Bamboo shoots, food of future - nutritional, antioxidants, medicinal and economic importance under changing climatic conditions

Bamboo is a fast growing, flowering perennial evergreen bushy plant. It is wide spread and regarded as renewable resource with the potential to ensure livelihood security, in both rural and urban areas. India is one of the richest countries, next to China in bamboo resources with about 136 species. More than 1500 uses of bamboo are documented in the Indian socio-economic-cultural-ecological-climate functional context. The shoots are used in numerous Asian dishes. The demand for bamboo shoots is growing steadily and people are inclined towards the taste of bamboo based dishes. Being an important food crop in the international market, bamboo contains more moisture (89.3%), low fat (0.41 g 100 g^‑1), high dietary fibre (3.90%) and mineral content (1.03%). Fresh shoots are a good source of thiamine, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin E. However, they contain a potentially toxic glycoside called taxiphyllin, a cyanogenic glucoside. To enhance its business potential, research on various aspects of bamboo shoot is carried out particularly in Asian countries. Extraction of bioactive compounds, nutraceuticals and functional foods is having a big role to play in alleviating hidden hunger in the developing world.