Speakers - AFHWC2025

Abstract

Odiyal Kool is a traditional vegetable and sea food broth. Odiyal is a hard snack made from palmyra palm tubers. Generally, it is splint in two and dried until it gets hard. Odiyal flour is smooth powder form use for making odiyal pittu and odiyal kool. Odiyal kool is one of the popular and traditional food of Northern Sri Lankan population. Functional foods are foods that have a positive effect on health beyond basic nutrition. They contain bioactive compounds that can help improve health, prevent diseases, or support the body’s normal functions. This review is an attempt to compile the literatures on odiyal kool, its ingredients, and to highlight its medicinal potential that has been underestimated. Odiyal is considered a good source of carbohydrates, fiber, and some micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, and ferrous ions. Odiyal kool is the one of the traditional food which can be classified as an appetizer, warm food during cold and sick. Odiyal flour has a low glycemic index, it is beneficial for diabetics. The presence of phytochemical substances helps to prevent chronic diseases, age-related disorders, and cardio vascular illnesses, as well as to improve overall health. Flabelliferin, a bitter substance present, has antibacterial effects. Traditional functional foods can help prevent chronic disease or optimize health, therefore reducing health-care costs and improving the quality of life. In view of all the above facts, Odiyal Kool should be extensively explored with the modern scientific approaches to identify its pharmacological actions beyond culinary and nutritional effects.

KEYWORDS: Odiyal Kool, Palmyra palm tuber, Traditional food, Functional food