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ETHNOBOTANY
There has always been interaction
between plants & people.
Some unexpected.
Words tell strange tales of need and
greed, + small causes & profound
effects.
The interaction with plants predates
the generation of present humans.
Fossil teeth of early hominids show that
our ancestors were omnivorous
and probably consumed and used a wide
variety of plants.
Excavations of cave dwellings occupied
over millions of years ago
show that Peking Man, gathered nuts
(walnut), rose hips &
roasted black berry seeds.
Wild rose : Rosa canina (Dog rose) (about 100 Species)
• Rose Hip, or Rose Haw or Rose Hep, - fruit of the rose plant.
• Mesopotamia > Palestine, across Turkey to Greece.
• Different colours.
• Blackberry
• Botanical: Rubus fructicosus
Family: Rosaceae Rubus L. ± 430
species 12 subgenera.
This morning you ate and drank plants
or plant products.
Most of you are wearing plants.
Plant based fuel transported you here
and keep the lights in this hall shining.
Seed hairs from cotton
which function in nature
as a dispersal mechanism,
turn into cloth after
we gather & process it.
Gums exuded by plants
to ward off infection
become thinning agents
for articles as diverse as
chocolate milk
and mining equipment.
Archaeological finds have also
demonstrated “THAT” the history of
peoples' association with plants did not
begin at a certain point!
after they discovered they could
EAT or USE PLANTS.
Different kinds of plants were available
in different parts of the world,
various people built up their OWN
INVENTORIES of plants they USED
& CONSUMED.
Early humans would have chosen
plants that appealed to the senses of
COLOUR + ODOR + TASTE.
Human beings have also been able to
invent novel uses for many plant
products.
Lightening
Fires
By observing naturally occurring
fires, humans learned to
exploit plants as source of fuel.
It is easy to forget that plants are
fundamental to our lives.
Yet much of human history and
culture is determined by what plants
do or can be made to do us.
Plants have played an important
part in the human development.
Over 380,000 ???? plant species on earth.
-Which of them will shape our future?
How will we treat this natural resource on
which our survival depends?
Plants have great effect on human
development & the economy of
many countries.
Development of human civilization too is
closely related to the
PLANT WORLD.
Search for lands of spices was the reason for
the discovery of Americas AND
colonial invasions of Asia +Africa.
Patterns of international trade in
RUBBER (Hevea brasiliensis)
OPIUM ( Papaver somniferum),
QUININE (Cinchona pubescens )
Coffee (Coffea arabica ), and
Coca
have altered the fates of entire nations.
Hevea brasiliensis, the Pará rubber tree,
sharinga tree, or, most commonly,
the rubber tree, is a tree belonging to the
family Euphorbiaceae.
Many rubber- yielding plants of both Old
world + New world, the primary source of
rubber has always been Hevaea brasiliensis
because of high percentage of rubber in
its latex.
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, Papaveraceae.
the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to the sedative
properties of some of these opiates.
Opium is the source of many narcotics, including
morphine (and its derivative heroin),
thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine.
Use of the opium poppy predates written
history.
Images of opium poppies have been
found in ancient Sumerian artifacts
(circa 4000 BC).
Making and use of opium was known
to the ancient Minoans.
Sap was later named opion by the
ancient Greeks, from whence it gained its
modern name of opium.
Used for treating asthma, stomach illnesses,
and bad eyesight.
1st & 2nd Opium Wars among China,
British Empire & France during 1830 -1860,
when the Chinese attempted to stop western
traders smuggling opium into their country.
Cinchona or Quina (Quinine) is a Genus (38 species).
Family Rubiaceae Cinchona pubescens .
Native to the tropical Andes forests of western
South America.
Medicinal plants, known as sources for quinine
and other compounds.
Rubiaceae:
Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea
originally indigenous to the mountains of
the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia.
It is also known as the "coffee shrub of
Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica
coffee“.
South American coffees are grown in the
mountainous regions stretching from Colombia,
Bolivia and Peru to Brazil.
These regions produce a large family of coffees that
manifest a bright and lively acidity with a clean
smooth finish.
Several species of Coffea are grown for the beans.
Coffea arabica accounts for 75-80 percent of the
world's coffee production, while Coffea
canephora accounts for about 20 percent.
Caffeine in coffee "beans" is a natural plant
defense against herbivory, i.e. a toxic substance
that protects the seeds of the plant.
Coffee is the world’s favourite drink, an important
commercial crop-plant, and the 2nd most
valuable international commodity after oil.
Worldwide there are about 20 million coffee
farming families;
around 100 million people depend on coffee
for their livelihoods.
Its export value alone is immense
(US $ 15.4 billion in 2009/10)
and as such it plays a crucial role in the
economies of several tropical countries.
• Originally from the high altitude, humid forests
of Ethiopia and South Sudan, where it still grows
wild, Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) is considered
to produce the finest coffee beans.
• Most instant coffee is made from a mixture of
Arabica and Robusta (Coffea canephora), the
latter having a less delicate flavour and aroma
and more caffeine. Liberica coffee (Coffea
liberica)
• Generally, Arabica is grown in upland plantations
and Robusta in lowland plantations.
• In total, there are 125 coffee species, which occur
naturally in Africa, the Indian Ocean Islands,
(Madagascar, Comoros, and the Mascarenes),
southern Asia, south east Asia and Australia.
• Arabica and Robusta coffee are the main
beverage species, with a small percentage of
Liberica coffee (Coffea liberica) grown for
commercial purposes.
• Other species in East Africa and Madagascar are
sometimes used locally to make coffee on a very
small scale.
Map of coffee bean production:
r for C. robusta, a for C.arabica, and m for both species
Coca is one of the 4 cultivated plants which
belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to
western South America.
Plant is a cash crop in Argentina, Bolivia,
and Peru.
Coca is known throughout the world for its
psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine.
Alkaloid content of coca leaves is low, between
0.25% and 0.77%.
Chewing the leaves or drinking coca tea
does not produce intense high
(euphoria, megalomania,depression),
people experience with cocaine.
Cocaine-free coca leaf extract is used
in Coca Cola.
Wild populations of
Erythroxylum coca var. coca in
eastern Andes.
 Erythroxylum coca
E. coca var. coca (Bolivian Coca) - eastern Andes of Peru
and Bolivia.
 E. coca var. ipadu (Amazonian Coca) –cultivated in the
lowland Amazon Basin in Peru and Colombia.
 Erythroxylum novogranatense
– E. novogranatense var. novogranatense (Colombian
Coca)
-E. novogranatense var. truxillense (Trujillo Coca) –
Grown primarily in Peru and Colombia.
 All 4 cultivated cocas domesticated in pre-Columbian times.
Search for medicinal herbs,
possessing aphrodisiac properties
Ginseng
(found only in the Northern Hemisphere,
North AMR, eastern Asia
( Korea, China, Bhutan, and eastern Siberia),
typically in cooler climates.
Panax vietnamensis, discovered in Vietnam.
Panax ginseng and P. quinquefolius.
Ginseng is characterized by the presence
of ginsenosides.
Red Ginseng Korea 2003,
White, Sun, Wild + P. quinquefolius American ginseng
A study of ginseng's effects on rats found, while both white ginseng and red ginseng
appear to reduce the incidence of cancer, the effects appear to be greater with red
ginseng.
Another study showed potentially beneficial effects of a combination of Korean red
ginseng and highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1-infected patients.
Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus)
same family as true ginseng,
an adaptogenic herb.
Active compounds are eleutherosides,
not ginsenosides.
Instead of a fleshy root, has a woody root.
Pausinystalia yohimbe (Rubiaceae)
(Yohimbe yohimbe, yohimbe bark)
& longevity have resulted in an immense
biodiversity loss.
Rubiaceae Pausinystalia yohimbe
(Yohimbe yohimbe, yohimbe bark)
formerly-Corynanthe yohimbe,
sometimes spelled johimb.
A psychoactive plant containing
MAOI alkaloid yohimbine ( herbal aphrodisiac).
Origin- bark of an Africa tree.
Herbal medication can cause tachycardia and
hypertension if improperly dosed.
Yohimbine or Yohimbe contains 55 other
alkaloids.
Yohimbine accounts for 1-20 % of its total
alkaloid content.
Dietary supplement: dried bark of the
yohimbe tree is made into tea and taken by
mouth.
Extract of bark is also put into capsules
and tablets.
Explored as a remedy for type 2 diabetes in animal and
human models.
Yohimbine
is
an
alkaloid
naturally
found
in Pausinystalia yohimbe
(Yohimbe), Rauwolfia
serpentina (Indian Snakeroot), and Alchornea
floribunda (Niando), along with several other active
alkaloids.
Plants produce an array of chemicals
known as
secondary metabolites.
Many of these are utilized by us
for various purposes,
specially for making medicines
and as healing agents.
Rubber is a secondary metabolite.
An integral part of human development
and civilization.
 BUT alarming decline in
natural forest and forest habitats
due to deforestation + human disturbances,
these are a cause for grave concern.
Google Earth Engine will distribute in January 2014
Every year forest cover decreasing.
Phtotgraphs taken from show how forest have decrease during the last 12 year.
Space (654 000 178 images taken-2000-2012).
In 12 years ± 2.3 milion km 2 area of forests lost. Only 800 000 km 2 of forests gained
(reforestration). RED colour shows decreasing forests, blue reforestation.
Maximum forest losses in Indpnesia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Bolivya, Zambiya and
Angola…
Sadly, this is occurring at a time when interest
in the use of plants for medicinal & other
economic purposes is increasing.
The advances in biotechnology + genetic
engineering have the potential of developing the
botanical resources for human development all
over the world.
Exponential growth of world population calls
for a proportionate increase in production.
Botanical resources are important source of
Economic Diversification as:
food, in horticulture, in floriculture,
in chemical & pharmaceutical industries.
All distribute benefits to the poor,
but this depends on a number of factors.
Most fundamental is for more thorough
& reliable information about the resources.
It needs thorough extensive and intensive
biological research & conservation.
Plants produce primary compounds
such as sugars, proteins and oils,
used in a plant's basic metabolism and
form the base of our food web.
Several plant species are used to supply
us & our domesticated animals,
beverages,
spices , medicinal plants
and raw materials
for clothing & housing +
a multitude of requirements.
For all these important plants,
we need to know
BOTANY , PHYSIOLOGY , ECOLOGY,
BREEDING /PRODUCTION,
CULTIVATION –HARVESTING processes,
diseases-pests, processing and utilization.
WE have SUGAR PLANTS and
Starch Plants
(Cereals & Millets, Root crops, Tuber crops)
Sugar plants:
Provide us mostly with sucrose and fructose,
like sugar cane, sugar beet, date palm,
palmyra palm, maple plant, nypa palm
(Nipa fruticans ), and fish-tail palm
(Caryota urens).
Nypa fruticans, (Arecaceae) commonly known
as the nipa palm, is a species of palm native to
the coastlines and estuarine habitats of
the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Nypa fruticans,
Cayota urens
Only palm considered adapted to
the mangrove biome.
Only member of its genus Nypa, only member of the
subfamily Nypoideae forming monotypic taxa.
Native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of
the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the flower cluster
(inflorescence) is tapped before it blooms
to yield a sweet, edible sap collected
to produce a local beverage called
tuba, bahal or tuak.
Tuba can also be distilled to make
arrack, locally known as lambanog
in Filipino and arak in Indonesian.
Young shoots are also edible and
the flower petals can be
infused to make an aromatic tisane.
The nipa palm (solitary fishtail palm, toddy
palm, wine palm, jaggery palm family) has a very
high sugar-rich sap yield.
Biodiesel:Fermented into ethanol or butanol, the
palm's large amount of sap may allow for the
production of 6,480-15,600 liters (per year) of fuel
per hectare.
Sugarcane yields 5,000–8,000 liters per hectare
(per year) and an equivalent area planted
in corn would produce just 2000 liters (per year)
per hectare.
Caryota urens (Arecaceae)
a species of flowering plant in the palm family
from the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast
Asia where they grow in fields and rainforest
clearings.
urens(epithet) means "stinging" alluding to the
chemicals in the fruit.
• Sugar Beet• The beetroot, also called
table beet, garden
beet, red or golden beet, or informally simply as
the beet, refers to any of the cultivated varieties of beet
(Beta vulgaris) grown for their edible taproots,
especially B. vulgaris ssp. conditiva. Beta vulgaris ssp.
cicla (Kırmızı). Root Beet 75 % water,5% pulp,20%
sugar (12-21 %) Sugar Beet: 20 %, 17-22 %.
• Excellent
source
of
folate,
manganese,
contains betaines which may function to reduce the
concentration of homocysteine, a homolog of the
naturally occurring amino acid cysteine.
The red colour compound betanin is not
broken down in the body, and in higher
concentration may temporarily cause urine
(termed beeturia) and stool to assume a
reddish colour.
70 ml of beetroot juice, containing ± 5 mmol
of nitrate, reduces resting blood pressure by 2
% and increases the maximum duration of
apnea by 11 % (divers)
Beta vulgaris
ssp. cicla
 Beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains.
 Betanin and vulgaxanthin are the 2 best-studied betalains from beets, and both
have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification
support.
 Amaranthaceae: Beta vulgaris, B. vulgaris ssp. adanensis,
B.vulgaris ssp. maritima, B. vulgaris ssp. vulgaris, B. corolliflora,
B. lomatogona, B. macrocarpa, B.nana, B.patellaris, B. procumbens,
B. trigyna, B.webbiana (12 sp & ssp).
• Sugarcane or Sugar cane, has 6-37 species (depends on taxonomic
system) - tall perennial true grasses , native to the warm temperate to
tropical regions of South Asia, One of the world's largest crop.
• Family:
Poaceae (formerly Graminae). Genus:
Saccharum
• 2-6 m Stout jointed fibrous stalks are rich in sugar.
• In 2010, FAO estimated cultivation- ± 23.8 million ha
(more than 90 countries, global harvest ± 1.70 billion tons).
• Brazil was the largest producer of sugar cane in the world (1/3) of the
world followed by India, China, Thailand, Pakistan and Mexico.
Saccharum officinarum – sugarcane,
(16 Species)
S. alopecuroidum silver plumegrass,
S. arundinaceum,
S. baldwinii --narrow plumegrass,
S. barberi -- Barber's cane,
S. bengalense -- Munj sweetcane,
S. brevibarbe -- shortbeard plumegrass,
S.coarctatum -- compressed plumegrass,
S. giganteum -- sugarcane plumegrass,
S. procerum,
S.ravennae -- Ravenna grass,
S. robustum -- robust cane,
S. sinense -- Chinese cane,
S. spontaneum -- ahlek, loa, wild cane, wild sugarcane,
S. edule,
S.munja
 In India, between 6th and 4th centuries BC, the Persians,
followed by Greeks, discovered the famous "reeds that
produce honey without bees".
 A few merchants began to trade in sugar—a luxury and an
expensive spice until the 18th century.
 Before the 18th century, cultivation was largely confined to
India.
 Sugarcane plantations, major driver of large human
migrations in the 19th & early 20th century, influencing the
ethnic mix, political conflicts and cultural evolution of
various Caribbean, South American, Indian Ocean and
Pacific island nations.
In Africa numerous cultivars of Sorghum bicolor
are cultivated for sugar-rich juicy stems.
Stevia rebaudiana (Asteraceae or Compositae),
leaves contain the glycoside stevioside, which
tastes 300 times sweeter than sucrose.
Commercial production of this plant has been
established in Paraguay, Brazil, Indonesia,
Japan, China and Thailand.
Thailand exports 50-80 tons of dried Stevia
leaves per month.
• Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.) Bert. (Asteraceae) is
native to Paraguay and neighboring Brazilian
border (Monteiro 1982).
Thaumatococcus - monotypic genus of tropical
flowering plant,
1 species Thaumatococcus danielli, Marantaceae -a
natural source of thaumatin, intensely sweet protein
used in the development of sweeteners
(1973-Turkish Journal of Biology).
Large, rhizomatous, flowering herb native to the
rainforests of Ghana and surrounding African
nations.
Leaves and seeds have a number of
traditional medicinal uses.
Fruit is covered in a fleshy red aril, which is
the part that contains thaumatin.
 Also called miracle fruit (but Synsepalum dulcificum(related species) better known by that name
miracle berry; katamfe or katempfe, Yoruba soft cane,
and African serendipity berry.
• A gene from Thaumatococcus daniellii has been inserted
into a cucumber plant to increase its perceived sweetness
in human eaters by the Warsaw University of Life
Sciences.
Interest in this natural sweetner which do
not contain carbohydrate has reawakened
because many synthetic sweeteners,
especially cyclamates are carcinogenic.
Alarming increase of diabetic people
in the world, very special emphasis and
importance should be given by botanists,
pharmaceutical botanists and agronomists
about mass scale cultivation of this plant.
• Myrtus communis (Myrtaceae) evergreen scrub, typical
Mediterranean maquis, grows spontaneously in many
countries.
• Traditionally used as an antiseptic, disinfectant drug and
hypoglycaemic (kan şeker düşüklüğü) agent .
Myrtle (Myrtus communis –Murt, Hambalis). In Summer white flowers, and
blue berries - all very fragrant. Berries edible.
Leaves can be used in the making of colognes or skin tonics.
In France, an aromatic water is distilled from leaves and flowers.
Leaves, berries and twigs can be employed in the flavouring of food and
wines, and the leaves are said to make a good tea.
Myrtle berry (sometimes called Sweet Myrtle) can be distilled into a pleasant
liqueur.
Oil plants:
The production of oil plants takes
3rd place in the world production in terms
of value, after starch and fruit, and ahead of
beverages and stimulants
As food stuffs, oils have an important place
in the energy supply of humans.
Plant oils contain vitamin A, Vit. E+
provitamin D2, also phospholipids & sterols
which are important for health.
From ancient times, oils have also been
used in soap making, as painting and
lubricating materials; presently in detergents,
softeners and synthesis of many others.
Important oils are:
soya,
rapeseed,
coconut,
castor
palm oil,
ground nut,
olive,
maize oil
sunflower,
cotton seed,
linseed,
hazelnut
More than 50% of vegetable oil produced
in the world comes from soybeans (1/2 USA).
The soybean (US) or soya bean (UK) (Glycine max)
is a legume native to East Asia,
widely grown for its edible beans with numerous uses.
Fat-free (defatted) soybean meal is a significant & cheap
source of protein for animal feeds and many prepackaged
meals; soy vegetable oil is another product of processing
the soybean crop.
For example, soybean products such as textured vegetable
protein (TVP) are ingredients in many meat and dairy
analogues.
Soybeans produce significantly more protein per ha
than most other uses of land.
Traditional nonfermented food uses of soybeans
include soy milk, and from the latter tofu and
tofu skin.
Fermented foods include soy sauce, fermented bean
paste, natto, and tempeh, among others.
The oil is used in many industrial applications-main
producers of soy are the US (35%), Brazil (27%),
Argentina (19%), China (6%) & India (4%).
Beans contain significant amounts of
phytic acid, alpha-linolenic acid, and isoflavones.
First records of olive cultivation are from Create,
with archaeological evidence of olive culture
dating from 3500 B.C.
Olive oil was used by Egyptians & Greeks to
anoint bodies + as medicine.
The olive fruits and olive oil has been used in the
construction of pyramids.
Its high level of monosaturation, longer shelf life
with subtle flavor has led to its recent increased
use.
• 6 natural subspecies of Olea europaea widely distributed .
• Olea europaea ssp. europaea (Mediterranean Basin)
• Olea europaea ssp. cuspidata (from South Africa throughout
East Africa, Arabia to South West China)
• Olea europaea ssp. guanchica (Canaries)
• Olea europaea ssp. cerasiformis (Madeira)
• Olea europaea ssp. maroccana Morocco
• Olea europaea ssp. laperrinei (Algeria, Sudan, Niger)
Palm oil has a high level of saturation and thus
consumption of this lead to health hazard.
Coconut oil is also highly saturated,
used in South India, Sri Lanka & Asean countries.
Palm oil (also known as dendê oil, from Portuguese)
is an edible vegetable oil derived from the Mesocarp
(reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms,
primarily the African oil palm
Elaeis guineensis, and to a lesser extent from
the American oil palm Elaeis oleifera and the
maripa palm Attalea maripa.
Human use of oil palms may date as far back as
5,000 years; in the late 1800s, archaeologists discovered
a substance that they concluded was originally palm oil
in a tomb at Abydos dating back to 3,000 BCE.
It is believed that Arab traders brought the oil palm to
Egypt.
Palm oil from Elaeis guineensis has long been recognized
in West and Central African countries, widely used
as a cooking oil.
European merchants trading with West Africa
occasionally purchased palm oil for use as a
cooking oil in Europe.
Palm oil became a highly sought-after commodity
by British traders, for use as an industrial lubricant
for machinery during Britain's Industrial Revolution.
Palm oil formed the basis of soap products, such as
Lever Brothers‘ (now Unilever)"Sunlight"soap, and the
American Palmolive brand.
By around 1870, palm oil constituted the primary export
of some West African countries such
as Ghana and Nigeria although
this was overtaken by cocoa in the 1880s.
Palm oil can be used to produce biodiesel,
which is also known as palm oil methyl ester.
Palm oil methyl ester is created through
a process called transesterification.
Palm oil biodiesel is often blended with other fuels to
create palm oil biodiesel blends.
Palm oil biodiesel meets the European EN 14214 standard
for biodiesels.
The world's largest palm oil biodiesel plant is the
Finnish operated Neste Oil biodiesel plant in Singapore,
which opened in 2011.
The organic waste matter that is produced
when processing oil palm, including oil palm
shells and oil palm fruit bunches, can also be
used to produce energy.
This waste material can be converted into
pellets that can be used as a
biofuel.
Additionally, palm oil that has been used to fry
foods can be converted into methyl esters for
biodiesel.
The used cooking oil is chemically treated to
create a biodiesel similar to petroleum diesel.
In 2012, Malaysia, the world's 2nd largest producer
of palm oil, produced 18.79 million tonnes of
crude palm oil on roughly 5,000,000 ha of land.
Though Indonesia produces more palm oil,
Malaysia
is the world's largest exporter of palm oil
having exported 18 million tonnes of
palm oil products in 2011.
China, Pakistan, the European Union, India and
US -primary importers of Malaysian palm oil
products.
As of 2012, the annual revenue received by Indonesia
and Malaysia together, the top 2 producers of
palm oil, is US$40 billion.
The remaining distribution of
the Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia.
A map of world palm oil output, 2006.
In Borneo , Indonesia, the forest (F), is being
replaced by oil palm plantations (G).
These changes are irreversible for all practical
purposes (H).
Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel
or meat of matured coconuts harvested from
the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera).
It has various applications in food, medicine,
and industry.
Because of its high saturated fat content it is slow to oxidize and,
thus, resistant to rancidification, lasting up to 2 years
without spoiling.
Many health organizations advise against the consumption of
high amounts of coconut oil due to its high levels of saturated fat
 Corylus avellana-Common hazel, Europe and western Asia Corylus
colurna—
Turkish hazel, southeastern Europe and Asia Minor
species.
Corylus has 14–18
 some nuts as defined in food preparation,
like almonds, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, and Brazil nuts, are not nuts in a
botanical sense.
• Gums:
• Cyamopsis
tetragonolobus;
part
used:
endosperm; in hyper-lipidemia, obesity,
diabetes mellitus.
• -guar gum, guar flour, gucran,
Indian cluster bean, or jaguar gum.
Tara gum also called Peruvian carob,
-a natural additive, obtained by grinding
the endosperm of the seeds of
• Caesalpinia spinosa, Leguminosae family.
• A white to yellowish powder -soluble in hot
water and partially soluble in cold water.
• Chemically, comprised of polysaccharides,
• mainly galactomannans, of high molecular
weight.
• Approved as food additive.
 Caesalpinia spinosa is a shrub or tree (Tara tree) .
 The fruit is a flat oblong indehiscent reddish pod which contains 4 - 7
large round black seeds composed of endosperm (22% by weight), germ
(40%) and hull (38%).
 Native to the Peru and Bolivia-trees grow at up to 3,000 meters above sea
level - tolerate dry climates, poor soils - harvested by hand and typically
sun dried before processing.
An unusual elastic latex put to an entirely
different use is chicle, harvested from
Mamilkana zapota (Sapotaceae) Chicle.
Has historically provided the base for chewing gum.
The chicozapote is an increasingly
important fruit tree crop in India,
Mexico and other tropical regions
of the world.
Over 23 000 ha of land in India is
devoted to production of the fruit, a 10-fold increase
from just 20 years ago
• Pistacia lentiscus Mastic Gum Against Helicobacter pylori
• Pistacia
lentiscus, -family Anacardiaceae, with strong
characteristic aroma and green leaves-in many Mediterranean
countries.
Helicobacter pylori
Yet another source is the Carob seed.
Ripe carob pods contain a large amount of condensed
tannins (16-20% of dry weight).
Feeding trials showed that carob pulp contains only1-2%
digestible protein and is relatively low in metabolizable
energy.
In food value, carob pods are similar to most cereal
grains.
The protein has a low digestibility because it is bound
with tannins and fibre.
Some researchers have suggested that condensed
tannins account for observed growth-depressing effects
on animals fed with a diet high in carob meal while
others believe that this effect is due to its low energy
content for which animals can compensate by
increasing consumption.
Constituents of the seed are (by weight): coat
(30-33%), endosperm (42-46%) & embryo or
germ (23-25%).
• Seed coat contains antioxidants.
• Endosperm is the galactomannan (carob bean
gum -CBG)---polysaccharide molecule
composed of mannose & galactose sugar units
(ratio 4:1) rather similar to guar gum (ratio
2:1) & tara gum (ratio 3:1).
Average composition of the carob pulp
Constituent
Total sugars
Sucrose
Glucose
Fructose
Pinitol
Condensed tannins
Non-starch polysaccharides
Ash
Fat
%
48-56
32-38
05-06
05-07
05-07
18-20
18
02-03
0.2-0.6
Contains about 18% cellulose & hemicellulose.
Mineral composition (in mg/100 g of pulp) is:
K=1100, Ca=307, Mg=42, Na=13, Cu=0.23,
Fe=104, Mn=0.4, Zn=0.59.
5 amino acids in pod extracts (alanine, glycine,
leucine,proline and valine) and also reported
tyrosine and phenylalanine.
• Main property of this natural polysaccharide is
high viscosity of the solution in water,
over a wide range of temperature and pH.
• 2 other important properties of CBG are - high
water-binding capacity to form very viscous stable
solutions in high dilution (1% and lower) & its
potential interaction with other polysaccharides,
having a synergistic effect.
• The germ meal, obtained from the cotyledons has
a 50% protein content, suitable for human and
animal nutrition.