Navara - Rice

The Medicinal Benefits of Kerala’s Navara Rice

Published by Uma Shankari October 8, 2011, Category: Engineering

Colored rice such as navara (black and red) have antioxidants and polyphenols, and are rich in minerals iron and zinc, and there is an urgent need to preserve urgent need to preserve these germplasms.

Navara rice is an endemic crop native to Kerala, a state in South India. It is extensively used in Ayurveda. It is grown chiefly in the Palakkad (Palghat) district of Kerala; and other neighboring districts with similar soil and climatic conditions grow it on a smaller scale. Navara (Oryza sativa) can be cooked and eaten like any other variety, though it is more known for its medicinal use.

This nutritionally rich rice variety has received the Geographical Indication Registry of Intellectual Property India in November 2007 under the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Navara rice is used in Panchakarma treatment in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. This rice cultivar requires just 60 days to grow and mature. Ashtanga Hridaya, an ancient Indian medical text, describes two types of Navara – black and white, of which the later is superior.

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The texts say that navara rice rectifies the basic ills affecting the circulatory, respiratory and the digestive systems. A study at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Pilicode, has found Navara as a unique cereal having high content of free amino acids which helps in easier absorption of the proteins.

Boiled navara rice was traditionally used as a good weaning food for infants, particularly those with low weight. It was also given as a broth to pregnant women as well as diabetics. It was traditionally consumed as a replenishing drink, called karkidakakanji for quicker recuperation after illnesses. But these practices have dwindled now.

What is gaining more poularity is its use in Navarakizhi, a treatment procedure followed in Kerala for strengthening muscles and curing neuromuscular disorders. The medicinal properties of

Navara rectify basic illnesses affecting the respiratory and digestive systems. When cooked with milk and Sida (Sida rectusa. Lin) herbs, it can treat internal wounds, make the body supple , remove stiffness of joints, cleanse the body channels, and improve blood circulation. Navara rice bran oil is used for massaging the body to get relief from cervical spondylosis, low back ache, paralysis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Its paste is used as lepanam to treat psoriasis and skin lesions. It is inevitable for the rejuvenation therapy of Panchakarma in Ayurveda. Panchakarma has now become a main component of tour and travel to Kerala.



India had 4, 00,000 varieties of rice during the Vedic period, and even today 2, 00,000 varieties of rice exist in India, according to late Dr. Richaria, an eminent rice scientist. But these indigenous varieties are being destroyed by the “high-yielding varieties” (HYVs) of the 1960s and the genetically modified vrieties of the 1990’s, which erode the genetic diversity of rice. Colored rice such as navara (black and red) have antioxidants and polyphenols, and are rich in minerals iron and zinc, and there is an urgent need to preserve these germplasms.



Navara - Rice

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