Wednesday 11 March 2015

Crazy about bamboo

As part of my visit to Mexico City (see my post about the aquarium) I also went to the zoo. 

Chapultepec Zoo is amazing because it is in the middle of the city. Entrance is free and you only have to pay to visit some of the attractions like the butterfly or reptile houses.

The purpose of my visit was to see the pandas. I went straight away to their enclosure and saw a female called Xin Xin. I was impressed at the amount of bamboo she was having for breakfast. Then I wondered what the nutritional properties of bamboo were, and whether humans could also eat it.


Searching the literature, I found this amazing review by a group in India. Here are some of the facts I found most interesting:

Where to find bamboo:

There are more than 1250 species of bamboo distributed in the world. In particular, around 1000 of these species are found in Asia. For example, China and India are two of the main countries that produce bamboo.


Food products:

People around the world have been consuming bamboo shoots for generations. They have used it for sustenance and in medicinal preparations.

Not all species are edible. However, this has not stopped the production of commercially available pickles, powders, juices and even beer.


Nutritional composition:

Bamboo shoots are highly nutritious. They contain protein, carbohydrates, vitamins like B1 and B6, and minerals like potassium and the antioxidant selenium. On top of that, they have low fat and high fibre content.


Toxicity:

Bamboo shoots sound like a dream food. But there’s a dark side to them: Raw shoots contain cyanide. Eating cyanide regularly, at doses that are not lethal, can affect reproduction and cause thyroid problems. 

Severe cyanide poisoning can cause a drop in blood pressure, dizziness, head and stomach pains, diarrhoea, convulsions, and even death.

To avoid intoxication, the shoots have to be processed by methods like boiling, soaking, drying, and fermentation.


Medicinal properties:

Some communities around the world use bamboo paste to treat fungal infections and to heal wounds.  They also boil the shoots to make a soup which they use to treat stomach ulcers.

There aren't many scientific studies regarding the medicinal properties of bamboo shoots. Some studies in rats suggest that it might be good at lowering levels of cholesterol. Indeed, research in this area has a long way to go.




To finish this post on a good note, I’d like to share this article discussing the use of bamboo to make tiles. Wonderful!


References: