BIOB38 Final

Cabbage Lifecycle

A two-year process where energy is stored in year 1, then used for reproduction in year 2 through seed germination, rosette growth, and inflorescence development.

Brassica Oleracea

European wild cabbage, the ancestor to various cabbages, grown along the Atlantic or Mediterranean coast, known for its cancer-fighting properties and succulent taste.

Brassica Rapa

Common turnip and Asian cabbage, storing energy in the stem for reproduction (inflorescence) in year 2, with different types of mustards originating from this species.

Cabbage

Harvest storage organs and truncate stuff. Storage organs we eat. Best cancer-fighting Brassica. 100 AD by roman empire. Selection for larger, more succulent apical (main) bud (terminal buds), and is known in contrast to kale to have a head.

Cauliflower

1500 AD in the Mediterranean. Selection for flower clusters, resembling bunch of grapes. We eat the flower bud. Big inflorescence, waiting a year → flowers.

Broccoli

1600 AD selection for flower and stems. Doesn’t store energy in one place.

Kale

Roman empire (500 BCE), selects for leaves. Supergreen. It is without a head.

Brussel sprouts

1800 BC, selects for lateral (leaf) buds. Bearing gems. By the end of fall, there is a stem and mini cabbages (coverings of leaves).

Kohlrabi

100 AD in Germany, selection for stem basis (stem turnip). Domesticated in completely different areas from other Brassica oleraca.

Chinese cabbage

1600 Ming Dynasty. Softer leaves than cabbage. Photosynthesizes in year 1 and stores energy in leaves. Second year creates flowers to reproduce. Base of Kimchi (lactic acid fermentation → gut friendly probiotic)

Brassica rapa leafy greens

Used in stir fry

Taicai, zicaitai, caixin, wutacai, Japanese turnip, Sarsons (rapid cycling)

Health benefits of cabbage

All come from antioxidants, isoflavonoids, Vit C, fibers, glucosinolates (what makes it bitter). Supergreens. Cancer fighting → colon, stomach, lung and rectum. 2ndry compounds good for digestive system, cancer, stroke, decrease inflammation.

Glucosinolate

Doesn’t want to poison itself, so it works in the vacuole in an inactive form. When we cute cabbages in half with teeth, we cause myrosinase to interact with this and stop us from dying. The cancer-fighting properties are associated with this.

Legumes

A plant group like beans and soybeans, rich in protein, domesticated worldwide, with a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium for nitrogen fixation (through Fabaceae).

Common Bean

Phaeolus vulgaris, a versatile legume with various types like pole beans and bush beans, offering a wide range of diversity in pods and beans. Domesticated in the new world, spread widely today.

Snap beans

Farmers market shows wide range of diversity of beans. Pigmentation, most colours can be boiled away, the pods all probably taste pretty similar.

Dry beans

Even bigger diversity in the actual beans inside. All the same thing. Farmers wait till pods are right, and then do production. All taste and have same effect. (cranberry, black, flageolet, great northern, kidney, navy, pink, pinto, white, yellow).

Soybean

Glycine max, a high-protein legume domesticated in China 7000-6600 y BP, used for various products like tofu, soy sauce, and tempeh, known for its health benefits and meat replacement properties.

Edamame

Soy seed pods harvested before fully ripened, seed pod and seeds are still green and soft. Pod is cooked.

Tofu

2000 BP - China. Spread of buddhism spread of tofu. Made with any protein-rich lego.

1. Preparation of soymilk

2. Coagulation of the soy protein into curds

3. Pressing of curds to form tofu cakes

Coagulants: salts, acids, or enzymes

Soy milk preparation

Wash and soak, grind up seeds (a-helical proteins), cook/boil, separate from residue (okara). Continue boiling and heating to get Yuba film on top.

TVP

Side-product of oil extraction. Cheap, non-fat meat-analogue. If you extract oil from soy seeds you get highly valuable soy grounds = big chunks, mouth feel of chicken. pure soy protein (fat free), soaks up sauce due to pores.

Soy Sauce

China 2200 y BP, Umami taste.

Grind up soy seeds into thick paste → wait for white mold species to colonize (will digest) → yeast spores colonize as well → wait and then separate fibers from liquids and the liquid is the soy sauce → try stabilizing reactivity on developing soy sauce (pasteurization).

Miso

Fermented products. Seasoning paste, contains soybeans, barley, rice, buckwheat, millet, rye and wheat. Fermented by mold.

Soybean → steam → koji starter → mix salt and water → cure

Tempeh

Indonesia. Made by a natural culturing and controlled fungal fermentation process that binds whole soybeans into a cake form. This food is the only major traditional soy food that did not originate from Greater Chinese cuisine. Its retention of the whole bean gives this food a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins.

Soy health benefits

Increase good bacteria (lactobacteria, bifidobacteria), decrease bad bacteria (enterobacteria), increase gut health, decreased depression, increase immune function, decreased inflammation, decrease bad cholesterol, estrogen.

Spring Planting

Process of creating mounds in soil, planting corn seedlings in the mounds, and planting beans and squash two weeks after corn, sometimes fertilizing with dead fish if close to water.

Three Sisters Agriculture

Traditional planting method involving corn, beans, and squash, with corn being the staple crop providing the most calories.

Indigenous Cuisine

Relies heavily on corn as a primary source of calories, with beans providing protein and squash being nutrient-dense and easily storable.

Spices and Herbs

Used for various purposes including magic rites, cooking, and medicinal properties, with mint and parsley belonging to the Lamiaceae and Apiaceae families respectively. All former come from India.

Mint family

Two leaves at level interchanging position. Stems rectangular with corner enforcement of collenchyma cells.

Parsley family

Flowers which are pretty tiny, organized in inflorescence. Often white flowers. Insects land to collect nectar and pollen. Always composite. Flat + curly.

Secondary Compounds

Chemical defenses in plants like phenolics, terpenoids, glycosides, and alkaloids that discourage herbivores and have various health benefits.

Spices from old world tropics

Pepper, cardamom, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & mace.

Nutmeg and mace are the exception and grew wild in Indonesia.

Cinnamon we use the bark (only one)

Spices from new world tropics

Allspice (Mexico, Caribbean), All peppers (capsicum) (Central/South America), Vanilla (Mexico).

Only food producing orchid: Vanilla → Climbing vines, freshly harvested seed pods are then dried and cured. We use the tiny black seeds inside. Very expensive spice. 3rd most expensive.

Phenolics

discourages germs/herbivores, low toxicity

• Intense smells and flavours. 2 groups: flavonoids and anthocyanins.

• aromatic ring in molecular structure

Terpenoids

discourage germs/herbivores; low toxicity

• intense smells (volatiles) and colours

• Built from C-5 building blocks

• Built from isoprenes

Glycosides

discourage germs/herbivores; very toxic

• Always a sugar part connected to the active portion of the total molecule

Alkaloids

discourage germs/herbivores; bitter, very toxic

• Presence of nitrogen in its molecules.

• Many plant drugs

Paracelsus (philosopher)

“All things poison us, it’s the dose that matters”

Spice Trade

Pepper and capsicum peppers make up a significant portion of the world trade in spices, with India being the largest producer of spices globally.

Spice Usage

Spices are used to slow down bacterial growth in food, with garlic, onion, allspice, and oregano being most effective in preserving food and inhibiting spoilage.

Colonialism and Spices

The history of spices is intertwined with colonialism, with European powers like Portugal and Spain seeking control over spice-producing regions like the Molucca islands for nutmeg and mace.

Age of Exploration

The period marked by the invention of the Caravel ship, leading to voyages to find new spice routes to Asia, with Portugal and later England and the Dutch dominating the spice trade.

Voyages of Diaz and De Gama

Portugal → Cape Verde → South Africa (cape of good hope) → Mozambique → India

Britain v. Spain

start of the end of the Spanish and Portuguese sea influence. Portugal was side-stepped. Britain won out. Continued on quest to dominate the world.

Transatlantic Trade Triangle

Involving the exchange of goods between the Caribbean, Africa, North America, and Europe, with commodities like sugar, tobacco, indigo, and cotton being significant trade items.

Plants and Colonialism

Plants played a crucial role in driving colonialism and shaping global history, impacting areas of war and peace, and contributing to poverty and inequality that are still felt today.

Medicinal Compounds in Plants

Plants contain secondary compounds like phenolics (tannins), terpenoids, glycosides, and alkaloids, which have medicinal properties and can treat various ailments.

Medicinal alkaloids

chinese medicine, indian herbal medicine (antipsychotic), antileukemic, muscle relaxant, antimalarial. Colchicine, piperine, tubocurarine, or vincamine.

History of Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine has a long history, dating back to ancient civilizations like the Sumerians and Chinese, with figures like Shen Nung and Dioscorides contributing to the knowledge of medicinal plants.

Charaka-Samhita

It is a comprehensive text on ancient Indian medicine based on the traditional system of Indian medicine known as Ayurveda. It was written sometime between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD.

2000 y BCE Sumerians

Physicians were respected and specialized. Cuneiform tablets had detailed descriptions of the preparation of numerous remedies. First evidence of humans discussing healing powers.

4000-2000 y BP

many important medical papyrus rolls include therapeutic recipes. Poppy was used as a pain killed for a long long time now, similar to today.

Shen Nung (4500 y BP)

mythical emperor and father of Chinese medicine. Investigated medicinal value of 365 herbs. Oral history on the use of herbs: pharmacological categories, toxicity, dosage.

De Materia Medica (Dioscorides)

manuscript copied by hand in Greek, Latin, and Arabic throughout the mediaeval period. 2nd-16th century with 600 plants, 90 minerals and 30 animal products. Used to ID plants. Silphium as a contraceptives.

Ethnobotany

This studies how different cultures use plants for medicine, food, and clothing, requiring an understanding of local traditions, languages, and societal structures. Famed by Evan Schultes.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina)

Polymath. Most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic Golden Age. 450 works written, 240 have survived, 150 on philosophy and 40 on medicine. He studied internal botany, believed in hygiene and pure life, and quarantine.

Age of Herbals

Renaissance in Europe. renewal of learning (15th century), revival of herbalism, printing press (invented 1440 by Gutenberg) triggered this age. Mass producing books and knowledge spread easier. Paper became the limiting factor.

Modern Medicine

Less based off the plants themselves, but rather what we’ve learned to synthesize in the lab. 25% based on plants, 50% based on fungal products. Reduce certain plant from scratch.

75-90% of people in developing nations rely on herbal medicine.

China: Traditional herbal medicine incorporated into modern health care system. Blend of herbal medicine, acupuncture, western medicine and 1000s of medicinal herbs used by Chinese herbalists. Holistic way to medicine.

Nagoya protocol (2010)

Access to genetic resources and fair sharing of benefits arising from their utilization. Going about it in a decolonized way. States that houses a local population could be studied for non-monetary returns.

Garlic

Infertile flowers - no sexual reproduction, no seeds. Produced via recombination (fits the general loss of sex in domesticated plants). Flowers can reproduce asexually with asexual bulbils = clonal copy of parent. Sterile.

The sexual ancestor - Allium longicuspis most likely spread along the silk road east and west.

Garlic in Ancient Civilizations

Garlic has been used since ancient times in civilizations like Sumer, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and India for various health benefits such as increasing strength, treating infections, and improving cardiovascular health.

Parallel garlic claims

Often food for laborers, increase of stamina and power, pulmonary/respiratory issues, cardiovascular issues, and in many cultures it was frowned upon by the upper class.

Modern Use of Garlic

Scientific studies have shown that garlic contains compounds like alliin (inactive form of allicin) that have antimicrobial, cholesterol-lowering, and anti-carcinogenic properties, making it beneficial for conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, and blood clotting.

Peyote cactus

Historic character in Mexico 8000 years before present. Cave paintings depict its significance.

Psilocybe (magic mushroom)

Originated in the Fertile Crescent 4500 years before present. Depictions show mushrooms with two heads. Euphoria, visual and mental hallucinations, changes in perception, distorted sense of time, spiritual experiences. Side effects: nausea and panic attacks.

Fly agaric

Found in Eurasia and Americas, toxic and psychoactive. Depictions show various effects like eyes turning into mushrooms.

Opium poppy

Associated with the opium goddess in Greece 4500 years before present. Depictions show pods growing out of the head.

Phalaris DMT

Used by the cult of Dionysios in Greece 3500 years before present. Attributed to mind-altering effects.

Ayahuasca

Originated in the Amazon, used in the Peruvian Andes 3000 years before present. Utilized with mortar and pestle. Two species from amazon, rich in alkaloids. Religious and spiritual experiences. Purpose of life, self discovery, healing from trauma. Side effects: intense vomiting, diarrhea.

Ergon fungus

Infructence of grasses, spores land on flowers and overtakes. Grain impurities - ergotism, seizures/psychosis, gangrene of finds and toes through vasoconstriction (chronic poisoning). Medical use to stop postpartum bleeding. Psychoactive LSD. Side effects: nausea and seizures Issues in wheat production.

LSD trip

Artist depicted this in the 1950s, lasting over 8 hours and affecting perception.

Ritualistic use of hallucinogens

Plants used for spiritual, ancestral, and psychological healing purposes in small group settings. Hallucinogens provide access to spiritual realms, ancestral advice, and religious insights.

Not for recreational use → sanctioned by elder for important reason or people.

Evolutionary mode of action of psychoactive drugs

Wanting is in mesolimbic tracts and liking is in brainstem. Liking means taking it and wanting more, then realizing it’s bad. Wanting keeps sending out message that it might be better this time.

Three basic types of psychoactive drugs

Stimulants excite the CNS, depressants decrease awareness, and hallucinogens interact with serotonin receptors.

Cannabis

Ancient plant with psychoactive component THC, used for medicinal, fiber, and recreational purposes. Often grouped into hallucinogens, but not a classic one. Has an antagonist and mild effect (very complex biochemistry). Sativa and Indica both grew wild 10 000 years ago.

Depressant drug plants

Prevents neurotransmitter from interacting with receptor, decreased awareness, decreased physical performance, sleep/trance-like state. Poppy and opium used for anesthesia and rituals. Receptor site blocked, increased diffusion, or decreased synthesis and storage.

Stimulant drug plants

Excitation of CNS, increased mental alertness, decreased drowsiness, fatigue, hunger. Theobromine, caffeine, nicotine (tobacco) and coca used for stimulation and endurance, with addictive qualities. Mimic neurotransmitter, increased postsynaptic firing, increased released rate.

Hallucinogenic drugs

Many of these interact with CNS with serotonin receptors as agonists → magic mushrooms (psilocybin), ergot fungus (LSD), ayahuasca (DMT)

Future promising use of psychedelics

Psychedelics like MDMA and LSD show promise in treating depression, PTSD, and addictions. This is due to “Clean Slate” → neural pathways are loosened, exposed to previously triggered interactions in order to do new wiring.

Cannabis sativa

Flowering time 10-16 weeks. tree is airy, tall buds. Euphoria, creative, alert, cheerful. High THC levels, low CBD levels.

Cannabis indica

Flowering time 6-8 weeks. dense, plump buds. Relaxed, carefree, sleepy, mellow. Moderate THC levels, and relatively higher CBD levels.

Poppy

first cultivation in Mesopotamia for anesthesia and rituals (10 000 y BP). Sumerian inscriptions called it the plant of joy. Huge business in afghanistan - 90% of global production, 53% of country’s GDP.

Opium

latex released by cutting immature seed pods. 12% morphine, basis to produce heroin and codeine. Strongest painkiller around. Produces lots of alkaloids from opium sack. Harvested by extracting from immature seed pods as sticky sap.

Tobacco

Very large leaves, collected, dried. Nightshade family - highly toxic, rich in alkaloids, do not eat

Arousal in certain brain regions. Inhibition of heat, pain and hunger sensations. Increase adrenaline levels → heart rate and blood pressure increases. Pure nicotine used as an insecticide. Physically and psychologically addictive. Why 10-15 million humans were abducted from their families in W Africa and put to work on slave labor plantations.

Coca

Disruption of mood regulation and access of pleasure center. Overconfident high and a depressed come down. Side effects: heart attack, hemorrhage, respiratory failure, convulsions, psychosis, paranoia, insomnia, appetite loss. Physiological and psychological addiction, tolerance. Colombia (“gift of the gods”)

Fats

solid at room T, ±saturated

Oils

liquids at room T, ±unsaturated

Plant lipids purpose

energy for developing embryo/seedlings, stored as mostly triglycerides in oleosomes. 1g of fat = 9 calories, where 1g of carb or protein = 4 calories

Cis v. trans unsaturated fatty acids

cis - really hard to stack individual molecules in a spacing saving way. Putting them on top of each other. Trans are opposite plane.

Oils vs. fats melting point

Animals - no double bonds between carbon, heat to get to liquid, higher BP

Plants - at least one double bond, can’t stack fat molecules on top of each other as easily, lower MP.

May produce different types of fat based on the fraction of unsaturated vs saturated bonds. Simple saturation vs. double saturation.

Rancidification

The process of hydrolysis and oxidation of triglycerides leading to the formation of aldehydes, ketones, and free fatty acids, resulting in a bad smell, color change, and potential health risks like diarrhea, organ damage, inflammation, carcinogenesis, and atherosclerosis. Cool storage good, worse for polyunsaturated.

Hydrogenated fats

Unsaturated fats that have undergone hydrogenation to turn them into saturated fats, increasing their melting point and potentially leading to health issues by transforming healthy fats into less beneficial forms.

Lipids vs human health

Saturated fats raise LDL cholesterol, while trans fats raise LDL and lower HDL cholesterol levels, impacting cardiovascular health. Mono-unsaturated fats like olive oil (dressing) or canola oil (stir fry) are considered healthier options.

Malaxation

Most important step in olive oil extraction. Tiny oil droplets form larger droplets → easy separation from the aqueous phase.

Olive oil later extraction steps

Leftover paste after cold expression is steam-treated: remaining oil cells rupture → oil expelled under pressure. Even after hot expression, 10% of oil remains in plant → extraction by solvents (industrial use oil only). Cold extraction better (less volatile)

Canola

Derived from rapeseed, this oil underwent modifications to reduce erucic acid levels and toxic glucosinolates, making it suitable for consumption and livestock feed. It is predominantly genetically modified in Canada for herbicide and drought tolerance.

Alcohol fermentation

The process where yeast converts glucose, fructose, or sucrose into cellular energy, ethanol, and CO2, with the alcohol concentration increasing as water evaporates, but exceeding 14% in beer can be toxic due to yeast intolerance (which occurs through distillation).

Alcohol harm

Liver cirrhosis, DUI, household debt, domestic abuse, FAS.

LD50 - how many shots could kill you (1/10lbs of weight).

Intermediate drug type - physical harm lower than dependance.