Persicaria hydropiper
| Water-pepper | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Polygonaceae |
| Genus: | Persicaria |
| Species: | P. hydropiper |
| Binomial name | |
| Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Delabre |
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Water-pepper or Water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper, syn. Polygonum hydropiper) is a plant of the family Polygonaceae. It grows in damp places and shallow water. It is a cosmopolitan plant, found in Australia, New Zealand, temperate Asia, Europe, and North America.[1] It has some use as a spice because of its pungent flavour.
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[edit] Active ingredients
The water-pepper has several active ingredients. Two bicyclic sesquiterpenoids are present, polygodial (tadeonal, an unsaturated dialdehyde with a drimane backbone) and waburganal, which has been found responsible for the pungent taste (hence its edibility).[2] The plant also contains rutin, a source of the bitter taste impression.
The plant contains an essential oil (0.5%) which consists of monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids: α-pinene, β-pinene, 1,4-cineol, fenchone, α-humulene, β-caryophyllene, trans-β-bergamotene. Carboxylic acids (cinnamic, valeric and caproic acid) and their esters were present in traces. The composition depends strongly on genetic factors.
[edit] Edibility
In Japan this plant's leaves are used as a vegetable - these are from the cultivar, not the wild type which has a far more pungent taste. Wild waterpepper produces oils that cause skin irritation,[3] and the many acids in its tissues, including formic acid, make the plant unpalatable to livestock.[4]
The seeds of the water-pepper may be added to wasabi.
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[edit] References
- ^ Dennis I. Morris DI (2009) Polygonaceae, version 2009:1. In MF Duretto (Ed.) Flora of Tasmania Online. 17 pp. (Tasmanian Herbarium, Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery: Hobart). ISBN 978-1-921599-30-9 (PDF). www.tmag.tas.gov.au/floratasmania
- ^ Jonassohn, M. (1996). Sesquiterpenoid unsaturated dialdehydes - Structural properties that affect reactivity and bioactivity. Doctoral thesis, Lund University, Sweden. ISBN 91-628-2215-2. [1]PDF (730 KiB)
- ^ Flora of North America
- ^ Illinois Wildflowers
- Blanchan, Neltje (2002). Wild Flowers: An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors.. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3003.
[edit] External links
- Jepson Manual Treatment
- Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), Australian National Botanic Gardens, Australian National Herbarium: Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Delarbre [2]
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