Acmella oleracea | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Acmella |
Species: | A. oleracea |
Binomial name | |
Acmella oleracea (L.) R.K.Jansen | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Acmella oleracea is a species of flowering herb in the family Asteraceae. Common names include toothache plant, Szechuan buttons, [2] paracress, jambu, [3] buzz buttons, [4] tingflowers and electric daisy. [5] Its native distribution is unclear, but it is likely derived from a Brazilian Acmella species. [6] A small, erect plant, it grows quickly and bears gold and red inflorescences. It is frost-sensitive but perennial in warmer climates.
Its specific epithet oleracea means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus). [7] [8]
For culinary purposes, small amounts of shredded fresh leaves are said to add a unique flavour to salads. Cooked leaves lose their strong flavour and may be used as leafy greens. In Madagascar, the plant is known as brèdes mafane, and is a main ingredient in the national dish of the island, called Romazava . Both fresh and cooked leaves are used in dishes such as stews like Tacacá in northern Brazil, especially in the state of Pará. They are combined with chilis and garlic to add flavor and vitamins to other foods. [9]
The flower bud has a grassy taste followed by a strong tingling or numbing sensation and often excessive salivation, with a cooling sensation in the throat. [9] The buds are known as "buzz buttons", "Sichuan buttons", "sansho buttons", and "electric buttons". [10] In India, they are used as flavoring in chewing tobacco. [10]
A concentrated extract of the plant, sometimes called jambu oil or jambu extract, is used as a flavoring agent in foods, chewing gum, and chewing tobacco. [11] [12] [13] [14] The oil is traditionally extracted from all parts of the plant. [11] EFSA and JECFA reviewed a feeding study in rats and both authorities recognized that the no adverse effect level for spilanthol was 572 mg/kg b.w./day, yielding a safe dose of spilanthol of 1.9 mg/kg b.w./day, or 133.5 mg/70-kg-male/day, 111 mg/58-kg-female/day, or 38 mg/20-kg-child/day. [13] [14]
Jambu extract as a flavoring agent is described as having a citrus, herbal, tropical or musty odor, and its taste can be described as pungent, cooling, tingling, numbing, or effervescent. Spilanthol, the major constituent of jambu extract, is responsible for the perception of a mouth-watering flavor sensation, as well as the ability to promote salivation as a sialogogue, perhaps through its astringent action or its pungent taste. [15] [16]
This plant prefers well-drained, black (high organic content) soil. If starting outdoors, the seeds should not be exposed to cold weather, so start after last frost. Seeds need direct sunlight to germinate, so should not be buried. [17]
A decoction or infusion of the leaves and flowers has been used as a folk remedy. [16]
The most important taste-active molecules present are fatty acid amides such as spilanthol, which is responsible for the trigeminal and saliva-inducing effects of the plant. [18] It also contains stigmasteryl-3-O-b-D-glucopyranoside and a number of triterpenes. The isolation and total synthesis of the active ingredients have been reported. [19]
Extracts were bioassayed against yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and corn earworm moth (Helicoverpa zea) larvae. The spilanthol proved effective at killing mosquitoes, with a 24-hour LD100 of 12.5 μg/mL, and 50% mortality at 6.25 μg/mL. The mixture of spilanthol isomers produced a 66% weight reduction of corn earworm larvae at 250 μg/mL after 6 days. [18]
Diacetyl ( dy-yuh-SEE-tuhl; IUPAC systematic name: butanedione or butane-2,3-dione) is an organic compound with the chemical formula (CH3CO)2. It is a yellow liquid with an intensely buttery flavor. It is a vicinal diketone (two C=O groups, side-by-side). Diacetyl occurs naturally in alcoholic beverages and some cheeses and is added as a flavoring to some foods to impart its buttery flavor.
Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae.
Liquid smoke is a water-soluble yellow to red liquid used as a flavoring as a substitute for cooking with wood smoke while retaining a similar flavor. It can be used to flavor any meat or vegetable. It is available as pure condensed smoke from various types of wood, and as derivative formulas containing additives.
Brassica oleracea is a plant species from family Brassicaceae that includes many common cultivars used as vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan.
The açaí palm, Euterpe oleracea, is a species of palm tree (Arecaceae) cultivated for its fruit, hearts of palm, leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for the fruit has expanded rapidly in the 21st century, and the tree is cultivated for that purpose primarily.
A coffee bean is a seed from the Coffea plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit. This fruit is often referred to as a coffee cherry, and like the cherry, it is a fruit with a pit. Even though the coffee beans are not technically beans, they are referred to as such because of their resemblance to true beans. The fruits most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together. A small percentage of cherries contain a single seed, called a "peaberry". Peaberries make up only around 10% to 15% of all coffee beans. It is a fairly common belief that they have more flavour than normal coffee beans. Like Brazil nuts and white rice, coffee beans consist mostly of endosperm.
Spilanthol (affinin) is a fatty acid amide isolated from Acmella oleracea. It is believed to be responsible for the local anesthetic properties of the plant.
Theanine, commonly known as L-theanine and sometimes L-gamma-glutamylethylamide or N5-ethyl-L-glutamine, is an amino acid analogue of the proteinogenic amino acids L-glutamate and L-glutamine and is found primarily in particular plant and fungal species. It was discovered as a constituent of green tea in 1949 and isolated from gyokuro leaves in 1950, thus rendering it a natural product. It constitutes about 1–2% of the dry weight of green tea leaves.
A sialogogue is a substance, especially a medication, that increases the flow rate of saliva. The definition focuses on substances that promote production or secretion of saliva rather than any food that is mouthwatering.
Vanillic acid is a dihydroxybenzoic acid derivative used as a flavoring agent. It is an oxidized form of vanillin. It is also an intermediate in the production of vanillin from ferulic acid.
Olive leaf is the leaf of the olive tree. Although olive oil is well known for its flavor and possible health benefits, the leaf and its extracts remain under preliminary research with unknown effects on human health.
Neptunia oleracea, commonly known in English as water mimosa or sensitive neptunia, is pantropical nitrogen-fixing perennial legume. Genus and common name come from Neptune, god of the sea, in reference to the aquatic habit of some species in the genus.
Roystonea oleracea, sometimes known as the Caribbean royal palm, palmiste, imperial palm or cabbage palm, is a species of palm which is native to the Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also reportedly naturalized in Guyana and on the islands of Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean.
Artificial butter flavoring is a flavoring used to give a food the taste and smell of butter. It may contain diacetyl, acetylpropionyl, or acetoin, three natural compounds in butter that contribute to its characteristic taste and smell. Manufacturers of margarines or similar oil-based products typically add it to make the final product butter-flavored, because it would otherwise be relatively tasteless.
Pará cuisine refers to the traditional cuisine native to Pará, Brazil. Foods from this region primarily draw influence from Indian, African, and Portuguese cultures. The core ingredients are sourced from the Amazon jungle, and may include meats such as shrimp, crab, seafood, fish, poultry, bush meat, and duck; these are all cooked with leaves, peppers, and herbs. Dishes are cooked in clay pots or barbecued in moquéns and soaked in tucupi, a yellow sauce extracted from wild manioc root native to the Amazon. Dishes may be served in bowls, in containers of clay, wrapped in cocoons of banana leaves, or in urupemas.
Sichuan pepper, also known as Szechuan pepper, Chinese prickly ash, Chinese pepper, Mountain pepper, and mala pepper, is a spice commonly used in Sichuan cuisine in China, in Nepal, and in northeast India. Despite its name, Sichuan pepper is not closely related to black pepper or chili peppers. It is made from plants of the genus Zanthoxylum in the family Rutaceae, which includes citrus and rue.
Acmella alba is a species of plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. Common names include brede mafane, spilanthes, tingflower,toothache plant, electric daisy, and buzz buttons. The flowers and leaves contain spilanthol, a local anesthetic.
Cinnamyl acetate is a chemical compound of the cinnamyl ester family, in which the variable R group is substituted by a methyl group. As a result of the non-aromatic carbon-carbon double bond, cinnamyl acetate can exist in a Z and an E configuration:
Romazava is the national dish of Madagascar, consisting of greens, zebu meat, tomatoes, and onions, typically accompanied by a portion of rice. An integral component of the stew is brèdes mafana, called anamalaho in Malagasy; the plant holds an acid amide called spilanthol in its buds that elicits a tingly, pungent, citrusy and mouth-numbing effect, inducing excessive saliva production.
oleraceus, holeraceus = relating to vegetables or kitchen garden
L.holeraceus, prop.oleraceus, herb-like, holus, prop.olus (oler-), herbs, vegetables