Indigenous, fruits, nutrition, concept, strategies for nutritional security, value-added, nutrition security
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Abstract
Hunger is the most important problem of curent time. World Health Organizations reported that more than one-third of human population suffers from hunger or malnutrition and from this one-third goes to bed semi-hungry or hungry, while only one-third of the world population fully enjoys all the benefits of adequate food supply. Utilization of safe, nutrious and heathy food is fundamental right to human and considered critical for social peace and stability. The most vulnerable people cannot access enough of the major macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and protein). Some are thought to suffer from ‘hidden hunger’, in which important micronutrients (such as vitamins and minerals) are missing from their diet, with consequent risks of physical and mental impairment. Undernutrition remains one of the world’s most serious but least addressed socioeconomic and health problems. In these crises only plants can solve the food and nutrition shortage problem. Prestly two types plant source food is available one is from cultivated plants and other is from wild or indegenious source. Azad Kashmir is endowed with agro biodiversity such as Indigenous fruits that are highly nutritious, have health benefits potential that need to be exploit. These indigenous fruits can be processed in to different products ensure availability of these fruits during off-seasons. These indigenous fruits will be important sources of food especially at times of food shortage, hunger and other natral disasters of climate change. They provide important compounds for health benefits such as antioxidants, vitamins minerals. and are rich in micronutrients iron, calcium, zinc and copper and phosphorus and antioxidants like phenolic, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, anthocyanin, flavonoids. In this context, the study is aimed to screen out indigenous plant sources altitudes wise from nutritional point of view. The development of value-added products from these plants sources
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