Buckwheat
| Common Buckwheat | ||||||||||||||
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| Fagopyrum esculentum Moench |
Buckwheat refers to plants in two genera of the family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, and the North American genus Eriogonum. The crop plant, common buckwheat, is Fagopyrum esculentum. Tartary buckwheat (F. tataricum Gaertn.) or "bitter buckwheat" is also used as a crop, but it is much less common. Despite the common name and the grain-like use of the crop, buckwheats are not grasses and are not related to wheat. The agricultural weed known as Wild Buckwheat (Fallopia convolvulus) is in the same family, but not closely related to the crop species. Within Fagopyrum, the cultivated species are in the cymosum group, with F. cymosum L. (perennial buckwheat), F. giganteum and F. homotropicum.[1] The wild ancestor of common buckwheat is F. esculentum ssp.ancestrale. F. homotropicum is interfertile with F. esculentum and the wild forms have a common distribution, in Yunnan. The wild ancestor of tartary buckwheat is F. tataricum ssp. potanini.[2]
Description
Polygonaceae is a family of flowering plants also known as the "knotweed family" or "smartweed family". The name is based on the genus Polygonum. Some well known members include Fagopyrum (buckwheat), Rumex (sorrel), Rheum (rhubarb), and Polygonum (knotgrass). The family is named for the many swollen node joints that some species have; poly means many and goni means knee or joint, though some interpret goni to mean seed, and the name then would refer to the many seeds these plants often produce.
According to the database of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the family consists of 43 genera, totalling about 1100 species. Numerically the most important are Eriogonum (250 species), Polygonum (200 species), Rumex (200 species), Coccoloba (120 species), and Calligonum (80 species).
The family is present worldwide, but are most differentiated in temperate regions.
This family is very well-defined and is universally recognised, but its position has been less clear. For example, in the Cronquist system, it was given its own order (Polygonales), but newer systems such as APG treat them as part of the Caryophyllales.
Polygonaceae can be divided in two subfamilies:
- Polygonoideae, comprising about 28 genera and 800 species, are characterised by the lack of an involucre and the presence of ocreae. Important members are Polygonum, Rumex and Calligonum.
- Eriogonoideae, with about 330 species, are exclusive to the New World and are characterised by the involucre, cymose inflorescence and lack of ocreae . Important members are Eriogonum and Coccoloba.
Most Polygonaceae are perennial herbaceous plants with swollen nodes, but small shrubs (e.g. Coccoloba) and climbers (e.g. Antipogon) are also present.
Leaves of Polygonoideae are simple, arranged alternately on the stems and have a peculiar pair of sheathing stipules known as ocreae. Those species that do not have the nodal ocrea can be identified by having involucrate flower heads. The calyx is petaloid, often in two rows. The flowers are normally bisexual, small in size, actinomorphic with calyxs of 3 or 6 imbricate sepels. After flowering the sepals often become membranous and enlarge around the developing fruit. Flowers lack a corolla and the sepals are petal-like and colorful. The androecium is composed of 3 to 8 stamens that are normally free or united at the base. Flowers with compound pistils composed of three united carpels with one locule - producing a single ovule. The ovary is superior with basal placentation, and 2 to 4 stigmas are produced.[3]
The genus Fagopyrum in the flowering plant family Polygonaceae contains 15 to 16 species of plants, including two important crop plants, the Buckwheat or Japanese Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum, and the Tartary Buckwheat Fagopyrum tataricum. They have similar uses, and are classed as pseudocereals, i.e. they are used in the same way as cereals but do not belong the grass family Gramineae.
Eriogonum is the scientific name for a genus of flowering plants, in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as Wild Buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It includes some common wildflowers such as the California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum). It came into the news in 2005 when the Mount Diablo Buckwheat (Eriogonum truncatum, believed to be extinct) was rediscovered.
Selected species
- Eriogonum alpinum - Trinity Buckwheat
- Eriogonum androsaceum - Rock-jasmine Buckwheat
- Eriogonum angulosum - Anglestem Buckwheat
- Eriogonum apricum - Ione Buckwheat
- Eriogonum arborescens - Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat
- Eriogonum brachypodum - Parry's Buckwheat
- Eriogonum caespitosum - Matted Buckwheat
- Eriogonum cernuum - Nodding Buckwheat
- Eriogonum cinereum - Ashyleaf Buckwheat, Coastal Buckwheat
- Eriogonum crocatum - Conejo Buckwheat or Saffron Buckwheat
- Eriogonum dasyanthemum - Chaparral Buckwheat
- Eriogonum davidsonii - Davidson's Buckwheat
- Eriogonum deflexum - Flatcrown Buckwheat
- Eriogonum diclinum - Jaynes Canyon Buckwheat
- Eriogonum elatum - Tall Woolly Buckwheat
- Eriogonum fasciculatum - California Buckwheat
- Eriogonum flavum - Yellow Buckwheat
- Eriogonum giganteum - Saint Catherine's Lace
- Eriogonum giganteum var. compactum - Santa Barbara Island Buckwheat
- Eriogonum gilmanii - Gilman's Buckwheat
- Eriogonum gracilipes - White Mountain Buckwheat, Raspberry Buckwheat
- Eriogonum gracillimum - Rose and White Buckwheat
- Eriogonum grande - Redflower Buckwheat
- Eriogonum heermannii - Heermann's Buckwheat
- Eriogonum heracleoides - Parsnip-flower Buckwheat
- Eriogonum hirtellum - Klamath Mountain Buckwheat
- Eriogonum incanum - Frosted Buckwheat
- Eriogonum inflatum - Desert Trumpet, Bladderstem, Indian Pipe-weed
- Eriogonum intrafractum - Napkinring, Jointed Buckwheat
- Eriogonum latifolium - Seaside Buckwheat
- Eriogonum libertini - Dubakella Mountain Buckwheat
- Eriogonum lobbii - Lobb's Buckwheat
- Eriogonum longifolium - Longleaf Buckwheat
- Eriogonum longifolium var. harperi - Harper's Umbrella Plant or Harper's Buckwheat
- Eriogonum longifolium var. gnaphalifolium - Scrub Buckwheat or Long-leaf Wild Buckwheat
- Eriogonum longifolium var. longifolium - Longleaf Buckwheat
- Eriogonum longifolium var. lindheimeri
- Eriogonum maculatum - Spotted Buckwheat
- Eriogonum marifolium - Marumleaf Buckwheat
- Eriogonum microthecum - Slender Buckwheat
- Eriogonum nervulosum - Snow Mountain Buckwheat
- Eriogonum nidularium - Birdnest Buckwheat
- Eriogonum niveum - Snow Buckwheat
- Eriogonum nortonii - Pinnacles Buckwheat
- Eriogonum nudum - Naked Buckwheat
- Eriogonum nudum ssp. auriculatum
- Eriogonum nummulare - Kearney Buckwheat, Money Buckwheat
- Eriogonum ovalifolium - Cushion Buckwheat, Oval-leaf Buckwheat
- Eriogonum parvifolium - Coast Buckwheat, Dune Buckwheat or Cliff Buckwheat
- Eriogonum plumatella - Yucca Buckwheat
- Eriogonum prociduum - Prostrate Buckwheat
- Eriogonum pusillum - Yellowturbans
- Eriogonum pyrolifolium - Pyrola-leaved Buckwheat
- Eriogonum reniforme - Kidneyleaf Buckwheat
- Eriogonum rixfordii - Pagoda Buckwheat
- Eriogonum rosense - Rosy Buckwheat, Mt. Rose Buckwheat
- Eriogonum roseum - Wand Buckwheat
- Eriogonum salicornioides - Glasswort Buckwheat
- Eriogonum saxatile - Hoary Buckwheat
- Eriogonum siskiyouense - Siskiyou Buckwheat
- Eriogonum strictum - Blue Mountain Buckwheat
- Eriogonum trichopes - Little Desert Trumpet
- Eriogonum truncatum - Mount Diablo Buckwheat
- Eriogonum umbellatum - Sulphurflower Buckwheat
- Eriogonum ursinum - Talus Buckwheat, Bear Valley Buckwheat
- Eriogonum vimineum - Wickerstem Buckwheat
- Eriogonum wrightii - Bastardsage
- Eriogonum zapatoense'
Etymology
The name "buckwheat" or "beech wheat" comes from its triangular seeds, which resemble the much larger seeds of the beech nut from the beech tree, and the fact that it is used like wheat. The etymology of the word is explained as partial translation of Middle Dutch boecweite : boek, beech; see PIE bhago- + weite, wheat.
Cultivation
Common buckwheat was domesticated and first cultivated in southeast Asia, possibly around 6000 B.C.E., and from there spread to Europe and to Central Asia and Tibet. Domestication most likely took place in the western Yunnan region of China.[4] Buckwheat is documented in Europe in the Balkans by at least the Middle Neolithic (circa 4000 B.C.E.) and the oldest known remains in China so far date to circa 2600 B.C.E., and buckwheat pollen has been found in Japan from as early as 4000 B.C.E. It is the world's highest elevation domesticate, being cultivated in Yunnan on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau or on the Plateau itself. Buckwheat was one of the earliest crops introduced by Europeans to North America. Dispersal around the globe was complete by 2006, when a variety developed in Canada was widely planted in China.
Buckwheat is a short season crop that does well on low-fertility or acidic soils, but the soil must be well drained. Too much fertilizer, especially nitrogen, will reduce yields. In hot climates, it can only be grown by sowing late in the season, so that it will bloom in cooler weather. The presence of pollinators greatly increases the yield. The nectar from buckwheat flower makes a dark colored honey. Buckwheat is sometimes used as a green manure, as a plant for erosion control, or as wildlife cover and feed.
Common buckwheat is by far the most important buckwheat species, economically, accounting for over 90% of the world's buckwheat production. A century ago, Russia was the world leader in buckwheat production.[5] Growing areas in the Russian Empire were estimated at 6.5 million acres (26,000 km²), followed by those of France (0.9 million acres; 3,500 km²).[6] In 1970 the Soviet Union grew an estimated 4.5 million acres (18,000 km²) of buckwheat. Today China is the world's top producer. Japan, Poland, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia also grow significant quantities of buckwheat.
In the northeastern United States, buckwheat was a common crop in the 18th and 19th centuries. Cultivation declined sharply in the 20th century due the use of nitrogen fertilizer, to which maize and wheat respond strongly. Over a million acres (4,000 km²) were harvested in the United States in 1918. By 1954 that had declined to 150,000 acres (600 km²), and by 1964, the last year that production statistics were gathered, only 50,000 acres (200 km²) were grown.
Chemical composition
| Seeds | Starch | 71-78% in groats 70-91% in different types of flour.[7][8][9] | |
| Proteins | 18% with biological values above 90%.[10] This can be explained by a high concentration of most essential amino acids, especially lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and the sulphur-containing amino acids.[11] | ||
| Minerals | Rich in iron (60-100 ppm), zinc (20-30 ppm) and selenium (20-50 ppb).[12][13] | ||
| Antioxidants | 10-200 ppm of rutin and 0.1-2% of tannins[14] | ||
| Aromatic compounds | Salicylaldehyde (2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) was identified as a characteristic component of buckwheat aroma[15] | ||
| Herb | Antioxydants | 1-10% rutin and 1-10% tannins[16] | |
| Fagopyrin |
Use
The fruit is an achene, similar to sunflower seed, with a single seed inside a hard outer hull. The starchy endosperm is white and makes up most or all of buckwheat flour. The seed coat is green or tan, which darkens buckwheat flour. The hull is dark brown or black, and some may be included in buckwheat flour as dark specks. The dark flour is known (exaggeratedly) as "blé noir" ("black wheat") in French, along with the name sarrasin ("saracen").
Buckwheat noodles play a major role in the cuisines of Japan (soba), Korea (naengmyeon, makguksu and memil guksu) and the Valtellina region of Northern Italy (pizzoccheri). Soba noodles are the subject of deep cultural importance in Japan. In Korea, before wheat flour being replaced for making guksu, the generic term referring to noodles, buckwheat noodles were widely eaten as hot dishes. The difficulty of making noodles from flour that has no gluten has resulted in a traditional art developed around their hand manufacture.
Buckwheat groats are commonly used in western Asia and eastern Europe. The porridge was common, and is often considered the definitive peasant dish. It is made from roasted groats that are cooked with broth to a texture similar to rice or bulgur. The dish was brought to America by Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants who called it "kasha" and used it mixed with pasta or as a filling for knishes and blins, and hence buckwheat groats are most commonly called kasha in America. Groats were the most widely used form of buckwheat worldwide during the 20th century, with consumption primarily in Russia, Ukraine and Poland.
Buckwheat pancakes, sometimes raised with yeast, are eaten in several countries. They are known as buckwheat blinis in Russia, galettes in France (where they are especially associated with Brittany), ployes in Acadia and boûketes (that is, named the same as the plant they are made of) in Wallonia. Similar pancakes were a common food in American pioneer days. They are light and foamy. The buckwheat flour gives them an earthy, mildly mushroom-like taste. In Ukraine, yeast rolls called hrechanyky are made from buckwheat.
Farina made from groats are used for breakfast food, porridge, and thickening materials in soups, gravies, and dressings. In Korea, buckwheat starch is used to make a jelly called memilmuk. It is also used with wheat, maize or rice in bread and pasta products.
Buckwheat contains no gluten, and can thus be eaten by people with coeliac disease or gluten allergies. Many bread-like preparations have been developed.
Besides the seeds, from which buckwheat flour is produced, buckwheat is also a good honey plant, producing a dark, strong monofloral honey.
Buckwheat greens can be eaten. However, if consumed in sufficient quantities, the greens, or, more commonly, their juice, can induce sensitization of the skin to sunlight known as fagopyrism.[17] Fair skinned people are particularly susceptible, as are light pigmented livestock. Enthusiasts of sprouting, however, eat the very young buckwheat sprouts (four to five days of growth) for their subtle, nutty flavour and high nutritional value. They are widely available in Japan.
Medicinal uses
Buckwheat contains rutin, a medicinal chemical that strengthens capillary walls, reducing hemorrhaging in people with high blood pressure and increasing microcirculation in people with chronic venous insufficiency.[18] Dried buckwheat leaves for tea were manufactured in Europe under the brand name "Fagorutin."
Buckwheat contains D-chiro-inositol, a component of the secondary messenger pathway for insulin signal transduction found to be deficient in Type II diabetes and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). It is being studied for use in treating Type II diabetes.[19] Research on D-chiro-inositol and PCOS has shown promising results.[20][21]
A buckwheat protein has been found to bind cholesterol tightly. It is being studied for reducing plasma cholesterol in people with an excess of this compound.[22]
Upholstery filling
Buckwheat hulls are used as filling for a variety of upholstered goods, including pillows and zafu. The hulls are durable and do not conduct or reflect heat as much as synthetic fills. They are sometimes marketed as an alternative natural fill to feathers for those with allergies.
Medical studies to measure the health effects of buckwheat hull pillows have been performed.[23][24]
Buckwheat and beer
In recent years, buckwheat has been used as a substitute for other grain in gluten free beer. Buckwheat is used in the same way as barley to produce a malt that can form the basis of a mash that will brew a beer without gliadin or hordein (together gluten) and therefore can be suitable for coeliacs or others sensitive to certain glycoproteins.[25]
Festivals
The buckwheat plant is celebrated in Kingwood, West Virginia at their Buckwheat Festival where people can participate in swine, cow, and sheep judging contests, vegetable contests, and craft fairs. The area fire departments also play an important role in the series of parades that occur there. Each year there is a King and Lady Fireman elected. Also there are many rides and homemade, homegrown buckwheat cakes and sausage.
In Hinduism, people eat items made of buckwheat flour in the fasting days. There are many great recipies available varying all over India. People in Rajasthan and Maharashtra call this KUTTU KA ATTA.
Recipes
- Buckwheat pancakes. BBC. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- Buckwheat noodles with smoked salmon and dill. BBC. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- Recipe for Buckwheat Porridge. DukeLupus. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- E.S. Oplinger, E.A. Oelke, M.A. Brinkman and K.A. Kelling (November 1989). "Buckwheat", Alternative Field Crops Manual. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- Damania, A.B. (1998). "Diversity of Major Cultivated Plants Domesticated in the Near East". Proceedings of the Harlan Symposium.
- Chun H.N., Chung C.K., Kang I.J., Kim E.R., Kim Y.S. (2003). Effect of Germination on the Nutritional Value of Buckwheat Seed. Division of Life Sciences at Hallym University, South Korea.
- Mazza, G. 1992. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), the crop and its importance, p. 534-539. In: R. MacRae (ed.). Encyclopedia of food science, food technology and nutrition. Academic Press Ltd., London.
- Mazza, G. 1993. Storage, Processing, and Quality Aspects of Buckwheat Seed, p. 251-255. In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon (eds.), New crops. Wiley, New York.
- Marshall, H.G. and Y. Pomeranz. 1982. Buckwheat description, breeding, production and utilization, p. 157-212 In: Y. Pomeranz (ed.). Advances in cereal science and technology. Amer. Assoc. Cereal Chem., St. Paul, MN.
- McGregor, S.E. 1976. Insect Pollination Of Cultivated Crop Plants, chap. 9 Crop Plants and Exotic Plants. U.S. Department of Agriculture. As found on the website of the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.[1]
- Multilingual taxonomic information from the University of Melbourne
- Clayton G. Campbell (1997). Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentus Moench, Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 19. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.
- Descriptors for Buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.)
Footnotes
- ↑ T. Sharma, S. Jana (2002). Species relationships in Fagopyrum revealed by PCR-based DNA fingerprinting. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 105: 306-312.
- ↑ Ohnishi, O., Matsuoka, Y. (1996). Search for the wild ancestor of buckwheat II. Taxonomy of Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae) species based on morphology, isozymes and cpDNA variability. Genes and Genetic Systems 71: 383-390.
- ↑ Jones, Samuel B., and Arlene E. Luchsinger. 1979. Plant systematics. McGraw-Hill series in organismic biology. New York: McGraw-Hill. Page 254. ISBN 0-07032795-5
- ↑ Ohnishi, O (1998). Search for the wild ancestor of buckwheat III. The wild ancestor of cultivated common buckwheat, and of tatary buckwheat. Economic Botany 52: 123-133.
- ↑ William Pokhlyobkin. The Plight of Russian Buckwheat. (Russian) Title in Russian: Тяжёлая судьба русской гречихи
- ↑ J. R. N. Taylor, P. S. Belton (2002). Pseudocereals and Less Common Cereals. Springer. ISBN 3540429395.
- ↑ Skrabanja V, Kreft I, Golob T, Modic M, Ikeda S, Ikeda K, Kreft S, Bonafaccia G, Knapp M, Kosmelj K. (2004). Nutrient content in buckwheat milling fractions. Cereal Chemistry 81 (2): 172-176.
- ↑ Skrabanja V, Laerke HN, Kreft I (September 1998). Effects of hydrothermal processing of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) groats on starch enzymatic availability in vitro and in vivo in rats. Journal of Cereal Science 28 (2): 209-214.
- ↑ Skrabanja V, Elmstahl HGML, Kreft I, Bjorck IME (January 2001). Nutritional properties of starch in buckwheat products: Studies in vitro and in vivo. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 49 (1): 490-496.
- ↑ Eggum BO, Kreft I, Javornik B (1980). Chemical-Composition and Protein-Quality of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench). Qualitas Plantarum-Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 30 (3-4): 175-179.
- ↑ Bonafaccia G, Marocchini M, Kreft I (2003). Composition and technological properties of the flour and bran from common and tartary buckwheat. Food Chemistry 80 (1): 9-15.
- ↑ S. Ikeda, Y. Yamashita and I. Kreft (2000). Essential mineral composition of buckwheat flour fractions. Fagopyrum 17: 57-61.
- ↑ Bonafaccia, L. Gambelli, N. Fabjan and I. Kreft (October 2003). Trace elements in flour and bran from common and tartary buckwheat. Food Chemistry 83 (1): 1-5.
- ↑ Kreft S, Knapp M, Kreft I (November 1999). Extraction of rutin from buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) seeds and determination by capillary electrophoresis. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 47 (11): 4649-4652.
- ↑ Janes D, Kreft S (2008). Salicylaldehyde is a characteristic aroma component of buckwheat groats. Food Chemistry 109 (2): 293-298.
- ↑ Kreft S, Strukelj B, Gaberscik A, Kreft I (August 2002). Rutin in buckwheat herbs grown at different UV-B radiation levels: comparison of two UV spectrophotometric and an HPLC method. J Exp Bot 53 (375): 1801-4.
- ↑ Gilles Arbour (December 2004). Are Buckwheat Greens Toxic?. Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients. Retrieved 2004-06-15.
- ↑ N. Ihme1, H. Kiesewetter, F. Jung, K. H. Hoffmann, A. Birk, A. Müller and K. I. Grützner (2003). Leg oedema protection from a buckwheat herb tea in patients with chronic venous insufficiency: a single-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 51: 7287-7291.
- ↑ Kawa, J.M., Taylor, C.G., Przybylski, R. (1996). Buckwheat Concentrate Reduces Serum Glucose in Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rats. J. Agric. Food Chem 50: 443-447.
- ↑ Nestler JE, Jakubowicz DJ, Reamer P, Gunn RD, Allan G (1999). Ovulatory and metabolic effects of D-chiro-inositol in the polycystic ovary syndrome. N. Engl. J. Med. 340 (17): 1314-20.
- ↑ Iuorno MJ, Jakubowicz DJ, Baillargeon JP, et al (2002). Effects of d-chiro-inositol in lean women with the polycystic ovary syndrome. Endocrine practice 8 (6): 417-23.
- ↑ H. Tomotake, I. Shimaoka, J. Kayashita, F. Yokoyama, M. Nakajoh and N. Kato. (2001). Stronger suppression of plasma cholesterol and enhancement of the fecal excretion of steroids by a buckwheat protein product than by a soy protein isolate in rats fed on a cholesterol-free diet.. Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry 65: 1412-1414.
- ↑ Chein Soo Hong, Hae Sim Park and Seung Heon Oh (December 1987). Dermatophagoides Farinae, an Important Allergenic Substance in Buckwheat-Husk Pillows. Yonsei Medical Journal 28 (4): 274-281.
- ↑ Hae-Seon Nam, Choon-Sik Park, Julian Crane, Rob Siebers (2004). Endotoxin and House Dust Mite Allergen Levels on Synthetic and Buckwheat Pillows. Journal of Korean Medical Science 19: 505-8.
- ↑ Carolyn Smagalski (2006). Gluten Free Beer Festival.
See also
- Eriogonum - wild buckwheat
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External links
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