Health Benefits of Eggplant

Eggplant is grown as an annual and has large, hairy, grayish-green leaves. The star-shaped flowers are lavender with yellow centers. The long, slender or round, egg-shaped fruit can be creamy white, yellow, brown, or purple, depending on the variety. Eggplants will grow 2 to 6 feet tall, depending on the variety. Typical home garden varieties produce fruit that is rounded with shiny, dark purple skins. The Asian varieties produce fruit that is slender and elongated with skin that is usually dull purple in color. Eggplant belongs to the tobacco family and is related to tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers.

Eggplant or Brinjal, is a very low calorie vegetable and has healthy nutrition profile; good news for weight watchers! The veggie is popularly known as aubergine in the western world.

Botanically, it belongs to Solanaceae family and named as Solanum melongena. This perennial plant is native to Indian subcontinent and now grown in many tropical and semitropical regions.

§         Eggplant is very low in calories and fats but rich in soluble fiber content. 100 g provides just 24 calories but contributes about 9% of RDA (recommended daily allowance) of fiber.

§         Research studies conducted at the Institute of Biology of São Paulo State University; Brazil suggested that eggplant is effective to control high blood cholesterol.

§         It contains good amounts of many essential B-complex groups of vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and thiamin (vitamin B1), niacin (B3). These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish and required for fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism.

§         Further, this vegetable is an also good source of minerals like manganese, copper, iron and potassium. Manganese is used as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Potassium is an important intracellular electrolyte helps counter the hypertension effects of sodium.

§         The peel or skin (deep blue/purple varieties) of aubergine has significant amounts of phenolic flavonoid phyto-chemicals called anthocyanins. Scientific studies have shown that these anti-oxidants have potential health effects against cancer, aging, inflammation, and neurological diseases.

§         Total antioxidant strength measured in terms of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of aubergines is 993 µmol TE/100 g. At value 15; they are one of the low glycemic index (GI) vegetables.