Acacia (Senegalia gregii)

Description
The leaves of acacias are compound pinnate in general. In
some species, however, more especially in the Australian
and Pacific islands species, the leaflets are suppressed, and
the leaf-stalks (petioles) become vertically flattened in order to serve the purpose of leaves.
These are known as "phyllodes". The vertical orientation of the phyllodes protects them from
intense sunlight since with their edges towards the sky and earth they do not intercept light as
fully as horizontally placed leaves. A few species (such as Acacia glaucoptera) lack leaves or
phyllodes altogether but instead possess cladodes, modified leaf-like photosynthetic stems
functioning as leaves.
Tannin
The bark of various Australian species, known as wattles, is very rich in tannin and forms an
important article of export; important species include A. pycnantha (golden wattle), A.
decurrens (tan wattle), A. dealbata (silver wattle) and A. mearnsii (black wattle).
Black

wattle

is

grown

in

plantations

in South

Africa and South

America.

Most

Australian Acacia species introduced to South Africa have become an enormous problem, due
to their naturally aggressive propagation. The pods of A. nilotica (under the name of neb-neb),
and of other African species, are also rich in tannin and used by tanners.

Source:
(Clement, B.A.; Goff, C.M.; Forbes, T.D.A. (1998). "Toxic Amines and Alkaloids from Acacia
rigidula". Phytochem 49 (5): 13771380)

Radish (Raphanus sativus)

Description
The radish (Raphanus sativus) is an edible root vegetable of
the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe in
pre-Romantimes.

Radishes

are

grown

and

consumed

throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw as a crunchy salad vegetable. They have
numerous varieties, varying in size, flavor, color and the length of time they take to mature.

Salicylic Acid
Unripe fruits and vegetables are natural sources of salicylic acid, particularly blackberries,
blueberries, cantaloupes, dates, grapes, kiwi

fruits, guavas, apricots, green

pepper, olives,

tomatoes, radish and chicory; also mushrooms. Some herbs and spices contain quite high
amounts, while meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products all have little to no salicylates. Of
the legumes, seeds, nuts,

and cereals,

only almonds, water

chestnuts and peanuts have

significant amounts.

Sources:
http://www.slhd.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/research/salicylatesinfoods.pdf
http://www.food-info.net/uk/qa/qa-fi27.htm

Parsley

(Petroselinum

crispum)
Description
Garden parsley is a bright green, biennial, plant in temperate
climates, or an annual herb insubtropical and tropical areas.
Where it grows as a biennial, in the first year, it forms a rosette of tripinnate leaves 1025 cm
long with numerous 13 cm leaflets, and a taproot used as a food store over the winter. In the
second year, it grows a flowering stem to 75 cm tall with sparser leaves and flat-topped 310 cm
diameterumbels with

numerous

2 mm

diameter

yellow

to

yellowish-green

flowers.

The seeds are ovoid, 23 mm long, with prominent style remnants at the apex. One of the
compounds of the essential oil is apiol. The plant normally dies after seed maturation
Flavonoids
Parsley

is

source

of flavonoid,

and antioxidants (especially luteolin), apigenin,

folic

acid, vitamin K, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Half a of tablespoon (a gram) of dried parsley contains
about

6.0 g of lycopene and

10.7 g

of alpha

carotene as

well

as

82.9 g

of lutein+zeaxanthin and 80.7 g of beta carotene.

Excessive consumption of parsley should be avoided by pregnant women. It is safe in normal
food quantities, but large amounts may have uterotonic effects.
Sources:
(Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0340-40170-2)
(Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 3: 532. Macmillan. ISBN 0-33347494-5.)
(Meyer, H., Bolarinwa, A., Wolfram, G., & Linseisen, J. (2006). "Bioavailability of apigenin from
apiin-rich parsley in humans". Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 50 (3): 167172.)
http://www.drugs.com/npc/parsley.html

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/spices-and-herbs/199/2

Sunflower

(Helianthus

annus)
Description
Sunflowers are usually tall annuals, that grow to a height of
50390 centimetres (20154 in).
The rough and hairy stem is branched in the upper part in
wild plants but is usually unbranched in domesticated
cultivars. The petiolateleaves are dentate and often sticky.
The lower leaves are opposite, ovate or often heart-shaped.
The upper leaves are alternate and narrower.
They bear one or several to many wide, terminal capitula (flower heads), with bright yellow ray
florets at the outside and yellow or maroon (also known as a brown/red) disc florets inside.
Several ornamental cultivars have red-colored ray florets; all of them stem from a single original
mutant. During growth, sunflowers tilt during the day to face the sun, but stop once they begin
blooming. This tracking of the sun in young sunflower heads is called heliotropism. By the time
they are mature, sunflowers generally face east.
Helianthus species are used as food plants by the larvae of many lepidopterans.
Flavonoids
Allelochemicals in leaves, stems and roots of sunflower (cv Hysun 38) were determined using
thin layer chromatography (TLC) for alkaloids and spectrophotometry for phenols and
flavonoids. In the TLC, the highest Rf value was recorded in leaves, followed by roots and
stems, a sequence that held true also for the quantity of phenols and flavonoids
Sources:
(Heiser, C. B. The Sunflower. University of Oklahoma Press. 1981.)
(http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1380789061_Kamal.pdf)