Orchids as Aphrodisiac, Medicine or Food
Did you know that Vanilla was formerly served as aphrodisiac by Cassanova and Madam Pompadour, and Elizabeth I loved its flavor?This is the first book that provides a complete worldwide coverage of orchids being employed as aphrodisiacs, medicine or charm
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Orchids as Aphrodisiac, Medicine or Food
Orchids as Aphrodisiac, Medicine or Food
Dendrobium nobile flowering in April on a tree in Sikkim, India. Pseudobulbs of this beautiful, popular orchid are employed medicinally as shihu in China. Although the species is widely distributed, its existence in nature is
now under threat because of over-collection from the forests of southern China and the adjacent countries. (#Teoh Eng Soon 2019. All Rights Reserved.)
Eng Soon Teoh
Orchids as Aphrodisiac, Medicine or Food
Eng Soon Teoh Singapore, Singapore
ISBN 978-3-030-18254-0 ISBN 978-3-030-18255-7 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18255-7
(eBook)
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
for Phaik Khuan, John, Kristine, Chrissie and Ning
Preface
Orchids are more than pretty exotic flowers. For thousands of years, some orchid species have played an important role in traditional herbal medicine in China, India and Europe. Even today several hundred orchid species are employed medicinally to treat injuries and disease or as food and delicacies all over the world. Vanilla, a favourite flavour with the Aztecs and now ubiquitous in Western confectionary, is derived from an orchid fruit. Recently, the modernization of China has wrought a paradigm shift in the development and practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Not only are new modalities being employed for diagnosis and treatment, scientists are scrutinizing ancient remedies at the molecular level to determine whether they actually contain useful compounds and, if they do, their modes of action. In the process, new potential uses are being discovered. Numerous compounds present in orchids act agains
