Breaking
FoodNerdy Recipes Management System
Tag

active

Browsing
Food

Alkaloids: This is What You Should Know About The Herbal Active Ingredient

Alkaloids are among the secondary plant active substances. They are contained, for example, in potatoes, tomatoes or coffee. Alkaloids can have beneficial health effects. You can find out what you need to consider here.

What are alkaloids?

Alkaloids are alkaline substances found in food and beverage plants. They contain nitrogen and are the end product of plant metabolism. There are up to 8000 different alkaloids. They are formed as derivatives of various amino acids, such as lysine, phenylalanine or tryptophan. The alkaloids protect the plants from eating and regulate plant growth.

Alkaloids can have physiological effects on the organism and are therefore used in many medicines. For example, they have a euphoric or stimulating effect. However, if the dosage is too high, alkaloids can also be very harmful, as they are among the primary toxic plant substances. They are also found in many stimulants, such as nicotine and caffeine.

Where are alkaloids found?

According to Dr. O. Ploss (Klostermedizin, Knaur-Verlag) in 10-15 percent of all plants. Above all, nightshade plants such as tomatoes or potatoes contain the plant substances. But they are also found in other typical foods and luxury foods:
paprika
Coffee
tea
Tonic water (drinks containing quinine)
opium poppy
tobacco
Depending on the type of chemical composition, alkaloids are used in medicines or dietary supplements.

They are also a component of many intoxicants because they can dock onto receptors in the human nervous system and are quickly absorbed by the body. Many alkaloids (such as nicotine or morphine) can cause strong addictions in humans.

How are alkaloids to be assessed from a health perspective?

Due to their effect on the human organism, alkaloids are used in medicines or dietary supplements.

Some alkaloids, such as vincristine, are said to be used in the treatment of cancer. There is no scientific evidence of its effectiveness.
Other alkaloids such as quinine, ephedrine or berberine are also components of various medications and can have anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects.
Steroids, which also belong to the alkaloids, also have important functions as hormones in animal and human organisms.
As already mentioned, however, alkaloids are not harmless. Due to their mind-altering properties, they are often found in intoxicants. In higher doses, they can even be life-threatening.

For example, the alkaloid solanine, found in the green parts of tomatoes or potatoes, can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, fatigue, headaches or shortness of breath. It is therefore advisable to store alkaloid-containing vegetables protected from light and to prepare them when ripe (tomatoes) and without green spots (potatoes).

Keep Reading
By
Food

Organic Farming: That’s Why Organic is Active Climate Protection

Organic farming is an important building block in the fight against climate change. We explain why this is so and how the consumption of organic products can help.

Protecting the environment, people and animals in the long term: that is the goal of organic farming. But climate protection is also a goal to which Bio actively contributes. For example, healthy soil is not only important for healthy vegetables and fruit, it is also a valuable CO2 store. In organic farming, attention is therefore paid to varied crop rotations and humus build-up – both prerequisites for a healthy soil that binds gases that are harmful to the climate.

Chemical-synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that damage the agricultural soil in the long term are prohibited in organic farming. Organic farmers, on the other hand, use natural materials such as compost and also rely on agricultural methods that protect nature and the climate.

Pests are fought, for example, through the targeted use of natural enemies, the “beneficial ones”. This maintains biological diversity, ecological balance, water quality and soil fertility in equal measure. Ecological management also respects the well-being of the animals, because farmers pay attention to animal welfare when it comes to organic farming.

Compared to conventional agriculture, organic agriculture is much more careful with our soil and ecosystems and is therefore considered environmentally and climate-friendly.

Organic farming is active climate protection

The number one climate protector is healthy agricultural soil. Because healthy, humus-rich soils are enormously large CO2 stores. Agricultural land that is used carefully through organic farming contains significantly more humus – and this is particularly important for carbon sequestration. Numerous microorganisms and organic compounds that are responsible for storing CO2 live in the humus layer. The richer in humus a soil is, the more gases that affect the climate it binds.

Studies by the Thünen Institute have shown that organically farmed soils bind on average 10 percent more carbon than soils from conventional agriculture.

On average, 256 kg of carbon is stored per hectare of organic soil per year. Converted to the organic agricultural area in Germany, there are currently 1.5 million tons of CO2 savings annually. Organic farming is therefore clearly active climate protection!

Keep Reading
By