Is ginkgo (ginkgo) edible?

Every autumn equinox season, near the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are often some golden ginkgo trees on the streets at that time, and the trees are covered with white "fruits", commonly known as ginkgo. Some people say that Ginkgo biloba has high nutritional value and can be eaten, while others say that Ginkgo biloba is poisonous and inedible. So, is white really edible? Is there anything special to pay attention to when eating ginkgo?

1. What is Ginkgo biloba? Is it the fruit of ginkgo biloba?

Ginkgo biloba is one of the oldest tree species in the world and has the reputation of "living fossil". The flowering period of Ginkgo biloba is generally from late March to April, and the seeds generally mature in September -65438+ 10. Botanically, Ginkgo biloba belongs to gymnosperms, and it has only seeds but no fruits that people usually know. So ginkgo biloba is actually the seed of ginkgo biloba. In addition, because Ginkgo biloba grows slowly and is a dioecious plant, only female ginkgo trees will have seeds, so people usually cultivate Ginkgo biloba by grafting in order to obtain Ginkgo biloba more and more conveniently.

2. Can Ginkgo biloba be eaten?

Ginkgo biloba has certain nutritional value, and contains protein, fatty acids, starch, mineral elements and other nutrients. For example, according to the data of China Food Composition Table (6th edition), every 100g of dried ginkgo contains about 13.2g of protein and 72.6g of carbohydrates (mainly starch). Moreover, Ginkgo biloba also contains ginkgolic acid, polysaccharides, phytosterols, flavonoids and terpene lactones, which have antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Therefore, Ginkgo biloba also has some medicinal values, such as relieving cough and asthma. As early as 2002, Ginkgo biloba was listed in the Catalogue of Commodities as Food and Medicine in China (commonly known as "homology of medicine and food"). Therefore, ginkgo biloba is edible as a food raw material.

3. Ginkgo biloba is a food with homology of medicine and food, which has medicinal value. So can you eat more?

Although ginkgo biloba has certain nutritional value and considerable pharmacological effects, it should not be eaten too much. This is mainly because ginkgo nuts contain some toxic components, such as cyanide (in the form of cyanosides), 4'-O- methylpyridoxine (MPN) and allergic proteins. A series of biochemical reactions will occur after the cyanosides in Ginkgo biloba leaves enter our human body through the skin or digestive tract, resulting in the inability of cells to absorb and utilize oxygen in the blood, and the inability of respiratory chain to complete electronic transmission, leading to hypoxia in the body, which eventually leads to acute poisoning, manifested as nausea, vomiting, convulsions, dyspnea and other symptoms, and even life-threatening. Moreover, MPN in Ginkgo biloba can interfere with the synthesis, metabolism and function of vitamin B6 in our body and affect the normal synthesis of γ -aminobutyric acid (a nerve inhibitor). Some researchers have analyzed more than 300 cases of ginkgo poisoning in China from 199 1 to 20 15, and found that ginkgo poisoning is mainly related to the consumption and the age of the consumers, such as children under 10. Therefore, Ginkgo biloba is not suitable for eating too much, especially for children, the elderly and pregnant women.

4. What should I pay attention to when eating ginkgo?

First of all, there are three layers of seed coat outside the seed kernel of Ginkgo biloba, and its seed coat mainly contains active ingredients such as ginkgolic acid. In the process of contacting or peeling ginkgo biloba skin, our skin is easily exposed to these active ingredients, and some people are prone to contact dermatitis or allergic dermatitis, and some symptoms such as itching, erythema and burning pain appear. Therefore, in order to avoid those risks, don't pick or pick Ginkgo biloba outdoors at will, especially those with allergic constitution or allergic history.

Secondly, because ginkgo contains ginkgolic acid, cyanosides, MPN and other toxic components, eating ginkgo raw is easy to cause poisoning. After high temperature treatment such as heating, ginkgo can significantly reduce the content of those harmful components, thus greatly reducing the toxicity of ginkgo. Therefore, ginkgo can't be eaten raw, and it needs to be cooked before eating.

Third, although the toxicity of cooked ginkgo biloba is reduced, there are still some components that can produce toxicity, such as MPNG. This is because MPN can be transformed into MPNG during heating and ripening, but the toxicity of the latter is far less than that of the former. Therefore, even mature ginkgo can't eat too much.

Finally, the highest content of Ginkgo biloba is starch, and its amylose content is higher than that of corn and potatoes, which is relatively more difficult to gelatinize, so it takes longer to mature.

In a word, Ginkgo biloba is the seed of Ginkgo biloba, which has certain nutritional and medicinal value and can be eaten. But ginkgo can't be eaten raw, and it needs to be cooked before eating, and ginkgo is not suitable for eating more. In addition, don't pick or pick ginkgo outdoors at will.