Acmella oleracea: Difference between revisions
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==Culinary uses== |
==Culinary uses== |
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For culinary purposes, small amounts of shredded fresh leaves add a unique flavour to salads. Cooked leaves lose their strong flavour and may be used as [[leafy greens]]. Both fresh and cooked leaves are used in dishes (such as stews) in parts of Brazil, often combined with chillies and [[garlic]] to add flavor and vitamins to other foods.<ref name="wp" /> A related species is used in several Southeast Asian dishes, such as salads. Consumption of portions or whole flowers have been reportedly used to offset the intense heat of chillies and peppers.{{Fact|date=March 2009}} |
For culinary purposes, small amounts of shredded fresh leaves add a unique flavour to salads. Cooked leaves lose their strong flavour and may be used as [[leafy greens]]. Both fresh and cooked leaves are used in dishes (such as stews) in Northern parts of Brazil, specially in the state of Pará, often combined with chillies and [[garlic]] to add flavor and vitamins to other foods.<ref name="wp" /> A related species is used in several Southeast Asian dishes, such as salads. Consumption of portions or whole flowers have been reportedly used to offset the intense heat of chillies and peppers.{{Fact|date=March 2009}} |
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Eating a whole flower bud results in a grassy taste, followed by an extremely strong tingling or numbing sensation and often excessive saliva production and a cooling sensation in the throat.<ref name="wp" /> These buds are known as '''Buzz Buttons''', '''Szechuan buttons''', '''sansho buttons''', and '''electric buttons'''.<ref name="npr">[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101304548&ft=1&f=1007 It's Shocking, But You Eat It]. NPR.</ref> In India, the buds are used as flavoring in [[chewing tobacco]].<ref name="npr" /> |
Eating a whole flower bud results in a grassy taste, followed by an extremely strong tingling or numbing sensation and often excessive saliva production and a cooling sensation in the throat.<ref name="wp" /> These buds are known as '''Buzz Buttons''', '''Szechuan buttons''', '''sansho buttons''', and '''electric buttons'''.<ref name="npr">[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101304548&ft=1&f=1007 It's Shocking, But You Eat It]. NPR.</ref> In India, the buds are used as flavoring in [[chewing tobacco]].<ref name="npr" /> |
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Revision as of 11:25, 5 July 2009
| Acmella oleracea | |
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| Acmella oleracea inflorescence | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
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| Genus: | |
| Species: | A. oleracea
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| Binomial name | |
| Acmella oleracea (L.) R.K.Jansen
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Acmella oleracea, also known under its old names Spilanthes oleracea and Spilanthes acmella, is a flowering herb in the plant family Asteraceae, also known as toothache plant or paracress as the leaves and flower heads contain an analgesic agent spilanthol used to numb toothache. It is native to the tropics of Brazil, and is grown as an ornamental (and occasionally as a medicinal) in various parts of the world. A small, erect plant, it grows quickly and sends up gold and red flower inflorescences. It is frost-sensitive but perennial in warmer climates.
Synonyms
- Spilanthes oleracea L. (1767)
- Spilanthes acmella auct. non (L.) Murr.
For more information on synonyms, see the Plant Name Database entry on Spilanthes.
The English common name, toothache plant, is synonymous with the Swedish common name tandvärksplanta; both stem from the analgesic alkylamides the plant contains. The name paracress is in reference to the Northern Brazil state Pará.
It is known in French as brède mafane and cresson de Para, and in Portuguese as agrião do Pará and jambú.[1]
Culinary uses
For culinary purposes, small amounts of shredded fresh leaves add a unique flavour to salads. Cooked leaves lose their strong flavour and may be used as leafy greens. Both fresh and cooked leaves are used in dishes (such as stews) in Northern parts of Brazil, specially in the state of Pará, often combined with chillies and garlic to add flavor and vitamins to other foods.[2] A related species is used in several Southeast Asian dishes, such as salads. Consumption of portions or whole flowers have been reportedly used to offset the intense heat of chillies and peppers.[citation needed]
Eating a whole flower bud results in a grassy taste, followed by an extremely strong tingling or numbing sensation and often excessive saliva production and a cooling sensation in the throat.[2] These buds are known as Buzz Buttons, Szechuan buttons, sansho buttons, and electric buttons.[3] In India, the buds are used as flavoring in chewing tobacco.[3]
Medical uses and effects
A decoction or infusion of the leaves and flowers is a traditional remedy for stammering, toothache, stomatitis, [2] and throat complaints.[citation needed]
However, acmella oleracea extract has been tested against various yeasts and bacteria and was essentially inactive.[4]
Acmella oleracea has been shown to have a strong diuretic action in rats.[5]
Active chemicals
The most important taste-active molecules present are the alkylamides and especially, (2E,6Z,8E)-deca-2,6,8-trienoic acid N-isobutyl amide or spilanthol,
which is responsible for the trigeminal and saliva-inducing effects of products such as Jambu oleoresin, a concentrated extract from Paracress.[6]
Besides the main active ingredient spilanthol, Acmella also contains stigmasteryl-3-O-b-D-glucopyranoside and a mixture of triterpenes.
The isolation and total synthesis of the active ingredients have been reported.[7]
Pesticide effects
Extracts using hexane of freshly harvested flowers of S. acmella were bioassayed against Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito) larvae and Helicoverpa zea (the corn earworm moth) neonates. Spilanthol proved effective at killing mosquitos, with an LD100 (at 24 hours) at a concentration of 12.5 µg/mL and showed 50% mortality at 6.25 µg/mL.
The mixture of isomers of spilanthol showed a 66% weight reduction of H. zea neonate larvae at 250 µg/mL concentration after 6 days.[6]
References
- ^ Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.
- ^ a b c Like a Taste That Tingles? Then This Bud's for You. Washington Post.
- ^ a b It's Shocking, But You Eat It. NPR.
- ^ Holetz FB, Pessini GL, Sanches NR, Cortez DA, Nakamura CV, Filho BP (2002). "Screening of some plants used in the Brazilian folk medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases". Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz. 97 (7): 1027–31. doi:10.1590/S0074-02762002000700017. PMID 12471432.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ratnasooriya WD, Pieris KP, Samaratunga U, Jayakody JR (2004). "Diuretic activity of Spilanthes acmella flowers in rats". Journal of ethnopharmacology. 91 (2–3): 317–20. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2004.01.006. PMID 15120455.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Ramsewak RS, Erickson AJ, Nair MG (1999). "Bioactive N-isobutylamides from the flower buds of Spilanthes acmella". Phytochemistry. 51 (6): 729–32. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(99)00101-6. PMID 10389272.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ley JP, Blings M, Krammer G, Reinders G, Schmidt CO, Bertram HJ (2006). "Isolation and synthesis of acmellonate, a new unsaturated long chain 2-ketol ester from Spilanthes acmella". Nat. Prod. Res. 20 (9): 798–804. doi:10.1080/14786410500246733. PMID 16753916.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)