Recent Production and Marketing Scenarios of Water Chestnut (Trapa spp.) in India: A Review

Water chestnut (Trapa spp.) is an important annual, floated but rooted aquatic plant of temperate and tropical freshwater wetlands of India. The water chestnut is native to Europe, Asia and Africa and has been widely cultivated for a long time for food in Asia. It thrives best in nutrient-rich water with a pH range of 6.7 to 8.2. The plant Trapa spp. has also been recognized as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-microbial. The kernels of water chestnut act as a diuretic, aphrodisiac, nutrient, appetizer, astringent, coolant, anti-diarrheal and tonic. It is an excellent source of minerals such as K, Ca and Mg, as well as carbohydrates and protein. In the creation of mixed products, many food products derived from the chestnut kernel and its flour are used. The yield per hectare is approximately 4-4.5 tones of fresh fruit and 1-1.5 tones of dry nuts. As fresh, canned fruit, dry nuts and flour, it has a very promising market in India and internationally. Fresh fruits are extremely delicious. TSS values varied from 7.0 to 9.00B. It is a very lovely and low-cost nutritious food that has the potential to manipulate the food market by making available various water chestnut mix flour items that might play an essential role in addressing malnutrition in India. This study of enumerated areas, production and marketing potential may be of immense value and great interest to researchers and academicians.