1.Introduction:
Besides all the versatile uses of bamboo, man has been using shoots of this plant as one of his food items since prehistoric days when he was ignorant about vegetable growing. Young shoots of several species of bamboo are important vegetable in the daily meals in china, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand and have been considered as gourmet items in the western world where these are available only as imported canned products. They also use bamboo Shoot for their medicinal purpose.
A bamboo shoot is the new tender growth of the rhizome apex into a young culm consisting of compressed internodes protected by a number of leathery sheaths. The shoots are usually harvested when they attain the height of 15-16 cm. After removing the sheaths the inner tender portion or meat is thoroughly washed in water and then cut into pieces. The pieces are usually consumed as vegetable ingradients in curry or soup by mixing with fish or meat, and also as pickle. Shoots of both running (monopodial) and clump forming (sympodial) bamboos are utilized as food. In both northern china and Japan the monopodial bamboo species such as phyllostachys edulis, p. mitis, p. pubescens are most common and produce palatable bamboo shoot (McClure 1966,Ueda 1960). In tropical south and south East Asia edible shoots come from sympodial types belonging to the genera Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Gigantochloa, Melocannaand, Thyrsostachys (McClure 1966,sharma 1980,young 1954).
However, the tribal people of Bangladesh collect bamboo shoots from the natural forests and have been using them as one of the major food items during rainy season. The main plain land people of Bangladesh specially of northern Sylhet and Mymensingh also occasionally consume bamboo shoots as vegetables.
2.Objectives:
2. Contribute to increase the understanding of the importance of bamboo Shoot.
3.Methodology:
This seminar paper is prepared by analyzing the secondary data. Secondary data have been collected from various books, journals and Internet.
____________________________________________________________
4.Results and Discussion:
Edible Bamboo shoots:
The shoots of ten bamboo species of Bangladesh have been tested in respect to taste, flavour, texture and colour of the edible parts. The bamboos whose shoots were tested are listed below:
Forest bamboo:
1. Bambusa tulda –Mitinga bansh.
2. Dendrocalamus longispathus –Ora bansh
3. Melocanna baccifera –Muli bansh
4. Schizostachyum dullon –Dalu bansh
Village bamboo:
1. Bambusa bambos –Kanta bansh
2. Bambusa longispiculata –Tallah bansh
3. Bambusa polymorpha –Bethua bansh
4. Bambusa vulgaris –Bizzya bansh
5. Dendrocalamus giganteus –Bhudum bansh
6. Thyrostachys oliveri –Rupai bansh
Only three species Bambusa polymorpha, Melocanna baccifera and Dendrocalamus longispathus were found to produce shoots with slight bitter to sweet test and pleasant flavour at raw state. Shoots of remaining species are bitter in taste. Fairly acceptable taste and easy availability of Melocanna baccifera made the species most common bamboo vegetable for the tribal people of Bangladesh (Banik 1997).
Nutritional value:
The nutritional value of bamboo shoots will vary between species and within the same species based on local conditions. Generally the nutritional values are close. Nutritional Summary for Bamboo shoots, cooked, boiled, with salt Bamboo shoots are rich in nutritional value and contain about 18 amino acids. (Ref-9)
Bamboo shoot contain 96% moisture (ref-14). Young (1954) quoted average values for various bamboo species. These are given below:
__
Table. The nutritional aspects of bamboo shoots.
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nutritional Analysis (Ref-15)
1. Low in saturated fat
2. No cholesterol
3. Low in sodium
4. No sugar
5. Very high in dietary fiber
6. Low in iron
7. Very high in manganese
8. High in niacin
9. High in phosphorus
10. Very high in potassium
11. Very high in riboflavin
12. High in thiamin
13. Very high in vitamin B6
14. Very high in zinc
15. Alcohol free
16. Low in Calcium
There is an interesting report by Chen and Chen (1947) stating that vitamin C content of shoots increased up to 15% when it was fried.If you want to go top of this page then click below-
Top
Medicinal value:
- The tender shoots of Bambusa bambos are reported to promote the apetatite and help in digestion. (Sethi et al. 1989).
- Buds of Bambusa bambos are reported to have estrogenic activity. (Sethi et al. 1989).
- Extract of the bud has shown antifertility activity in rats (Sethi et al. 1989).
- In north Lakhimpur, Assam (India) forests very soft shoots of this species are used for birth control. (Tewari 1992).
- It is also reported that bamboo shoots have cancer prevention properties. It is also effective in
Decreasing blood pressure, cholesterol and increasing appetite.(Ref-13) - A number of studies of bamboo have yielded information about the chemical constituents, but no systematic evaluation has been carried out, so it is difficult to determine which of the identified compounds might be among the primary active constituents. It has been noted that the bamboo plant has unusually high levels of acetylcholine (which acts as a neurotransmitter in animals and humans; its role in plants is as yet unknown), especially in some portions of the plant (e.g., upper part of the bamboo shoot). (Ref-12)
Chemical structure of acetylcholine
- The juice of shoots is used for asthma. Should someone have a common cold, they say use thirty grams of pickled shoots mixed with garlic, soy beans, and red peppers and cook these, no amounts suggested, with noodles, salt, and sesame oil and consume this dish because it causes the body to sweat. (Ref-18)
- Pregnant women are told that bamboo is used when there is a threatened abortion, for restlessness; heat in their stomach, and to stop vomiting(Ref-18)
- It is also effective in decreasing blood pressure, cholesterol and increasing appetite (ref-13)
- Sweet, slightly cold, clears heat and resolves phlegm; used in acute fevers, convulsions, bleeding due to heat, vomiting. (Ref-12)
- Bamboo shoot is effective for dispersing constrained qi(Energy), eliminating irritability, and
calming the mind. It is mainly used for treating restlessness, palpitations, restless sleep, depression, and difficulty concentrating, especially after febrile disease or in chronic disease. It is also effective for soothing the stomach qi, clearing stomach heat, and treating nausea and vomiting, for example in morning sickness of early pregnancy, heatstroke, migraine, and Meniere's disease. (Ref-12) - Considered as health food for the new millennium, they are recommended for heart patients because of their high dietary fiber and low fat content. (Ref-16)
Economic value:
Besides all the versatile uses of bamboo, man has been using shoots of this plant as one of his food items since prehistoric days when he was ignorant about vegetable growing. Young shoots of several species of bamboo are important vegetable in the daily meals in china, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand and have been considered as gourmet items in the western world where these are available only as imported canned products. During 1977,Taiwan exported nearly U.S $25 million worth canned bambooshoots to the western world. (Sharma 1980). In Japan about 8000 tonnes or more bamboo
shoots are consumed every year. About the same quantity of bamboo shoot are consumed by Taiwan.Taojing county in Hunan province of china is replacing the traditional Chinese fir plantations with bamboo. Linan County in Zhejiang, which specializes in bamboo shoot production and has been generating highest income from bamboo. The average house holds income from bamboo shoot amounts to US$2500 and the highest income over US$10000(Anon 1997).
China earns US$130 million and Taiwan Province of China about US$50 million annually from exports of edible bamboo shoots. China's annual exports of woven bamboo products are valued at US$117 million. (A. Kumar and C.B. Sastry,INBAR)
It is reported that Thailand earned $80 million worth of bamboo shoots, in both fresh andpreserved forms, in 1984. In China, the annual production of bamboo shoots reaches about one million tons, some are used for domestic consumption but a major part is sold in the international market. (Ref-9)
Food value:
Bamboo shoots are a very popular vegetable. After removing the sheaths the inner tender portion or meat
is thoroughly washed in water and then cut into pieces. The pieces are usually consumed as vegetable ingradients in curry or soup by mixing with fish or meat. They can be stir-fried alone or mixed with other vegetables with or without meat, and they are preferred when stir-fried without or with very little oil. Bamboo juice is also used in recipes. To get some, you need to extract moisture from the roots, particularly those that are a little sweet. (Ref-18) Soft drink, bamboo wine also prepared from bamboo shoot. (Ref- 11)
Bamboo shoots with vegetables recipes:
- Bamboo Chinese Salad
- Bamboo Shoots And Rice
- Bamboo Shoots and Green Beans
- Bamboo Shoots and Mushrooms
- Bamboo Shoots and Vegetables
- Bamboo Shoots with Mushrooms & Cherries
- Bamboo Shoots with Seaweed and Rice
- Bamboo Shoots and Vegetable Stir-fry
- Braised Bamboo Shoots and edible Fungus
- Fried Bamboo Shoots
- Simmered Bamboo Shoots(Ref-17)
5.Recommendations:
- Government and forest department should take proper steps to popularize Bamboo shoot cultivation.
- Media like Television, radio, newspaper can highlight the potentiality of bamboo shoot.
- Modern management system should be spread by government and NGO’s.
- Proper guidance and other technical support should give by government and NGO’s.
- Traditional medicine plays an important role in the health services. Therefore Bamboo shoot can play a vital role. To fulfill our medicinal demand Forest department can cultivate bamboo shoot
- Co-operative marketing facilities should be developed to process and market the Bamboo shoot
products. - Ensure fetching the good prices
6.Conclusion:
From the above discussion we can say that the edible bamboo shoot is delicious and nutritious. Many over populated countries like China, Japan and India are using this shoots as vegetables. So bamboo shot could be a welcome addition to the diets of many populations in Bangladesh. In the present population-explosive world, this vegetable could play an important role for solving the global hunger problem.
References:
- Chen, W. and Chen,
L.J.1947.Th effect of cooking and processing on the Vitamin C content of fruit
and vegetable (in Chinese).
Fukien Agric.j.8 (2-3):
17-22(hort.Abst.Vol.18, 1948.No.3048, English abstract consulted). - McClure, F.A.1966.Bamboos:
A Fresh perspective. Harvard university press, Cambridge, Mas., USA.347pp. - Sethi, N.; Nath, D. and
Singh, R.k.1989.Teratological evaluation of some commonly used indigenous
antifertility plants in rats. International journal of Crude Drug Research
27(2): 118-120. - Sharma, Y.M.L.1980.Bamboos in the Asia-pacific region. In: Lessard, G.
and Chouinard, A. (eds.). Bamboo research in Asia.Proc. Of Workshop,
Singapore, IDRC/IUFRO.pp.99-120. - Young, R.A.1954.Flavour qualities of some edible oriental bamboos. Economic
Botany 8(4): 377-385. - Tewari, d.N.1992.A Monograph on Bamboo. International Book
Distributors, Dehra Dun, India.498 .p - Anonymous 1997.Bamboo/Rattan worldwide: Happy days ahead for bamboo-china.
INBAR (International Network for Bamboo and Rattan) Newsletter 5(1&2):
17 - Banik, R.l.1997.The edibility of Shoots of Bangladesh Bamboos and their
continuous Harvesting effects on Productivity. Bangladesh journal of forest
Science Vol.26 (1): 1-10. - http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AC265E/ of page(l)AC265E00.htm#top
(economic appraisal) - http://inbar.int/livelihood/Bamshoots%20TAN.pdf
(Bamboo shoot cultivation) - http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/HTMLPublications/572/ch10.htm#Top
(Bamboo resource) - http://www.itmonline.org/(bamboo as medicine)
- http://www.techno-preneur.net/ScienceTechMag/may07/Bamboo_processing.pdf
- http://www.nutritiondata.com/(nutrition data)
- http://www.calorie-count.com/
- http://dostweb.dost.gov.ph/media/categories.php?op=newindex&catid=6(Bamboo
shoot food for all season) - http://www.midatlanticbamboo.com/bamboo-recipies/bamboo-recipies.htm
- http://www.flavorandfortune.com/
_
If you want to go top of this page then click below-
.
.
.
