IN THE BACKYARD
Forgotten indigenous baby food
Shoti plants grown in the wild.
IN this age of imported baby foods of a hundred and one brands, we have about forgotten our Shoti, an indigenous baby food made from the root of a perennial green plant. In the past, traditional doctors such as a Kaviraj, who practiced age-old Ayurvedic medicine, would invariably prescribe the white powdered root of shoti (scientific name 'curcuma zedoaria'), also called 'white turmeric' in English, for convalescing patients as a substitute for barley. It usually grows in the wild, but villagers in the past might also leave a fallow piece of land to cultivate it along with other similar plants. You can recognise 'shoti' plant from its elliptical green leaves tinged with brownish purple, short stem and pink or yellow flowers. Scientists of the 'Carbohydrate research wing of the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) laboratories have meanwhile proved that the powdered tuberous root of 'shoti' can be used as a baby food. With large and fleshy tubers, which are rich in starch, the plant grows to a height of at least 2ft. As mentioned earlier, the 'shoti' starch, a white amorphous polysaccharide, is highly valued as a diet for infants and convalescents. BCSIR scientists have experimentally shown that in addition to its high quality starch content, 'shoti' powder's quality can be further enriched by mixing it with cow milk, vitamin A and D and so on. Among the scientists involved in this research are Md. Asaduzzaman, former chief scientific officer and Md. Bazlul Karim Akanda, former senior scientific officer of the 'Carbohydrate section' of the BCSIR laboratories. Scientists also observed that various types of glucose can be prepared after modification of 'shoti' starch by chemical process. This type of glucose can be used in the confectioneries, soft drink plants as well as in the rayon, tannery and even pharmaceutical industries.
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