Nutritional Content and Health Benefits of Eggplant

Vegetables supply various minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers along with important phytochemicals that plays a major contribution in our balance diets and nutrition. Each vegetable contain a unique amount of various nutrients that are strongly linked with the protection of different health diseases. Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a nonwoody annual plant with purple to white flowers along with enlarged lobed leaves with bushy foliage that grows with maximum height of 120cm. Eggplant is mainly grown for vegetables and medicinal purposes. The phytochemical analysis of eggplant shows that it is the rich source of various essential compounds aspartic acid, tropane, flavonoids, lanosterol, gramisterol, steroid alkaloids, glycoalkaloids, histidine, nasunin, oxalic acid, solasodine, ascorbic acid and tryptophan that are present in fruits and leaves. It also contains low calories and high moisture contents. These compounds were found helpful in the cure of various diseases like cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic, anti-platelet hypo-lipidemic, and hypotensive etc. Today most modern scientific techniques are available to cure different various health problems but still majority of population across the globe depends upon the traditional herbal medicines and practices. This review mainly explains nutritional content, medicinal and health benefits of S. melongena