Nutritive Values of Some Iranian Manna

Saeedeh Yazdanparats¹, Parisa Ziarati² and Jinous Asgarpanah³*

¹Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran - Iran (IAUPS). ²Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran - Iran (IAUPS). ³Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran - Iran (IAUPS).

ABSTRACT: A byproduct of the activity of insects on young host plant organs, Manna is a group of natural compounds with medicinal and nutritional benefits. The therapeutic characteristics of Manna are attributed to their sacchariferous contents. Since literature survey revealed that no studies have been carried out nutritionally on Iranian Manna, we prompted to determine the mineral and essential element contents including iron, zinc and copper in Taranjebin, Shir-Khesht, Bid-Khesht and Gaz-Alafi Manna which are the most vastly used in Iran. The samples were analyzed by Flame Emission Spectrophotometry method. Results showed high contents of zinc and iron in Gaz-Alafi and high copper content in Bid-Khesht. Based on the observed results, it could be concluded that these manna not only possess valuable medicinal properties but also could be considered as good sources of mineral essential elements and might be beneficial in the treatment of various deficiency disorders.

KEYWORDS: Iranian Manna; Nutritive Value; Iron; Zinc; Copper

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