Largest Vegetable Provides Pain-Relieving
Steroids And Helps Control Human Population
Explosion
1. To Be Or Not To Be A Vegetable
Webster's New World Dictionary (Second Edition)
defines a vegetable as a plant that is eaten whole or in part, raw
or cooked, generally with a main entree or in a salad but NOT AS A
DESSERT. Many vegetables, such as tomatoes and pea pods are
technically fruits because they develop from the ovary of a flower (following pollination and double fertilization) and they contain seeds at maturity. Seeds develop from structures called ovules inside the ovary. In order for the ovule to develop into a seed, a minute 7-celled embryo sac inside must be fertilized by two sperm. One sperm unites with the egg to form an embryo. A second sperm unites with two polar nuclei inside the endosperm mother cell to form the food-storage tissue in a seed called endosperm. The following "vegetables" are really botanical fruits, including tomatoes, okra, squash, cucumbers, bean & pea pods,
peppers and egg plant. Even a corn grain is technically a fruit (called a caryopsis) because each grain develops from a separate seed-bearing ovary with a long, thread-like style. The "silk" is all the styles collectively from several hundred grains in the ear. Since they are typically eaten with a main entree (not as a dessert), all these botanical fruits are also called vegetables.
Botanical Fruits
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Botanical Vegetables
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Left: An assortment of botanical fruits, including orange, lemon, lime, apple, pineapple guava, banana, avocado, chayote, persimmon, red grapes, tomato and soybean pod. All of these are seed-bearing structures (ripened ovaries), although some are sterile and do not contain mature seeds. Right: An assortment of botanical vegetables, including lettuce, broccoli, red cabbage, asparagus, celery, carrot, parsley, radish, turnip, onion and leek. Although it is not a flowering plant, the mushroom could also be considered a botanical vegetable.
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Fruit or Vegetable?
The controversy over whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable reached the U.S. Supreme Court. A tariff law that imposed a duty on vegetables but not fruits caused the tomato's status to become a matter of legal importance. On February 4, 1887 action was brought against the collector of the port of New York to recover back duties paid under protest on tomatoes imported by the plaintiff from the West Indies, which the collector assessed under the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883. This controversy was settled in 1893 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the tomato was a vegetable. The Court's official interpretation was based on the popular dictionary definition which classifies a vegetable as something eaten at dinner with your main entree, but not as a dessert. The case is known as Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (May 10, 1893).
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The tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is a botanical fruit. Because the entire fruit wall or pericarp is fleshy, it is technically called a berry.
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In terms of the universe, life, and the pursuit of happiness, this controversy between a fruit and a vegetable is really not that significant or important; however, you are still probably wondering what in the heck is a true botanical vegetable? A botanical vegetable may be defined as any edible "non-fruit" part of a plant. They are NOT ripened, seed-bearing ovaries formed by intimate sexual encounters between plants or between plants and insect pollinators; however, some vegetables are hybrid offspring resulting from sex between two different species, including the broccoflower (broccoli x cauliflower) and rutabaga (cabbage x turnip). In the case of the rutabaga, chloroplast DNA studies have shown that the maternal parent was the turnip. The infamous rabbage (radish x cabbage) was a dismal failure because it ended up with the roots of its cabbage mother and the leaves of its radish father. True botanical vegetables include the following edible vegetative parts of a plant:
Most of the world's botanical vegetables are produced by shrubby or herbaceous plants and vines, but there are some vegetables derived from trees. One case in point is the horseradish tree (Moringa oleifera), also called "malungay" in the Phillipines. This is a small, soft-wooded tree native to India but cultivated throughout the tropics. It is named from the pungent root that is sometimes used as a substitute for the true horseradish (Armoracia lapathifolia) of the mustard family (Brassicaceae). The young, tender, mustard-favored leaves are eaten raw in salads and cooked as a tasty potherb. The cooked leaves are also placed in soups and curries. The long beanlike pods (fruits) of this tree are also used in soups and curries.
Two relatives of the horseradish tree: Moringa drouhardii (left) and M. stenopetala (right). Like the horseradish tree (M. oleifera), both species have long, beanlike pods. Unlike the horseradish tree, these two species have large, water-storage trunks and are adapted to hot, arid regions.
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Horseradish tree (Moringa oleifera), also called "malungay" in the Phillipines and "malamgal" is some Asian markets. This is a small, soft-wooded tree native to India but cultivated throughout the tropics. The young, tender, mustard-favored leaves are eaten raw in salads and cooked as a tasty potherb. The cooked leaves are also placed in soups and curries.
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2. Supermarket Botany: The Anatomy Of Vegetables
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1. Roots & Storage Roots: Beets,
radish, rabbage?, rutabaga, turnip, horse radish,
jicama, salsify, sweet potato, parsnip, and cassava (tapioca).
2. Leaves & Leafy Heads: Swiss chard, spinach (actually smoked in
a pipe
by "Pop-eye"), lamb's quarters, water cress, cabbage, kale,
collards,
turnip greens, lettuce, parsley, brussels sprouts, and
endive.
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3. Immature Flower Cluster
(Inflorescence) & Stalk (Peduncle): Broccoli,
cauliflower and the hybrid broccoflower.
4. Sunflower Head (incl. Phyllaries & Receptacle): Artichoke.
5. Stem: Bamboo shoots, kohlrabi and asparagus.
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6. Tuber (Modified Stem):
Potato, jerusalem artichoke, true yams
(Dioscorea).
7. Bulb (Modified Stem): Onion, garlic and chives.
8. Corm (Modified Stem): Taro, dasheen, and water chestnut
9. Rhizome (Underground Stem): Ginger.
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10. Leaf Stalk (Petiole):
Rhubarb, celery & sweet fennel.
11. Entire Plant Bodies: In Thailand called Khai-nam or
"water-eggs" from the minute duckweed (Wolffia
globosa). A high protein dip.
You Can Probably Think Of Many Other Vegetables!
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3. The World's Largest Vegetables
So if you exclude massive squash and
pumpkins
from the vegetable class, what is the world's largest vegetable?
This
title should be limited to vegetables in a typical human
diet--because to
Australian koalas, the largest vegetable would most certainly be an
enormous eucalyptus tree. The 1985 Guinness Book Of World
Records (UK Edition) lists some of the record-breaking vegetables, including a 35 pound (16 kg) turnip, a 45 pound (20 kg) red cabbage, a 28 pound (13 kg)
broccoli, a 52 pound (24 kg) cauliflower, a 25 pound (11 kg)
lettuce, and a
remarkable 124 pound (56 kg) cabbage six feet (1.8 m) in diameter.
Although this giant cabbage cited in the Guinness Book seems
unbeatable for
the title of "World's Largest Vegetable," there are tropical yams
belonging
to the genus Dioscorea that may be 6 to 9 feet long
(2-3 m) and weigh 150
pounds (68 kg) or more, although they are usually harvested at
about 2-6
pounds. These yams are not to be confused with fleshy storage
roots of red
sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) of the Morning Glory
Family
(Convolvulaceae) which are also called yams. True yams belong to
an
entirely different and unrelated plant family, the
Dioscoreaceae.
It should be pointed out here that some species of giant seaweed or kelp are used for food. The overall dimensions of some of these algae (including their stipes and blades) is probably larger than most Dioscorea yams.
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Yams and cassava root at the
marketplace in Roseau, Dominica. Also in photo are sweet potatoes,
dasheen (left), peppers, pigeon peas (Cajanus) and red sorrel
(Hibiscus sabdariffa).
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4. Tropical Yams Named After Dioscorides
Although rarely seen in North America,
true yams
(Dioscorea spp., Dioscoreaceae) are the third most
important tropical
"root" crop after cassava (Manihot esculenta,
Euphorbiaceae) and sweet
potato (Ipomoea batatas, Convolvulaceae). This is
especially true in West
Africa, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, the Pacific
Islands,
and Southeast Asia. Other important starchy "root" crops are taro
and
dasheen (Colocasia esculenta, Araceae), the source of
Polynesian poi,
arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea, Marantaceae), and
achira (Canna edulis,
Cannaceae). The true yam is about 20 percent starch and as a food
is very
similar to a potato. The generic name commemorates Dioscorides,
the
ancient Greek physician and naturalist (1st Century AD).
Dioscorides
authored the classic De Materia Medica, a five volume
reference of several
thousand plant drugs that was used for 15 centuries. The most
commonly
cultivated edible yams are D. rotundata and D.
cayensis in Africa, D. alata
and D. esculenta in Asia, and D.
trifida in the New World, although many
cultivated varieties are known. They are climbing perennial vines
with
shiny, heart-shaped leaves, arising from large underground stems
that are
technically called tubers rather than roots. Like a potato, the
tubers can
be propagated by planting sections containing the "eyes" or buds;
however,
harvesting them is a laborious task because the tubers are deeply
buried.
Dioscorea is a large genus with more than 600
species. An African
species called elephant's foot or Hottentot's bread (D.
elephantipes)
produces a massive basal stem (caudex) weighing up to 700 pounds (318
kg). The
above-ground part of this caudex resembles the shell of
a
tortoise; hence the common name of "turtleback plant." Like other
caudiciform xerophytes (desert plants with enlarged basal stems), the
vine relies
on carbohydrates and moisture stored in its stem during extended
periods of
drought. During severe drought conditions the gigantic tuberous stems are eaten as famine food by Hottentots. Luckily for the
Hottentots, the tuberous stems are
thoroughly cooked because they contains toxic saponins
that are
broken down during the heating process. Although not a common
vegetable,
this plant would easily take the record of "World's Largest
Vegetable."
Another unusual African yam is the air potato (Dioscorea
bulbifera). It has small or no subterranean tubers, but
instead develops large, liver-shaped aerial tubers up to four
pounds (2 kg) each. In New Guinea and Melanesia special
ceremonial yams weighing over 120 pounds (54 kg) are grown to
reflect the grower's status in the community. The yams are used
for gifts and ritualized exchanges. A yam festival is held at
harvesttime during which the tubers are covered by elaborate woven
masks. There are reportedly yams in tropical Asia and the South
Pacific that are much larger. In fact, there is one rather
dubious, unconfirmed report of an enormous yam on the island of
Pohnpei that was 10 feet (3 m) in length and weighed up to 1500
pounds (680 kg). Rumors have it that at least 10 people were
required to carry it. REMEMBER THAT THIS RECORD IS UNSUBSTANTIATED AND MAY NOT BE TRUE.
Subterranean tuber of a true yam (Dioscorea alata), the third most important tropical root crop after cassava and sweet potatoes. The venation and shiny, heart-shaped leaves of true yams are unmistakable compared to those of sweet potatoes and other root crops.
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The air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera). This unusual African yam develops large, liver-shaped aerial tubers weighing up to four pounds (2 kg) each.
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A Hottentot's bread (Dioscorea elephantipes)
showing the characteristic heart-shaped leaves and huge caudex
resembling the shell of a tortoise.
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5. Steroids That Foam In Water
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In
addition to food, the tubers of some Mexican and Central American
species of Dioscorea (including D.
composita and D. floribunda) are rich in a
natural steroid called diosgenin. Natural plant
steroids are formed by the polymerization of 5-carbon isoprene
subunits into tetracyclic triterpenoid compounds during complex
metabolic pathways inside plant cells.
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All steroids have the same
fundamental structure of four (tetracyclic) carbon rings called the
steroid backbone or steroid nucleus. The addition of different
chemical groups at different places on this backbone leads to the
formation of many different steroidal compounds, including the sex
hormones progesterone and testosterone, the anti-inflammatory
steroid cortisone, and the cardiac steroids digoxin and digitoxin.
The important animal steroid, cholesterol,
also has this tetracyclic backbone structure. Some of these
compounds are
called steroidal glycosides (or glucosides) because they also
contain sugar
molecules. Steroidal compounds in the Dioscoreaceae, Liliaceae and
Agavaceae are also called saponins because they foam in water. In
fact, some of these steroidal saponins, such as the soap lily
(Chlorogalum pomeridianum, Liliaceae) were used as soap by native
Americans. Steroidal saponins may irritate mucous membranes, break down red blood cells in vitro, and are especially toxic to cold-blooded animals. In fact, fresh bulbs were used to paralyze and capture fish by throwing slices of bulbs into ponds and streams, and roasted bulbs were also eaten by several tribes of California Indians. Apparently the saponins are especially toxic to respiratory organs of fish without affecting their edibility. Saponins have also been used in
shampoos, foam fire extinguishers, toothpaste, and in the brewing industry as a
foaming agent for the froth ("head") of beer. Commercial sources of saponins include the soapberry tree (Sapindus saponaria, Sapindaceae), soapbark tree (Quillaja saponaria, Rosaceae), and the popular bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis, Caryphyllaceae).
6. Cardiac Steroids That Stimulate
Your Heart
Cardiac glycosides (steroids with
attached sugar
molecules--including digoxin and digitoxin) from the European
foxglove
(Digitalis purpurea, Scrophulariaceae) serve as a
powerful heart stimulant
in humans. They prolong the relaxation phase of the heart
(diastole)
during which the left ventricle fills with blood. This results in
a
stronger ventricular contraction (systole) and greater volume of
blood
pumped out through the aorta. Of course, relaxing the heart so the
ventricles have a chance to fill with maximum blood volume can have
serious
side effects--too much digitalis can cause a permanent relaxation
resulting
in a "flat-liner" and a one-way trip to the "happy hunting
grounds."
Another fascinating story about steroidal
glycosides involves the monarch butterfly. Toxic steroidal
glycosides are
ingested by caterpillars as they feed on milkweed plants of the
genus
Asclepias (Asclepiadaceae). The glycosides have no
ill effects on the
ravenous caterpillars and are actually stored in their bodies.
Upon
metamorphosis the glycosides show up in the bodies of the adult
monarch
butterfly--thus rendering them toxic to predatory birds. One
swallow of
such a butterfly is very distasteful or may cause the bird to
become
gravely ill--and birds quickly learn to avoid monarchs.
7. Contraception With Yams
Contraception with yams is not based on
the "plug
and play" principle of a diaphragm (or Windows 95!), it is based on
an
intricate hormonal feedback system called the menstrual cycle. The
discovery of a natural steroidal precursor in tropical yams has
greatly
reduced the cost of synthetic steroids used in birth control pills
and
corticosteroids used to treat Addison's disease, asthma, arthritis,
bursitis, tendinitis, dermatitis, hemorrhoids, and many other
ailments. It
is possible to synthesize these hormones from bile acids of cattle
or
extract them from excised adrenal cortexes, but such methods are
time-
consuming and very expensive. The most cumbersome part of the
chemical
synthesis of these hormones is the complex steroidal backbone. At
one time
it took 40 oxen to provide enough cortisone to treat one patient
for one
day, and in 1938 one gram of cortisone cost $100. Today the
naturally-
occurring diosgenin in Mexican yams can readily be converted into
these
valuable steroids by simply adding the appropriate chemical group
to the
already-present steroidal backbone. In fact, more than 60,000 tons
of
fresh yam tubers are imported into the United States each year for
the
production of birth control pills. You can also purchase extracts
of yams
in tablet form that supposedly prevent ovulation and provide a
"natural"
method of birth control; however, it would be advisable to
thoroughly
research these claims before trying the latter method on a mate.
If in
doubt--you might want to try the very effective and foolproof oral
contraceptive "Not Now Dear."
8. Steroids: The Drug Of Champions
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Anabolic steroids are essentially the male
hormone testosterone and its synthetic derivatives. The latter
were
developed in the early 1930s to prevent the atrophy of muscle
tissue in
patients with debilitating illnesses. They were also given to burn
victims
and surgery patients to speed up tissue rejuvenation. Anabolic
steroids
entered the athletic scene in Olympic competition in the 1950s,
when it was
learned that Soviet weightlifters were using them to increase their
muscle
mass and strength.
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And who could ever forget the Seoul Olympics in
1988
when sprinter Ben Johnson of Canada burst out of the starting
blocks to win
the 100 meter dash, leaving American Carl Lewis in the dust. Three
days
later the gold medal was given to Lewis because traces of
stanozolol (an
anabolic steroid) were found in Johnson's urine.
Although athletes
have
reported remarkable results with steroids, the long-term side
effects can
be catastrophic--including liver cancer, heart disease, and kidney
damage.
In addition to tissue building, the steroids can also masculinize
one's
body. The is particularly noticeable in woman body builders who
may grow
facial hair as their voice deepens and their breasts decrease in
size.
Although the FDA has banned most anabolic steroids except for
medical use,
they are not controlled substances like cocaine and heroin. They
are still
being smuggled into the United States from Mexico and Europe.
Although
they started out with Olympians who wanted an edge in their
competition,
the use of anabolic steroids has now spread to thousands of
mediocre
athletes who want to look like Mr. Universe.
A boolean search of "dioscorea + yam"
using one
of the fine Internet search engines (such as Altavista, Yahoo and
Lycos)
will lead you to a number of references on yams, including
commercial
sources for naturopathic extracts from the tuber. In addition to
diosgenin, some species also contain a wonder drug called DHEA
(dehydroenpiandrosterone), a hormone that is also secreted by
adrenal
glands in the human body. There is some evidence suggesting that
this
hormone is anti-carcinogenic, may slow down the aging process, and
may
control obesity. According to some studies the level of this
hormone
steadily drops as one ages. Whether this chemical can help us to
maintain
a healthy, youthful body remains to be seen. There are undoubtedly
many
other factors affecting the aging process.
In addition to being the world's largest
botanical vegetable, true yams belong to one of the largest genera
of
flowering plants on earth; have probably slowed down the
exponential
population growth of humans more than any other plant (particularly
in
highly developed countries); have provided some of the most
important drugs
to relieve numerous painful and debilitating ailments; contain one
of the
most promising drugs to combat the aging process; and have provided
millions of people with one of the world's most important sources
of
starch.
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