Coix Seeds: A Mini Review
Received: 02-Feb-2018 / Accepted Date: 23-Jul-2018 / Published Date: 06-Aug-2018
Keywords: Common; Coix; Tropical; Poaceae; Tear
Introduction
The entire coix plant and its seed pod has tear drop appearance, which is the English equivalent of the Latin species name (Lacrima =tear) [1]. There are two main varieties of the species; wild (Coix lacryma jobi) and the cultivated variety Coix lacryma jobi var. ma-yuan . [2].
Plant coix belongs to sub tribe Maydeae. Linnaeus gave the botanical name in 1753, relying upon an existing population. There are 2 types of Coix plant: nutritive and ornamental [2]. Seed of coix is used in salad and porridge. Seed coix is otherwise called as barley-coix because of its size and appearance with Barley. Plant coix is also like Maize plant. Coix may be both perennial and annual in nature [3]. The plant is widely used as nutritive forage and medicine. They also have a hole in the centre which makes them ideal for beading purposes [4].
This plant is weed in commercial rice fields. Seed of coix have 50% starch. The nutrient content is mentioned in Table 1.
| Protein | 15.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 65.3 g |
| Ca | 25 mg |
| p | 435 mg |
| Fe | 5 mg |
| B1 | 0.28 mg |
| B2 | 0.19 mg |
| Niacin | 4.3 mg |
Table 1: Nutrient contents of coix per 100 g [5].
Job’s tears are well known for its health benefits due to its rich antioxidant and high fibre content [4]. The Extract of the Coix plant is used in Chinese medicine for treatment of cancer [5]. Coix is suitable for relieving muscle spasm and blood sugar regulations [6,7]. This plant is used for the treatment of abdominal bloating, constipation, diarrhoea and also has anti-allergic properties [8,9].
Conclusion
This article presents a short review on the perspective of the health benefit of Coix plant. More research should be carried out to explore the therapeutic value of this plant.
References
- Â Xi XJ, Zhu YG, Tong YP, Yang XL, Tang NN, et al. (2016) Assessment of the genetic diversity of different Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) Accessions and the active composition and anticancer effect of its seed oil. PLoS ONE 11: e0153269.
- Bhavna P, Gopi P, Samir S, Shraddha P (2017) A review: Coix lacryma jobi L. J Pharmacognosy and Phytochem 9: 248-252.
- Ching-Chuan K, Huang-Hui C, Wenchang C (2012) Adlay ( yì yÄ; “soft-shelled job's tearsâ€; the seeds of Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) is a Potential Cancer Chemopreventive Agent toward Multistage Carcinogenesis Processes. J Tradit Complement Med 2: 267-275.
- Divya C, Rajinder K (2015) Formulation and phytochemical evaluation of nutritional product containing Job’s tears (Coix lachryma-Jobi L.) J Pharmacognosy and Phytochem 4: 291-298.
- Woo JH, Li D, Wilsbach K, Orita H, Coulter J, et al. (2007) Coix seed extract, a commonly used treatment for cancer in China, inhibits NFkappaB and protein kinase C signaling. Cancer Biol Ther 6: 2005-2011.
- Oka Y, Miyazaki M (2001) Effect of Coix seed extract on muscle cramps in patients under hemodialysis. Kampo Medicine. 52: 173-177.
- Yeh PH, Chiang W, Chiang MT (2006) Effects of dehulled adlay on plasma glucose and lipid concentrations in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats fed a diet enriched in cholesterol. Int J Vitam Nutr Res 76: 299-305.
- SR H, Yogendra K (2008) Herbal remedies among the Khasi traditional healers and village folks in Meghalaya. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 7: 581-586.
- Chen HJ, Lo YC, Chiang W (2012) Inhibitory effects of adlay bran (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) on chemical mediator release and cytokine production in rat basophilic leukemia cells. J Ethnopharmacol 141: 119-127.
Citation: Tajalifar M (2018) Coix Seeds: A Mini Review. J Plant Genet Breed 2: 108.
Copyright: © 2018 Tajalifar M. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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