Gnetum gnemon

Last updated

Gnetum gnemon
Gnetum gnemon BotGardBln1105C.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Gnetophyta
Order: Gnetales
Family: Gnetaceae
Genus: Gnetum
Species:
G. gnemon
Binomial name
Gnetum gnemon
L.
Synonyms [2]

Gnetum domesticumReinw. ex E.A.Duchesne

Gnetum gnemon is a gymnosperm species of Gnetum , its native area spans from Mizoram and Assam in India down south through Malay Peninsula, Malay Archipelago and the Philippines in southeast Asia to the western Pacific islands. [3] Common names include gnetum , joint fir, two leaf, melinjo/belinjo (Indonesian), bago (Filipino), and tulip (Tok Pisin). [4]

Contents

Description

Melinjo (G. gnemon) branch with fruit Gnetum gnemon.jpg
Melinjo (G. gnemon) branch with fruit

This species can be easily confused for an angiosperm due to the fruit-like female strobili, broad leaves and male strobili looking like flowers due to convergent evolution.

Tree

It is a small to medium-size tree (unlike most other Gnetum species, which are lianas), growing to 15–22 metres tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 40 cm (16 in). [5] In addition to the tree form, there are also varieties that includes shrub forms (brunonianum, griffithii, and tenerum). [4] The leaves are evergreen, opposite, 8–20 cm long and 3–10 cm broad, entire, emerging bronze-coloured, maturing glossy dark green.

The tree does not flower but still grow male and female sporing organs from single long stems 3–6 centimetres long. [5] [3] Male strobili are small and arranged in long stalks which are often mistaken for flowers, melinjo fruit instead are produced from fertilizing the female strobili. [4]

Fruit

Cross section of a melinjo strobile with endosperm inside. Melinjo2.jpg
Cross section of a melinjo strobile with endosperm inside.

The oval fruit (technically a strobilus) measures 1–3.5 cm long, it consists of a thin velvety integument and a large nut-like endosperm 2–4 cm long inside. Fleshy strobili weigh about 5.5 g, the endosperm alone 3.8 g. It changes colour from yellow to orange, purple or pink when ripe. [5] Melinjo season in Indonesia comes three times in March to April, June to July, and September to October, [4] but the fruiting season in northeast of Philippines mainly from June to September.

Uses

Culinary

Emping melinjo chips, made from smashed Gnetum gnemon seed Emping blinjo Sidoarjo.jpg
Emping melinjo chips, made from smashed Gnetum gnemon seed

Gnetum nuts are eaten boiled, roasted, or raw in most parts of Southeast Asia and Melanesia. The young leaves, flowers, and the outer flesh of the fruits are also edible when cooked and are eaten in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Fiji. They have a slightly sour taste and are commonly eaten in soups and stews. [6] [7] [4]

Gnetum is most widely used in Indonesian cuisine where it is known as melinjo or belinjo. The seeds are used for sayur asem (sour vegetable soup) and also, made into raw chips that later need to be deep-fried as crackers ( emping , a type of krupuk ). The crackers have a slightly bitter taste and are frequently served as a snack or accompaniment to Indonesian dishes.

This plant is commonly cultivated throughout the Aceh region and is regarded as a vegetable of high status. Its male strobili, young leaves and female strobilus are used as ingredients in traditional vegetable curry called kuah pliek. This dish is served on all important traditional occasions, such as khanduri and keureudja. In the Pidie district, the women pick the red-skinned ripe fruit and make keureupuk muling from it.

Phytochemicals

Dimer Resveratrol Structure Dimer Resveratrol Structure.svg
Dimer Resveratrol Structure

Recently, it has been discovered that melinjo strobili are rich in a stilbenoid composed of resveratrol and identified as a dimer. This result was published in XXIII International Conference on Polyphenols, Canada, in 2006. [8]

Melinjo resveratrol, having antibacterial and antioxidative activity, [9] works as a food preservative, off flavour inhibitor and taste enhancer. [10] This species may have applications in food industries which do not use any synthetic chemicals in their processes.

Four new stilbene oligomers, gnemonol G, H, I and J, were isolated from acetone extract of the root of Gnetum gnemon along with five known stilbenoids, ampelopsin E, cis-ampelopsin E, gnetin C, D and E. [11]

The extraction of dried leaf of Gnetum gnemon with acetone water (1:1) gave C-glycosylflavones (isovitexin, vicenin II, isoswertisin, swertisin, swertiajaponin, isoswertiajaponin). [12]

The separation of a 50% ethanol extract of the dried endosperms yielded gnetin C, gnetin L (new stilbenoid), gnemonosides A, C and D, and resveratrol which were tested for DPPH radical scavenging action, antimicrobial activity and inhibition of lipase and α-amylase from porcine pancreas. [13] Gnetin C showed the best effect among these stilbenoids.

Oral administration of the 50% ethanol extract of melinjo fruit at 100 mg/kg/day significantly enhanced the production of the Th1 cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ irrespective of concanavalin-A stimulation, whereas the production of the Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-5 was not affected. New stilbene glucosides gnemonoside L and gnemonoside M, and known stilbenoids resveratrol, isorhapontigenin, gnemonoside D, gnetins C and E were isolated from the extract. Gnemonoside M strongly enhanced Th1 cytokine production in cultured Peyer's patch cells from mice at 10 mg/kg/day. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grape</span> Fruit growing on woody vines in clusters

A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis. Grapes are a non-climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seed</span> Embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering

In botany, a seed is a plant embryo and nutrient reserve enclosed in a seed coat, a protective outer covering called a testa. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the product of the ripened ovule, after the embryo sac is fertilized by sperm from pollen, forming a zygote. The embryo within a seed develops from the zygote and grows within the mother plant to a certain size before growth is halted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rambutan</span> Southeast Asian fruit

Rambutan is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits, including the lychee, longan, pulasan, and quenepa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackfruit</span> Species of plant

The jackfruit is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as 55 kg in weight, 90 cm in length, and 50 cm (20 in) in diameter. A mature jackfruit tree produces some 200 fruits per year, with older trees bearing up to 500 fruits in a year. The jackfruit is a multiple fruit composed of hundreds to thousands of individual flowers, and the fleshy petals of the unripe fruit are eaten.

<i>Cananga odorata</i> Species of tree

Cananga odorata, known as ylang-ylang or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Vietnam. It is valued for the essential oils extracted from its flowers, which has a strong floral fragrance. Ylang-ylang is one of the most extensively used natural materials in the perfume industry, earning it the name "Queen of Perfumes".

<i>Gnetum</i> Genus of gymnosperms in family Gnetaceae

Gnetum is a genus of gymnosperms, the sole genus in the family Gnetaceae within the Gnetophyta. They are tropical evergreen trees, shrubs and lianas. Unlike other gymnosperms, they possess vessel elements in the xylem. Some species have been proposed to have been the first plants to be insect-pollinated as their fossils occur in association with extinct pollinating scorpionflies. Molecular phylogenies based on nuclear and plastid sequences from most of the species indicate hybridization among some of the Southeast Asian species. Fossil-calibrated molecular-clocks suggest that the Gnetum lineages now found in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia are the result of ancient long-distance dispersal across seawater.

<i>Phyllanthus acidus</i> Berry and plant

Phyllanthus acidus, known as the Otaheite gooseberry, Malay gooseberry, Tahitian gooseberry, country gooseberry, star gooseberry, starberry, arbari, West India gooseberry, Grosella, or simply gooseberry tree, is one of the trees with small edible yellow berries in the family Phyllanthaceae. Despite its name, the plant does not resemble the gooseberry, except for the acidity of its fruits.

<i>Pandanus tectorius</i> Species of plant

Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English include thatch screwpine, Tahitian screwpine, hala tree and pandanus. The fruit is edible and sometimes known as hala fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double fertilization</span> Complex fertilization mechanism of flowering plants

Double fertilization or double fertilisation is a complex fertilization mechanism of angiosperms. This process involves the fusion of a female gametophyte or megagametophyte, also called the embryonic sac, with two male gametes (sperm). It begins when a pollen grain adheres to the stigmatic surface of the carpel, the female reproductive structure of angiosperm flowers. The pollen grain begins to germinate, forming a pollen tube that penetrates and extends down through the style toward the ovary as it follows chemical signals released by the egg. The tip of the pollen tube then enters the ovary by penetrating through the micropyle opening in the ovule, and releases two sperm into the embryonic sac (megagametophyte).

<i>Spondias dulcis</i> Species of tree

Spondias dulcis, known commonly as April plum, is a tropical tree, with edible fruit containing a fibrous pit. In the English-speaking Caribbean it is typically known as golden apple and elsewhere in the Caribbean as pommecythere, June Plum or cythere. In Polynesia it is known as vī.

<i>Aglaia argentea</i> Species of flowering plant

Aglaia argentea is a species of plant in the family Meliaceae. It is a tree found in Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Thailand.

<i>Vateria indica</i> Species of tree

Vateria indica, the white dammar, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats mountains in India. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is a large canopy or emergent tree frequent in tropical wet evergreen forests of the low and mid-elevations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piceatannol</span> Chemical compound

Piceatannol is the organic compound with the formula ( 2C6H3)2CH)2. Classified as a stilbenoid and a phenol, it is a white solid, although samples often are yellow owing to impurities.

<i>Bouea macrophylla</i> Species of fruit and plant

Bouea macrophylla, commonly known as gandaria or plum mango or mango plum in English, is a species of flowering plant native to Southeast Asia. The tree belongs to the family Anacardiaceae which also includes mango and cashew.

ε-Viniferin Chemical compound

ε-Viniferin is a naturally occurring phenol, belonging to the stilbenoids family. It is a resveratrol dimer.

Miyabenol C is a stilbenoid. It is a resveratrol trimer. It is found in Vitis vinifera (grape), in Foeniculi fructus, in Caragana sinica.

Ampelopsin may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isorhapontigenin</span> Chemical compound

Isorhapontigenin is a tetrahydroxylated stilbenoid with a methoxy group. It is an isomer of rhapontigenin and an analog of resveratrol. It is found in the Chinese herb Gnetum cleistostachyum, in Gnetum parvifolium and in the seeds of the palm Aiphanes aculeata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macapuno</span> Coconut cultivar with little coconut water

Macapuno also called coconut sport, is a naturally occurring coconut cultivar which has an abnormal development of the endosperm. The result of this abnormal development is a soft translucent jelly-like flesh that fills almost the entire central cavity of coconut seeds, with little to no coconut water.

Rheum lhasaense is a plant from eastern Tibet belonging to the genus Rheum in family Polygonaceae. It is a mid-sized rhubarb species with triangular leaves and spherical fruit.

References

  1. Baloch, E. (2011). "Gnetum gnemon". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011: e.T194943A8924190. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T194943A8924190.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. "Gnetum gnemon L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 Markgraf, F. (1948). "Gnetaceae". Flora Malesiana. 4 (1): 336–347 via Naturalis Institutional Repository.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Manner, Harley I.; Elevitch, Craig R. (2006). "Gnetum gnemon (gnetum)" (PDF). In Elevitch, Craig R. (ed.). Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands: Their Culture, Environment, and Use. Permanent Agriculture Resources. ISBN   0970254458.
  5. 1 2 3 Earle, Christopher J., ed. (1997). "Gnetum gnemon". The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  6. Philippines: Country Report to the FAO International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources (Leipzig, 1996) (PDF). Department of Agriculture, Republic of the Philippines. 1995.
  7. "Produce Market, Mantalongon Barili". Market Manila. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-12-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)[ full citation needed ]
  9. Hisada, H., et al. (2005). Antibacterial and Antioxidative Constituents of Melinjo Seeds and Their Application to Foods. Japan. Science Links Japan. Archived February 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Santoso, M., et al..(2008). Inhibition of Fish Lipid Oxidation by the Extract of Indonesia Edible Plant Seed `Melinjo`. Kyoto, Japan.[ full citation needed ]
  11. Iliya, Ibrahim; Ali, Zulfiqar; Tanaka, Toshiyuki; Iinuma, Munekazu; Furusawa, Miyuki; Nakaya, Ken-ichi; Murata, Jin; Darnaedi, Dedy (2002). "Four New Stilbene Oligomers in the Root of Gnetum gnemon". Helvetica Chimica Acta. 85 (8): 2538–46. doi:10.1002/1522-2675(200208)85:8<2538::AID-HLCA2538>3.0.CO;2-J.
  12. Wallace, James W.; Morris, Gene (1978). "C-Glycosylflavones in Gnetum gnemon". Phytochemistry. 17 (10): 1809–10. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)88711-7.
  13. Kato, Eishin; Tokunaga, Yuji; Sakan, Fujio (2009). "Stilbenoids Isolated from the Seeds of Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) and Their Biological Activity". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 57 (6): 2544–9. doi:10.1021/jf803077p. PMID   19222220.
  14. Kato, Hikaru; Samizo, Masayuki; Kawabata, Ryosuke; Takano, Fumihide; Ohta, Tomihisa (2011). "Stilbenoids from the Melinjo (Gnetum gnemonL.) Fruit Modulate Cytokine Production in Murine Peyer's Patch CellsEx Vivo". Planta Medica. 77 (10): 1027–34. doi:10.1055/s-0030-1250742. PMID   21267811.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Gnetum gnemon at Wikimedia Commons