Assessment of the Nutritional Value of Plant-Based Diets in Relation to Human Carbohydrates: A Preliminary Study

The aim of the study is to evalua te which plant foods are suitable for high temperature food processes. Plant foods are the only sources of dietary fiber. Carbohydrates are the major nutrients of fruits and vegetables and human nutrition. Sugars are determined in the combined extracts using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a universal evaporative light scattering detector. Results showed that that fructose, glucose, sucrose contents were high in Cordia myxa (9.38, 12.75, 29.09%) respectively and the starch content was high in Alocacia indica (60.41%). Alocacia has high calorie and nutritional value because it contains high carbohydrates contents (72.66%) and Cordia was the sweetest fruits because it contains the maximum amounts of sucrose, glucose and fructose. The TDF content was low in Portulaca oleracia (dried) (8g %) and was high in Cordia myxa (27.7g %). It is observed that vegetables of Portulaca, Asparagus, Momordica and Eulophia can be recommended in plant-based diets in Iran and India. These vegetables are relatively good carbohydrates sources.