Journal
GENETIC RESOURCES AND CROP EVOLUTION
Volume 59, Issue 7, Pages 1569-1575Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10722-012-9853-3
Keywords
Aconitum carmichaelii; Detoxification; Domestication; Ethnobotany; Tubers; Underground organs; Functional foods
Categories
Funding
- Forestry Research Foundation for the Public Service Industry of China [2009, 04004]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Aconitum spp. are highly toxic due to the presence of aconitine-type alkaloids. Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux is one of the most important and most studied Chinese medicines. However the scientific literature contains only anecdotal references to the use of A. carmichaelii as a food plant. The aim of the study was to document the traditional alimentary use of the species. Fifty people from three adjacent villages on Mount Taibai of the Qinling range (Shaanxi) were interviewed about the local use of the Aconitum. Most of them eat it on a regular basis every winter. The plant is widely cultivated in the area for food and nearly every family grows it. The tubers are cooked a few times during winter. Usually around 5 kg are prepared at one time and boiled, adding water four times, each time for at least 2 h, over a high flame. People usually eat one bowl a day (ca. 200 g). Respondents claim they eat them for two reasons: they heat the body in winter (they are hot by nature) and they are nourishing like other staples.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available