Coix Seeds: A Mini Review

Mahdi Tajalifar

Coix Seeds: A Mini Review

Mahdi Tajalifar^*: Department of Agriculture Engineering, University of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Iran

^*Corresponding Author: Mahdi Tajalifar, Agriculture Engineer, Department of Agriculture Engineering, University of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Iran, Tel: 00982833367725, Email: mahdi.tajalifar01@gmail.com

Received: 02-Feb-2018 / Accepted Date: 23-Jul-2018 / Published Date: 06-Aug-2018

View PDF Download PDF

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

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 yĭ; “soft-shelled job's tears”; 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.

Journal of Plant Genetics and Breeding
Open Access