiac tonic
Shukralu – increases quality and quantity of sperm
Used in
Jwara – fever
Kasa – cough
Aruchi – anorexia
Krimi – intestinal worm infestation

Unripe Brinjal

Balances kapha and pitta dosha

Ripe Brinjal

Guru – heavy to digest
Pittakaram – increases pitta dosha
Kshara – alkaline in nature

Roasted Brinjal

Medogna – reduces fat tissue
Amagna – reduces ama (metabolic tissue)
Atyartham laghu – very light to digest
Deepana – kindles digestive fire
Effect on Tridoshas –
Kinchit pittalam – slightly increases pitta dosha
Balances excess kapha and vata dosha
If this brinjal is mixed with oil and salt, then it becomes heavy to digest (guru) and unctuous (snigdha).
Brinjal – Small size
Shudravatingini
Taste – sweet
Taste conversion after digestion – sweet
Pathya – wholesome
Ruchya – improves taste
Jwaraghna – relieves fever
Arshoghna – cure piles
Effect on Tridosha –
Tridosha shamanam – balances all tridoshas – vata, pitta and kapha
As per Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthana, Brinjal is pungent, bitter, hot in potency, sweet, mitigates kapha and vata, is slightly alkaline, kindles digestion, improves taste and does not aggravate pitta, but per the Nighantus, Brinjal is one among the 4 substances (like Black gram, Curds and Fish) that increases kapha and pitta.

Uses Benefits and Application

1) As per Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthana, Brinjal is pungent, bitter, hot in potency, sweet, mitigates kapha and vata, is slightly alkaline, kindles digestion, improves taste and does not aggravate pitta, but as per the Nighantus, Brinjal is one among the 4 substances (like Black gram, Curds and Fish) that increases kapha and pitta.

2) For allergic rhinitis – 15-20 seeds of Brinjal (Vrintaka) are taken, crushed well and made into fine powder. This is used as errhine (nasya) twice or thrice in a gap of 15-20 minutes.

3) Brinjal is rich in phytonutrients that protect the cell membrane and also improves memory functions.

4) Piles – Fruit ash is used in a dry hot poultice to treat piles. This is practiced in Malaysia.

5) In India the eggplant is used in medicines to cure diabetes, asthma, cholera, bronchitis and dysuria. The fresh or dry leaf and fruit are said to reduce blood cholesterol level.

6) The root is crushed and applied inside the nostrils to treat ulcers.

7) The fresh or dry leaf and fruit is known to reduce blood cholesterol level.

8) Toothache & Otitis – root juice is used.

9) The young and almost mature fruits are used as a vegetable. They may be roasted, fried, stuffed, cooked as curry, pickled or prepared in some other manner. In Indonesia and Malaysia young fruits are also eaten raw. The eggplant is widely used in traditional medicine.

10) Regarding nutritional value, eggplant has a very low caloric value and is considered among the healthiest vegetables for its high content of vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds for human health.

11) Brinjal helps in controlling wrinkles due to its Vata balancing property. It also restores the moisture in the skin.

- apply the mixture of Brinjal and sesame oil.

Click here for more information about sesame oil

12) Soup made up of brinjal and tomato increases the appetite and helps in digestion.

12) It is a better herbal cure for dry and rough Hair. It is effective in removing Dandruff as well.

13) Eating brinjals roasted on fire after putting some salt into it cures excessive phlegm and wind humor of the body.

14) Brinjal helps to maintain healthy Agni (digestive fire)

Brinjal as per doshas

Brinjal is Kapha-pittavardhaka (increases Kapha and Pitta) and decreases Vata Dosha. Moreover it disturbs Pitta dosha (Pachaka-ranjaka and bhrajaka pitta) followed with Kapha dosha (Kledaka-Shleshaka kapha) in their respective places of occupation(site).

Due to this, free movement of the dhatus (tissues) especially in Rasa, Rakta (blood), Mamsa (muscle) and Meda (fat) tissue are obstructed. Hence dhatwagni dushti (altered metabolism at tissue level)is caused.

Further in turn it leads low digestion strength at tissue level (dhatu Agnimandya) and dhatu vaishamya – vitiation / imbalance in tissues. This leads to tissue toxicity. This leads to sepsis (dhatwagnimandyajanya vishaktata) and thus becomes the reason for all ailments associated with skin. This acts as a hurdle for the medicine action leading to medicinal toxicity (oushadha Ajeernata). Thus it increases the burden of the skin disease treatment.

Brinjal with stalk is cut and boiled in sour gruel with tamarind. Then, cooked with ghee, coriander, ginger and turmeric. It is added with salt, black pepper powder and dipped in oil mixed with asafeotida.

Probably with this reason the tradition as well as Ayurverdic practice restricts the usage of brinjal in such cases that too in skin diseases or blood borne diseases of any king including blisters, abscess, cysts, boils, itching skin lesions, eczema, allergic dermatitis, tinea infection etc.

Research

It has been reported that delphinidin can induce endothelial vasodilation by the activation of the nitric oxide (NO) pathway. Delphinidin also has shown antihypertensive effects via interrupting the renin (an aspartyl protease)-angiotensin system (RAS) signaling pathway. The overactivation of this system is one of the most important risk factors for the development of hypertension. Delphinidin reduces the expression and activation of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). α-Amylase, as an enzyme in saliva and pancreas, plays an essential role in carbohydrate digestion. The inhibition of salivary and pancreatic α-amylase enzymes can reduce glucose uptake. Moreover, delphinidin has exhibited inhibitory properties against the α-amylase enzyme, and thereby it may be useful in the treatment of diabetes and its complications such as overweight and obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Chlorogenic acid has been found to enhance NO status, improve endothelial function, and lower blood pressure. Also, chlorogenic acid has shown beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes mellitus by increasing the translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to the plasma membrane, enhancing glucose transport to skeletal muscle, and inhibiting gluconeogenesis, besides delaying intestinal glucose absorption. It has been suggested that chlorogenic acids exhibit anti-obesity and antihyperlipidemic activities by alleviating the levels of free fatty acids and triglycerides

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References

1) Front Plant Sci. 2017; 8: 1484. Published online 2017 Aug 25. PMCID: PMC5609569

2) Sushruta Samhita

3) ) Molecules. 2018 Dec; 23(12): 3210. Published online 2018 Dec 5. PMCID: PMC6321115

4) Gürbüz N, Uluişik S, Frary A, Frary A, Doğanlar S. Health benefits and bioactive compounds of eggplant. Food Chem. 2018;268:602-610. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.06.093

5) Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2021 Apr; 24(4): 420–427. PMCID: PMC8143715

6) NCBI

7) PUBMED

8) Food Science and Technology, 7(sp3): 31-36, 2019

10) Handbook of Vegetable Preservation and processing

11) EASJ Pharm & Pharmacol; Vol-1, Iss-5 (Sept-Oct, 2019): 103-114

Comments

Nikhil MaheswariOctober 24, 2021 at 10:27:00 AM GMT+5:30
Bawaal😎
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