This family is also known as the Lotus family with unique features such as
aquatic habitat, large peltate and floating leaves, and flowers- large, solitary,
conspicuous with numerous petals with colors ranging from white, yellow, pink or
red. It consists of one genus and two species (Xue et al., 2012). The members are
a rich source of carbohydrates, proteins, and minerals including potassium,
phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, iron, vitamins, and fibers. However, they
also possess antinutritional contents such as nelumbone alkaloids and tannins
(Sujitha et al., 2013).
