Arctium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Burdock)
"Burdock" redirects here. For other uses, see Burdock (disambiguation).
| Arctium | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Tribe: | Cynareae[1] |
| Genus: | Arctium L. |
| Species | |
| |
Arctium is a genus of biennial plants commonly known as burdock, family Asteraceae. Native to the Old World, several species have been widely introduced worldwide.[2]
Uses
[edit]Food and drink
The taproot of young burdock plants can be harvested and eaten as a root vegetable. While generally out of favour in modern Europeancuisine, it remains popular in Asia. In Japan, Arctium lappa is called "gobō" (牛蒡 or ごぼう); in Korea burdock root is called "u-eong" (우엉) and sold as "tong u-eong" (통우엉), or "whole burdock". Plants are cultivated for their slender roots, which can grow about one metre long and two centimetres across. Burdock root is very crisp and has a sweet, mild, and pungent flavour with a little muddy harshness that can be reduced by soaking julienned or shredded roots in water for five to ten minutes.
Immature flower stalks may also be harvested in late spring, before flowers appear; their taste resembles that of artichoke, to which the burdock is related. The stalks are thoroughly peeled, and either eaten raw, or boiled in salt water.[5] Leaves are also eaten in spring in Japan when a plant is young and leaves are soft. Some A. lappa cultivars are specialized for this purpose. A popular Japanese dish iskinpira gobō (金平牛蒡), julienned or shredded burdock root and carrot, braised with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and/or sake, and sesame oil. Another is burdock makizushi (sushi filled with pickled burdock root; the burdock root is often artificially coloured orange to resemble a carrot).
In the second half of the 20th century, burdock achieved international recognition for its culinary use due to the increasing popularity of themacrobiotic diet, which advocates its consumption. It contains a fair amount of dietary fiber (GDF, 6g per 100g), calcium, potassium, amino acids,[6] and is low in calories. It contains a polyphenol oxidase,[7] which causes its darkened surface and muddy harshness by forming tannin-iron complexes. Burdock root's harshness harmonizes well with pork in miso soup (tonjiru) and with Japanese-style pilaf(takikomi gohan).
Dandelion and burdock is today a soft drink that has long been popular in the United Kingdom, which has its origins in hedgerow meadcommonly drunk in the medieval period.[8] Burdock is believed to be a galactagogue, a substance that increases lactation, but it is sometimes recommended to be avoided during pregnancy based on animal studies that show components of burdock to cause uterus stimulation.[9]
In Europe, burdock root was used as a bittering agent in beer before the widespread adoption of hops for this purpose.
[edit]Traditional medicine
Folk herbalists considered dried burdock to be a diuretic, diaphoretic, and a blood purifying agent. The seeds of A. lappa are used in traditional Chinese medicine, under the name niupangzi (Chinese: 牛蒡子; pinyin: niúpángzi; Some dictionaries list the Chinese as just 牛蒡 niúbàng.)
Burdock is a traditional medicinal herb that is used for many ailments. Burdock root oil extract, also called Bur oil, is currently used in Europe under the belief that it is a useful scalp treatment.[citation needed] Modern studies indicate that burdock root oil extract is rich in phytosterolsand essential fatty acids (including rare long-chain EFAs).[10]
[edit]Burdock and Velcro
After taking his dog for a walk one day in the early 1940s, George de Mestral, a Swiss inventor, became curious about the seeds of the burdock plant that had attached themselves to his clothes and to the dog's fur. Under a microscope, he looked closely at the hook-and-loop system that the seeds use to hitchhike on passing animals aiding seed dispersal, and he realised that the same approach could be used to join other things together. The result[clarification needed] was Velcro.[3]
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