Nutritional and mineral analysis of the ultimate wild food plants of Lotkuh, Chitral, the Eastern Hindukush Pakistan.

Wild food plants (WFPs) are designated as functional foods owing to their nutritional potential and as a source of bioactive compounds vital for human health. In times of geopolitical upheaval and nutritional imbalance in mountainous areas of the world, the contribution of WFPs is extraordinary. Lotkuh is a remote mountainous region in the Eastern Hindukush that supports distinctive global plant biodiversity. The documentation and nutritional analysis of the wild edible plants have not yet been subjected to scientific investigation, even though WFPs make up a significant component of the inhabitant's diet. The current study is the first scientific investigation of the nutritional profile of 16 WFPs in the Hindukush region of Pakistan. Plants were collected from different parts of the study area and were subjected to proximate analysis adhering to the standard protocols of AOAC international. Proximate analysis revealed higher moisture in (91.5 g/100 g FW) and (90.5 g/100 g FW), while had the lowest (25.4 g/100 g FW). and had (23.2 g/100 g) and (14.0 g/100 g) protein, whereas contained (3.6 g/100 g). had the highest lipid (56.50 g/100 g), followed by (45.50 g/100 g), and (0.91 g/100 g). with high carbohydrate (87.50 g/100 g) was followed by (80.83 g/100 g), whereas had the least (18.51 g/100 g). High crude fiber (19.33 g/100 g) was found in followed by with (15.50 g/100 g). and had low fiber of 1.387 and 1.377 g/100 g. Vitamin C was high in (90.63 mg/100 g), (86.96 mg/100 g), and (90.45 mg/100 g). Ca concentration was (948.33 mg/100 g) in followed by whereas the lowest Ca (20.03 mg/100 g) was recorded in . Mg was high in (994.00 mg/100 g) and lowest (10.01 mg/100 g) in . (54.30 mg/100 g), (34.33 mg/100 g), and (26.04 mg/100 g) had the maximum iron. Mn was high in (14.33 mg/100 g), (6.33 mg/100 g), and (4.60 mg/100 g). (12.16 mg/100 g), (10.30 mg/100 g), and (4.16 mg/100 g) were the leading in Zn concentration whereas (0.22 mg/100 g). The current study establishes the hitherto unidentified nutritional profile of the WFPs in the area. The prospect of nutritional research on WFPs in the Eastern Hindukush is established by this study.