A REVIEW: Allium cepa aggregatum, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PROPERTIES

Volume 6, Issue 1, 2020, pp. 1-6

1Shabina Shabir, Gaurav sharma1, Mohammad Irfan Ali1*

1School of Applied Sciences, Suresh Gyan Vihar University, Jaipur-302017

E.mail : irfan.ali@mygyanvihar.com

ABSTRACT

Allium cepa aggregatum is a type of onion but rather different from the normal onions. It has certain characteristics and benefits which make it different from its other allies. Allium cepa var. aggregatum i.e potato onion is a representative of the onion family that reproduces chiefly through the division of bulbs, rather than by the seeds. Certain studies and tests have been carried out to study about Allium cepa aggregatum but lots more needs to be done. This review throws some light on the overall characteristics and properties of this plant.

KEYWORDS: Allium cepa aggregatum, bulbs, characteristics, potato onions, Reproduces

INTRODUCTION

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the important vegetable crops of the Alliaceae family. Two types of onion are commercially grown in India.  The first  type is  common onion Allium cepa L, whose bulbs  are large,  normally single,  and  its plants are  propagated through seeds.  The second  type  is  multiplier  onion Allium  cepa L.var aggregatum Don,  Which  produces  small-sized  bulbs,  many to  form  an  aggregated  cluster  (Hanlet, 1990)

Allium cepa var. aggregatum  is a comrade of the family of onions that duplicates fundamentally not by the division of seeds but by the bulbs. This property makes it more similar to garlics than onions. They are also known as multiplier onions or  nesting onions . Potato onions are Intimately akin to shallots, that are also A. cepa var. aggregatum. Shallots are customarily better known than that of  potato onions. Even though shallots  and potato onions have precisely abundant  variations and differences to represent two families of cultivars, but the definite and exact segregation line between both is very hard to establish. Potato onions are bigger, split into fewer bulbs, and persist  embedded  inside the skin of the seed bulb more  longer. Shallots technically have a mellow flavor and poor storage characters, while as  potato onions have a more sharp flavor and storage is  much more. Potato onions are  most probably grown by replanting the bulbs than by starting from seed. This individualizes them from biennial onions. Nesting bulbs must not be muddled with sets that are used to start biennial onions. The individual bulbs are somewhat small than routine onions. (Fritsch and Friesen, 2002).

Aggregatum onion   (Allium cepa L.   var. aggregatum Don.)  is one  of the  primeval bulb crops known   to mankind   and broadly  grown and  consumed in  Southern states of India.  Globally aggregatum onion  is a minor bulb crop .This makes it more analogous  to garlic than to common onions.  It  is a  crop  of the tropical and subtropical region that is capable of tolerance  towards  hot and humid tropical climate, greater tolerance to pest and diseases and has longer storage life than the common onion. It is also known as small onion, ever-ready onion, underground onion, potato onion, shallots, nesting onions, multiplier onion,   and Egyptian ground onion (Saraswathi et al., 2017).

(Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum Don.) is one the very infleuntial type of onion grown majorly in Southern states of India and mostly  famous for its  pungency used in Sambar preparation,  important dish in  South  Indian kitchen. Micronutrients  play  a very crucial  role  in  the  plant metabolism from   photosynthesis, cell   wall   development   to respiration,      chlorophyll   formation, nitrogen  fixation, enzymes  activity,   etc.  (Ballabh and Rana, 2012).

Allium  cepa  var.aggregatum  is  an  important Allium  plant  that  been  used  for  food,  ornamental, natural  alternatives  to  food  synthetic  preservatives  and  medicinal  for  curing  various  diseases. Allium plants  contain  different  sugars,  amino  acids,  vitamins,  sulfurous  compounds,  enzymes,  flavonoids, saponins and minerals(Golubev et al., 2003)

Experiments  on Allium cepa aggregatum

Exploration of new and promising anticancer compounds continues to be one of the main tasks of cancer research because of the drug resistance, high cytotoxicity and limitations of tumor selectivity. Natural products represent a better choice for cancer treatment in comparison with synthetic compounds because of their pharmacokinetic properties and lower side effects. In the current study, we isolated a steroidal saponin, named Cepa2, from the dry roots of shallot (Allium cepa L. Aggregatum group), and determined its structure by using two-dimensional nuclear manganic resonance (2D NMR). The 1H NMR and 13C NMR data revealed that the newly isolated Cepa2 compound is identical to alliospiroside A (C38H60O12) [(25S)-3β-hydroxyspirost-5-en-1β-yl-2-O-(6-deoxy-α-L-mannopyranosyl)-α-L-arabinopyranoside], whose anticancer activity remains elusive(Thilakavathy and  Ramaswamy,1998).

For Studying  the effect   of zinc  and boron applications   on seeding transplanting multiplier onion  CO(On)5  at various levels  of both basal and foliar application an experiment was carried out. The  treatment consists  of  soil application  of  zinc  sulphate  (5  kg  ha-1and  10  kg  ha-1),  Borax  (5  kg  ha-1and  10  kg  ha-1),  foliar application  of  zinc  sulphate  (0.5%  foliar)  and  Borax  (0.25%  foliar),  zinc  sulphate  (5  kg  soil  +  0.5%  foliar),  zinc sulphate (10 kg ha-1soil + 0.5% foliar), borax (5 kg ha-1soil + 0.25% foliar), borax (10 ha-1kg soil + 0.25% foliar) and  curb  without  micronutrient,  cloned  thrice  in  a  random block  design. (Acharya et al., 2015).

An experiment was carried out for  determination of  the effect of storage temperature on the respiration rate of aggregate onion kept in closed PET containers with a product free volume ratio of 1:9 in two different storage conditions viz., ambient (28°C) and refrigerated (5°C). The average respiration rate in terms of O2 consumption and CO2 evolution under ambient condition was 30.15 and 25.02 and under refrigerated condition was 5.85 and 2.83 ml/kg, respectively. The average RQ values of ambient and refrigerated stored onion were 0.83 and 0.51, respectively leading to conclude that the respiration rate of onion both in terms of O2 consumption and CO2 evolution increased with an increase in storage temperature (Prabinkumar and Visvanathan, 2014).

Evaluation of  seed priming methods  to improve  seed vigor of onion (Allium cepa cv. aggregatum) and carrot (Daucus carota).The  seeds of onion and carrot  showed significant  differences in seed germination as well as the speed of germination irrespective of the seed priming methods. For onion seeds, among 8, 12, 24, 36 and 48 h of hydropriming, a steady increase in percentage of radicle protrusion, days for 50% germination, days for maximum germination,  speed of germination, germination percentage, and up to to 24 h which was 6, 34, 20, 29, and 5percentage higher than control, respectively(Selvarani and Umarani, 2011).

Effect of inorganic    and biofertilizer treatments on yield on quality parameters of multiplier onion   (Allium cepa var aggregatum). Onion (cv. Co 4) bulbs were treated with combinations of 15, 30 or 45 kg N and P/ha with Azospirillum or phosphobacteria in a field experiment conducted in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India during the Kharif season of 1997. The influence of Azospirillum or the phosphobacteria with 45:45:30 kg NPK/ha was higher than the recommended 60:60:30 kg NPK/ha. The application of Azospirillum or the phosphobacteria to the seed bulbs and the soil gave an increased yield of 18.3% and saved 25% of inorganic fertilizer input. Shape index, bulb color, and pyruvic acid content increased through the application of 45:45:30 NPK/ha along with Azospirillum or the phosphobacteria ( Thilakavathy and Ramaswamy, 1998).

The study was conducted for determining the maximum levels of poultry manure, inorganic fertilizer and their combined effect on yield of shallots grown on sandy Anloga soils in Ghana. Treatments comprised a 4×3 factual aggregation of  poultry manure at 0, 10, 20 and 40 tons/ha and three levels of NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer at 0, 300 and 600 kg ha⁻¹ in a random shot overall block design with four counterparts. A combination of 40 tons/ha of poultry manure with 300 kg/ha and 6000 kg/ha of NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer led to increase in height of plant, number of plantlets per plant, and number of leaves per plant. Even though the employement of inorganic fertilizer solo or in amalgamation with poultry manure naturally increased the  bulb yield, but there was a reduction in dry matter content (Blay et al.,2002).

The aftermath of inoculation with the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus Glomus mosseae together with the pertinence of ordered levels of P fertilizers on growth, quality, and yield propertiesof onion cv. aggregatum. Single superphosphate (SSP) and rock P were applied at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the recommended dose (60 kg/ha). The inoculated plants that  received 50% P showed a significant increase in plant height, the number of leaves, number of tillers, bulb diameter and weight of bulbs compared to plants that had received 100% P and no VAM inoculation. The treatment receiving 100% SSP with G. mosseae recorded the highest plant growth response in respect of all biometric and biochemical characteristics. Nutrient uptake improved remarkably over control under inoculated conditions. Soil availability of nutrients varied with fertilizer dose and VAM inoculated treatments showed less nutrient availability compared to uninoculated treatments. It is concluded that SSP at 50% of the recommended dose together with G. mosseae inoculation gave the best yield in aggregatum onion (Nagaraju et al., 2000).

 Uses of Allium cepa aggregatum

Onion is a  good  healer and cleaner.  It is believed that onions help prevent colds, gastric ills,  anemia, catarrh,  fever,  and insomnia.  Onion has been considered an excellent diuretic since antiquity.  Onion  juice is  applied to burns,  chilblains,  bites, and stings.  It  is thought off as  very effective for  curing  ulcers and sores ,  and assertive kinds of dropsy.  It  is also  declared that  onion is beneficial as a   digestive stimulant,  anti-diabetic and anti-fermentative .For  nose bleeding,  onion is cut in halves and placed on the nose. Roasted onions are applied as a poultice to boils, bruises and wounds to relieve heat and, in the case of boils, bring them to maturity. Fresh onion juice promotes perspiration, relieves constipation and bronchitis, induces sleep, and is good for cases of scurvy and lead colic. It is given as an antidote in tobacco poisoning. When  Cooked with vinegar, the onions are  very useful like  in  cases of jaundice, dyspepsia and splenic  enlargement.  Onion stimulates bile production and  also helps in reduction of blood sugar. It is endorsed for tuberculosis and has germicidal properties as well. When used regularly in the diet, it affects tendencies towards angina, arteriosclerosis and heart attack. Onions can be used to treat treat ear ache by dropping warm onion juice in ear. It is also used in prevention of toothache and oral infections  (Chevallier, 1996).

Potato onions are mostly used fresh, but the bulblets can also be used as a pickle in vinegar and brine. Dehydrated products potato onion are not common (Shinde and Sontakke, 1986).

Potato onions  are rich  in minerals,  including phosphorus, potassium,    calcium , and  nitrogen. They also contain ascorbic acid and protein. The pungency of onion  makes it an essential and vital  food item,  particularly in  India.  The bulbs  and leaves  are cooked or used raw(Organ,1960).

The bulb  is anti-inflammatory, antihelmintic,   antiseptic,  carminative, antispasmodic,  diuretic,  febrifuge, hypoglycaemic,   expectorant,  lithontripic, stomachic ,hypotensive,  and tonic. When used frequently in the diet it counteract  inclinations  towards arteriosclerosis , angina, and heart attack.  It  is very beneficial for prevention of tooth decay oral and  infection . Baked onions can be used as a poultice for removal of pus from sores. Juice of fresh onions is a very useful as a  first  aid treatment for wasp and bee stings,  grazes , bites, and  fungal skin infections.  It  also  aids  the  formation  of  scar  tissue  on  wounds,  thus  speeding  up  the healing process, and has been used as a cosmetic to remove freckles(Saraswathi et al., 2017)

Allium is also prized for their therapeutic activities and properties; they are effective as laxatives  and diuretics and have been used to treat parasitic worms and headaches (Griffiths et al., 2002)

Development and validation of UHPLC-HRMS methodology for the determination of flavonoids, amino acids and organosulfur compounds in black onion, a novel derived product from fresh shallot onions (Allium cepa var. aggregatum) was done to demonstrate phytochemical activities  and compounds of this plant(Moreno-Rojas et al.,2018)

Conclusion

Allium cepa aggregatum has been used since time immemorial and is still used today. There are numerous beneficial properties of Allium cepa aggregatum but more needs to be done to bring into foreplay its various other properties. It is an antihelmintic, antiseptic, flavoring agent and is used as a condiment also.

Future prospectus

Not much work has been done regarding the Allium cepa aggregatum to explore more of its qualities. Considering that it is very useful more and more stress should be put in to make nanoparticles from it as well as other medicines because it has a lot many medicinal properties.

REFERENCES

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