Outra macro de Urucum: mais maduro (Bixa orellana L) - Anatto plant 1 111

A text in english from www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Bixa_ore.html

Annatto (Bixa orellana L.)

View the names of this plant in 33 languages

Synonyms

Bixa orellana: Sterile achiote plant

Sterile annatto plant

Bixa orellana: Anatto plant

Annatto shrub with red capsules

Arabicآتشيوت

Atshyut

BengaliLatka

BulgarianАчиоте

Achiote

Chinese

(Cantonese)胭脂樹 [yīn jī syuh]

Yin ju syuh

Chinese

(Mandarin)胭脂樹 [yān zhī shù]

Yan zhi shu

CzechAnnata

DutchAnatto, Rocou, Annotto, Achiote, Orleaan

EnglishAchiote, Lipstick tree

EstonianVärvibiksa, Annatopõõsa

FinnishAnnatto, Annattopuu, Orleaani

GermanAnnatto, Orleanstrauch

HindiSindhuri

HungarianOrleánfa, Ruku, Bjoul

IndonesianKesumba

ItalianAnnatto, Anotto

FrenchRocou, Roucou, Achiote, Rocouyer

Japaneseベニノキ

Beninoki

KhmerCham-puu, Chraluek

Korean아치오테, 아나토

Achiote, Anato

LaotianSa ti, Dok kham, Kham, Satii, Somz phuu

MalayJarak belanda

PolishArnota

PortugueseAnato, Urucú, Açafroa-do-Brasil, Urucum

RussianАннато, Бикса, Помадное дерево

Annato, Biksa, Pomadnoe derevo

SerbianОрлеан-дрво

Orlean-drvo

SlovakAnatto

SpanishAchote, Annato, Achiote

TagalogAchuete, Achwete, Atsuete, Echuete

Tamilசப்பிரா, கொங்காரம்

Kongaram, Sappira

Thaiคำแสด, สะตี, คำไท

Kam tai, Kam saed, Sati

TurkishArnatto

VietnameseHột điều màu, Điều nhuộm

Hot dieu mau, Dieu nhuom

Yiddishאָרלעאַן

Orlean

Bixa orellana: Anatto seeds

Annatto seeds

Used plant part

Dark red seeds (about 3 mm diameter). Pictures of both the seeds and the fruits are given by Ortiz.

Plant family

Bixaceae (a family with only two representatives in South America).

Sensory quality

Annatto has a weak, perfumed odour.

Main constituents

The flowery scent of the seeds is caused by a tricyclic sesquiterpene hydrocarbon, ishwarane.

The red colour is due to several apocarotenoids located in the seed epidermis, of which bixin (9'Z-6,6'-diapocarotene-6,6'-dioate) is the most important. Several more carotenoids and apocarotenoids have been identified, e.g., norbixin. Their total amount varies strongly: Common values are 2 to 5%, but the content may reach up to 7% of the dry seeds' mass. (Phytochemistry, 41, 1201, 1996)

Bixa orellana: Annatto flower

Annatto flower

Origin: South America; Brazil is the main producer and exporter. Today, annatto is also grown on the Philippines (introduced by the Spanish).

Etymology

The scientific species name orellana is derived from the name of Francisco de Orellana, a Spanish explorer of the 16.th century. Together with Francisco Pizarro, Orellana had been involved in the destruction of the Inca Empire; in 1540, he participated in another expedition led by Gonzalo Pizarro. Following false rumours about gold and cinnamon trees, about 2000 Spaniards entered the Peruvian and Brazilian jungles, where most of them perished. Orellana abandoned the party and made his way eastward, where he (more or less by chance) discovered the Amazon River and earned scientific fame quite undeservedly.

By confusion of the Spanish name with the French town Orleans, the German name Orleanstrauch, literally meaning “shrub of Orleans” emerged.

Other names of this plant all stem from Indio tongues in Central and South America: urucul from Tupi-Guarani in the Amazon region, (thence French rocou), annatto from the Carib and achiote from Náhuatl in México. The scientific genus name, Bixa, comes from another Carib plant name usually transcribed as bija or biché.

English lipstick tree refers to the cosmetic use of the plant.

A Pinch of Annatto (www.apinchof.com) The Epicentre: Annatto Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk: Annatto Recipe: Cochinita Pibil (Pork Dish Maya Style) (dianaskitchen.com) Recipe: Traditional achiote recado (thesmokering.com) Receta: Pescado Pibil (tikinxic) (cocinadelmundo.com) Recipe: Mayan Chicken With Spicy Orange Paste (www.pepperfool.com) Recipe: Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (tcbs.com) Rain Tree: Annatto

Bixa orellana: Annato shrub

Annatto shrub with flowers and fruits

www.botany.hawaii.edu © Gerald Carr

Annatto is native to South America, and is currently mostly in use as a flavouring and food colouring in Central and Northern South America. In the Caribbean, the seeds are usually fried in (animal or vegetable) fat; after discarding the seeds, the then golden-yellow fat is used to fry vegetables or meat. By this procedure, a golden yellow to golden brown colour is achieved. Mexican cooks often use a paste (achiote) of annatto seeds with some preservatives (acetic acid) that dissolves completely in hot fat; it is easy to use and can also be added to marinades and sauces to improve the colour. Similar use is found in South America, namely, Perú and Bolivia.

The original Aztec drinking chocolate (see also vanilla) is reported to have contained annatto seeds as well; given their high fat content, this is entirely plausible, even more since red colour bears associations with blood and thus had religious connotations in Aztec society. Using annatto to deepen the colour of chocolate was common in Europe until the 17.th century; today, the spice has little if any significance and is used occasionally to give butter and cheese a deep yellow colour (see also blue fenugreek).

In South México (Yucatán), meat is often marinated with a spice mixture called recado that derives its vibrantly yellow colour from liberal addition of annatto. The annatto seeds may be used ground (often after soaking in hot water to soften them) or in form of annatto oil. Recado is made from annatto, dried oregano, ground spices (black pepper, allspice and cumin), garlic and fiery Yucatecan chiles. They key flavour is the juice of bitter oranges (also known as sour oranges or Seville oranges) which adds a distinct, acidic fruitiness.

Recado-marinated meats are wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a hot stone pit. Baking in a hot oven, pan-frying or grilling is also possible. The technique can be applied to poultry and fish, but is most popular for pork, especially suckling pig. Food prepared this way is generally referred to as pibil.

y Spanish influence, annatto also has made its way to South East Asia. On the Philippines, the seeds are often ground to a powder and added to soups and stews; meat is often marinated with annatto-coloured seasonings. The colour obtained hereby is brownish-yellow, less vibrant than the colour resulting from usage of annatto oil in the Caribbean.

Besides Philippino cooking, the cuisines of South East Asia make little use of annatto seeds. In Vietnam, batters are often prepared with annatto oil to achieve a more attractive colour; annatto oil is also common for improving the colour of coconut-based curries (ca ri [cà ri], see rice paddy herb). Lastly, there are Vietnamese varieties of Beijing duck (ga quay mat ong [gà quay mật ong], can be prepared with either duck or chicken) that use annatto oil to colour the bird's skin; Chinese cooks produce a similar colour by treating the duck with malt solutions, which caramelizes during baking. In China, annatto seeds are occasionally contained in seasonings or marinades for grilled or fried meats (predominantly pork), resulting in a bright orange meat surface.

Although some books state that annatto imparts its specific flavour to the food stained therewith, I cannot myself agree with this opinion. It is true that pure annatto seeds have same very faint fragrance, but this aroma is not transmitted to the food.

Bixa orellana: Annato fruits

pharm1.pharmazie.uni-greifswald.de

Orange or yellow hues can also be obtained with several other plants. A chemically similar dye is contained in saffron, and the colour may become quite similar; yet saffron with its incomparable fragrance is much more than just a colouring agent. Safflower, in contrast, does not have any taste at all and can, therefore, be used whenever colour is desired but no aroma wanted; but its staining capability is low. Lastly, turmeric has a strong, earthy aroma and stains food bright yellow.

Both turmeric and saffron can even be used to dye textiles; both are, however, not lightproof (and saffron is very expensive, though this usage is mentioned in the Bible; see pomegranate).

Leaves can also be used to colour food, but, in general, they will give only a modestly green colour (see pandanus leaves or mugwort for examples in Asian sweetmeats). In the wild, leaf colours other than green are rare, but gardeners have succeeded in breeding cultivars with red or otherwise coloured leaves from many herbs and other plants (e.g., basil, sage or, most spectacularly, chameleon plant). In Japan, a purple-leaved variety of perilla is used to colour pickled ginger.

The green leaf pigment chlorophyll is also responsible for the greenish colour of some vegetable oils, namely olive oil and pumpkin seed oil. Although the former is usually too pale, the latter can be used to give both flavour and colour to a variety of mostly cold foods.

There are no easy ways to achieve other colours with spices; several vegetables, however, fortunately can fill this hole. Spinach is common for a bright green (because it is more colourful than most other leaves), tomatoes for red, carrots for orange and aubergines for purple. Italian cooks sometimes use the dark “ink” of squids to give their noodles (pasta) or rice dishes (risotto) an exotic black colour. Another, very unusual colouring agent is the dried cochenille bug, which gives a bright and appealing pink (appalling though the culinary use of an insect may seem). For those loathing beetles, the red beet is a viable and efficient alternative.

Blue is the colour most difficult to achieve by natural dyes; people have tried their luck with several flowers (e.g., borage), but apart from being only seasonally available, none has proved sufficient colouring capability. The best results are obtained with a plant from South East Asia called butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea, Fabaceae), whose deep blue coloured flowers have been used to colour desserts, particularly in Thailand; but in our days, synthetic food dyes have become much more popular.

Urucum (Bixa orellana L)

Mais conhecido por suas propriedades como corante, o urucum é um poderoso remédio natural, eficaz contra vômitos e para auxiliar a digestão. De acordo com pesquisas recentes, ele atua também contra a hipertensão arterial. O chá das sementes maduras (1 colher das de sopa em 1 xícara de água) pode ser utilizado em compressas para auxiliar na cicatrização de ferimentos. O urucum também funciona como repelente de insetos e bronzeador, mas, atenção, ele não protege a pele contra os raios solares. O corante é muito empregado na indústria de laticínios. Além disso, é uma bela planta ornamental.

Nome científico: Bixa orellana L.

Família: Bixaceae.

Sinônimo botânico: Bixa acuminata Bojer, Bixa americana Poiret in Lam., Bixa odorata Ruiz & Pav. Ex G. Don, Bixa orellana var. Leiocarpa (Kuntze) Standl. & L.O Williams, Bixa platycarpa Ruiz & Pav. Ex G. Don, Bixa tinctoria Salisb., Bixa upatensis Ram. Goyena, Bixa urucurana Willd., Orellana americana Kuntze, Orellana orellana (L.) Kuntze.

Outros nomes populares: açafrão-da-terra, açafroa, açafroeira-da-terra, achicote, achiote, achote, bija, bixa, colorau, orucu, tintória, urucu, urucu-ola-mata, urucuuba, urucuzeiro, uru-uva, orleanstrauch (alemão), onoto (espanhol), noyer d'Amerique (francês), annatto (inglês).

Obs.: a bixina é avermelhada e insolúvel em água e a nor-bixina é solúvel em água.

Propriedades medicinais: adstringente, afrodisíaco (sementes trituradas), antiasmática, antibiótica, antidiabética (sementes), antidiarréica, antidisentérica, antídoto do ácido cianídrico, anti-hemorrágica, antiinflamatória, antioxidante, antipirética, bactericida, béquica, cardiotônico, cicatrizante (raiz), corante, depurativa, digestivo (sementes), diurética, emoliente, estimulante, estomáquica, expectorante (sementes), hemostática, hipotensor, laxante, peitoral, protetor da pele, refrigerante (polpa), repelente, vulnerária (folhas).

O urucum, Urucu, do tupi uru-ku (vermelho), ou açafroa é uma árvore originária da América Tropical, também chamado de annatto (inglês), onoto ou achiote (espanhol), rocou (francês) e orleansstrauch (alemão). São arvoretas nativas na América tropical com grandes folhas de cor verde-claro. Produzem flores rosadas, com muitos estames. Os frutos são cápsulas armadas por espinhos maleáveis, que tornam-se vermelhas quando maduras. Então, abrem-se revelando pequenas sementes dispostas em série, envolvidas por arilo vermelho. Pode atingir até 6 metros de altura e suas sementes de cor avermelhada são comumente usadas como corante natural.

O urucu era, e ainda é, utilizado tradicionalmente pelos índios brasileiros (juntamente com o jenipapo, de coloração preta) e peruanos como fonte de matéria prima para tinturas vermelhas, usadas para os mais diversos fins, entre eles, protetor da pele contra o sol e contra picadas de insetos; há também o simbolismo de agradecimento aos deuses pelas colheitas, pesca ou saúde do povo. No Brasil, a tintura de urucu em pó é conhecida como colorau, e usada na culinária para realçar a cor dos alimentos. Esta espécie vegetal ainda é cultivada por suas belas flores e frutos atrativos. Ao passar urucu na pele ele penetra nos poros, e ao longo do tempo a pele passa a ter uma tonalidade avermelhada constante e definitiva. Isso acontece pois os poros se entopem de urucu e não conseguem mais eliminá-lo.

Levado para Europa pelos primeiros colonizadores da América, é mundialmente empregado como corante de diversos fins, principalmente na indústria alimentícia. Com o banimento do uso de corantes alimentícios artificiais na União Européia, por prováveis efeitos cancerígenos, por exemplo a anilina, é intensamente importado da América Tropical e África, além de não ter sabor.

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