{"id":3197,"date":"2020-03-13T09:12:04","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T09:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gyanvihar.org\/journals\/?p=3197"},"modified":"2020-03-13T09:12:04","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T09:12:04","slug":"a-review-allium-cepa-aggregatum-characteristics-and-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gyanvihar.org\/journals\/a-review-allium-cepa-aggregatum-characteristics-and-properties\/","title":{"rendered":"A REVIEW: Allium cepa aggregatum, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PROPERTIES"},"content":{"rendered":"

Volume 6, Issue 1, 2020, pp. 1-6<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/sup><\/strong>Shabina Shabir, Gaurav sharma1<\/sup>, Mohammad Irfan Ali1*<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/sup>School of Applied Sciences, Suresh Gyan Vihar University, Jaipur-302017<\/p>\n

E.mail : irfan.ali@mygyanvihar.com<\/u><\/p>\n

ABSTRACT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Allium cepa aggregatum<\/em> 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\u00a0var.\u00a0aggregatum<\/em> 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<\/em> but lots more needs to be done. This review throws some light on the overall characteristics and properties of this plant.<\/p>\n

KEYWORDS:<\/em><\/strong> Allium cepa aggregatum<\/em>, bulbs, characteristics, potato onions, Reproduces<\/em><\/p>\n

INTRODUCTION<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Onion (Allium cepa L<\/em>.) is one of the important vegetable crops of the Alliaceae family. Two types of onion are commercially grown in India.\u00a0 The first\u00a0 type is\u00a0 common onion Allium cepa L, whose bulbs\u00a0 are large,\u00a0 normally single,\u00a0 and\u00a0 its plants are\u00a0 propagated through seeds.\u00a0 The second\u00a0 type\u00a0 is\u00a0 multiplier\u00a0 onion Allium\u00a0 cepa L.var aggregatum Don,\u00a0 Which\u00a0 produces\u00a0 small-sized\u00a0 bulbs,\u00a0 many to\u00a0 form\u00a0 an \u00a0aggregated\u00a0 cluster\u00a0 (Hanlet, 1990)<\/p>\n

Allium cepa var. aggregatum<\/em> \u00a0is 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\u00a0 nesting onions . Potato onions are Intimately akin to shallots, that are also A. cepa var. aggregatum<\/em>. Shallots are customarily better known than that of \u00a0potato onions. Even though shallots \u00a0and potato onions have precisely abundant\u00a0 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 \u00a0embedded \u00a0inside the skin of the seed bulb more \u00a0longer. Shallots technically have a mellow flavor and poor storage characters, while as \u00a0potato onions have a more sharp flavor and storage is \u00a0much more. Potato onions are \u00a0most 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).<\/p>\n

Aggregatum onion<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 (Allium cepa L.\u00a0\u00a0 var. aggregatum Don.)<\/em>\u00a0 is one\u00a0 of the\u00a0 primeval bulb crops known\u00a0\u00a0 to mankind\u00a0\u00a0 and broadly \u00a0grown and\u00a0 consumed in\u00a0 Southern states of India.\u00a0 Globally aggregatum <\/em>onion \u00a0is a minor bulb crop .This makes it more analogous \u00a0to garlic than to common onions.\u00a0 It\u00a0 is a\u00a0 crop\u00a0 of the tropical and subtropical region that is capable of tolerance \u00a0towards \u00a0hot 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,\u00a0 \u00a0and Egyptian ground onion (Saraswathi et al., 2017).<\/p>\n

(Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum Don<\/em>.) is one the very infleuntial type of onion grown majorly in Southern states of India and mostly\u00a0 famous for its\u00a0 pungency used in Sambar preparation,\u00a0 important dish in\u00a0 South\u00a0 Indian kitchen. Micronutrients\u00a0 play\u00a0 a very crucial\u00a0 role\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 plant metabolism from\u00a0\u00a0 photosynthesis, cell\u00a0\u00a0 wall\u00a0\u00a0 development\u00a0\u00a0 to respiration,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0chlorophyll\u00a0\u00a0 formation, nitrogen\u00a0 fixation, enzymes\u00a0 activity,\u00a0 \u00a0etc.\u00a0 (Ballabh and Rana, 2012).<\/p>\n

Allium\u00a0 cepa\u00a0 var.aggregatum<\/em>\u00a0 is\u00a0 an\u00a0 important Allium\u00a0 plant\u00a0 that\u00a0 been\u00a0 used\u00a0 for\u00a0 food,\u00a0 ornamental, natural\u00a0 alternatives\u00a0 to\u00a0 food\u00a0 synthetic\u00a0 preservatives\u00a0 and\u00a0 medicinal\u00a0 for\u00a0 curing\u00a0 various\u00a0 diseases. Allium<\/em> plants\u00a0 contain\u00a0 different\u00a0 sugars,\u00a0 amino\u00a0 acids,\u00a0 vitamins,\u00a0 sulfurous\u00a0 compounds,\u00a0 enzymes,\u00a0 flavonoids, saponins and minerals(Golubev et al., 2003)<\/p>\n

Experiments\u00a0 on Allium cepa aggregatum<\/em><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Exploration of new and promising anticancer compounds continues to be one of the main tasks of cancer research because of the drug resistance, high\u00a0cytotoxicity<\/a>\u00a0and limitations of tumor selectivity. Natural products represent a better choice for cancer treatment in comparison with synthetic compounds because of their\u00a0pharmacokinetic<\/a>\u00a0properties and lower side effects. In the current study, we isolated a steroidal\u00a0saponin<\/a>, named Cepa2, from the dry roots of\u00a0shallot<\/a>\u00a0(Allium cepa<\/a>\u00a0L. Aggregatum group), and determined its structure by using two-dimensional nuclear manganic resonance (2D NMR). The\u00a01H NMR and\u00a013C NMR data revealed that the newly isolated Cepa2 compound is identical to alliospiroside A (C38H60O12) [(25S)-3\u03b2-hydroxyspirost-5-en-1\u03b2-yl-2-O-(6-deoxy-\u03b1-L-mannopyranosyl)-\u03b1-L-arabinopyranoside], whose\u00a0anticancer activity<\/a>\u00a0rem<\/span>ains elusive(Thilakavathy and \u00a0Ramaswamy,1998).<\/p>\n

For Studying\u00a0 the effect\u00a0\u00a0 of zinc\u00a0 and boron applications\u00a0\u00a0 on seeding transplanting multiplier onion\u00a0 CO(On)5\u00a0 at various levels\u00a0 of both basal and foliar application an experiment was carried out. The\u00a0 treatment consists\u00a0 of\u00a0 soil application\u00a0 of\u00a0 zinc\u00a0 sulphate\u00a0 (5\u00a0 kg\u00a0 ha-1and\u00a0 10\u00a0 kg\u00a0 ha-1),\u00a0 Borax\u00a0 (5\u00a0 kg\u00a0 ha-1and\u00a0 10\u00a0 kg\u00a0 ha-1),\u00a0 foliar application\u00a0 of\u00a0 zinc\u00a0 sulphate\u00a0 (0.5%\u00a0 foliar)\u00a0 and\u00a0 Borax\u00a0 (0.25%\u00a0 foliar),\u00a0 zinc\u00a0 sulphate\u00a0 (5\u00a0 kg\u00a0 soil\u00a0 +\u00a0 0.5%\u00a0 foliar),\u00a0 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\u00a0 curb\u00a0 without\u00a0 micronutrient,\u00a0 cloned\u00a0 thrice\u00a0 in\u00a0 a\u00a0 random block\u00a0 design. (Acharya et al., 2015).<\/p>\n

An experiment was carried out for\u00a0 determination of \u00a0the effect of storage temperature on the respiration rate of aggregate <\/em>onion kept in closed PET containers with a product free volume ratio of 1:9 in two different storage conditions viz., ambient (28\u00b0C) and refrigerated (5\u00b0C). 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).<\/p>\n

Evaluation of\u00a0 seed priming methods\u00a0 to improve\u00a0 seed vigor of onion (Allium cepa cv. aggregatum<\/em>) and carrot (Daucus carota<\/em>).The\u00a0 seeds of onion and carrot\u00a0 showed significant\u00a0 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,\u00a0 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).<\/p>\n

Effect of inorganic\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and biofertilizer treatments on yield on quality parameters of multiplier onion\u00a0\u00a0 (Allium cepa var aggregatum<\/em>). 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).<\/p>\n

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\u00d73 factual aggregation of \u00a0poultry 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\u207b\u00b9 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 \u00a0bulb yield, but there was a reduction in dry matter content (Blay et al.,2002).<\/p>\n

The aftermath of\u00a0inoculation\u00a0with the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus\u00a0Glomus\u00a0mosseae<\/em> together with the pertinence of ordered levels of P fertilizers on growth, quality, and yield propertiesof onion cv. aggregatum<\/em>. Single superphosphate (SSP) and rock P were applied at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the recommended dose (60 kg\/ha). The inoculated\u00a0plants that \u00a0received 50% P showed a significant increase in\u00a0plant height, the number of\u00a0leaves, number of\u00a0tillers, bulb diameter and weight of\u00a0bulbs\u00a0compared 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.\u00a0Nutrient uptake\u00a0improved remarkably over control under inoculated conditions.\u00a0Soil\u00a0availability of\u00a0nutrients\u00a0varied with fertilizer dose and VAM inoculated treatments showed less\u00a0nutrient availability\u00a0compared 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).<\/p>\n

\u00a0Uses of Allium cepa aggregatum<\/em><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Onion is a\u00a0 good\u00a0 healer and cleaner.\u00a0 It is believed that onions help prevent colds, gastric ills, \u00a0anemia, catarrh, \u00a0fever,\u00a0 and insomnia.\u00a0 Onion has been considered an excellent diuretic since antiquity.\u00a0 Onion\u00a0 juice is\u00a0 applied to burns,\u00a0 chilblains,\u00a0 bites, and stings.\u00a0 It\u00a0 is thought off as \u00a0very effective for\u00a0 curing \u00a0ulcers and sores ,\u00a0 and assertive kinds of dropsy.\u00a0 It\u00a0 is also\u00a0 declared that\u00a0 onion is beneficial as a \u00a0\u00a0digestive stimulant,\u00a0 anti-diabetic and anti-fermentative .For\u00a0 nose bleeding, \u00a0onion 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 \u00a0Cooked with vinegar, the onions are \u00a0very useful like \u00a0in\u00a0 cases of jaundice, dyspepsia and splenic\u00a0 enlargement.\u00a0 Onion stimulates bile production and \u00a0also 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 \u00a0(Chevallier, 1996).<\/p>\n

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).<\/p>\n

Potato onions\u00a0 are rich\u00a0 in minerals,\u00a0 including phosphorus, potassium,\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0calcium , and\u00a0 nitrogen. They also contain ascorbic acid and protein. The pungency of onion \u00a0makes it an essential and vital \u00a0food item,\u00a0 particularly in\u00a0 India.\u00a0 The bulbs\u00a0 and leaves\u00a0 are cooked or used raw(Organ,1960).<\/p>\n

The bulb\u00a0 is anti-inflammatory, antihelmintic,\u00a0 \u00a0antiseptic,\u00a0 carminative, antispasmodic, \u00a0diuretic,\u00a0 febrifuge, hypoglycaemic,\u00a0\u00a0 expectorant,\u00a0 lithontripic, stomachic ,hypotensive,\u00a0 and tonic. When used frequently in the diet it counteract\u00a0 inclinations \u00a0towards arteriosclerosis , angina, and heart attack.\u00a0 It\u00a0 is very beneficial for prevention of tooth decay oral and\u00a0 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 \u00a0first\u00a0 aid treatment for wasp and bee stings,\u00a0 grazes , bites, and \u00a0fungal skin infections.\u00a0 It\u00a0 also\u00a0 aids\u00a0 the\u00a0 formation\u00a0 of\u00a0 scar\u00a0 tissue\u00a0 on\u00a0 wounds,\u00a0 thus\u00a0 speeding\u00a0 up\u00a0 the healing process, and has been used as a cosmetic to remove freckles(Saraswathi et al., 2017)<\/p>\n

Allium<\/em> is also prized for their therapeutic activities and properties; they are effective as laxatives \u00a0and diuretics and have been used to treat parasitic worms and headaches (Griffiths et al., 2002)<\/p>\n

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\u00a0cepa var.\u00a0aggregatum<\/em>) was done to demonstrate phytochemical activities\u00a0 and compounds of this plant(Moreno-Rojas et al.,2018)<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Allium cepa aggregatum<\/em> has been used since time immemorial and is still used today. There are numerous beneficial properties of Allium cepa aggregatum<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

Future prospectus<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Not much work has been done regarding the Allium cepa aggregatum<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

REFERENCES<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n