Buttercup - a "starvation food"? - I don't recommend it!

[rich59]

No tunnel .

The problem with buttercup (according to Frohne and Pfander) is a skin irritant compound called "protoanemonin". This tends to cause blistering of surfaces it comes into contact with - be it skin or stomach or bowel. (Mustard gas does the same thing but gets into the lungs!). So, it can damage the mouth, the gut wall. It may also get through the gut and damage kidney and irritate the brain.

Apparently all you have to do to make it eatable is to convert protoanemonin to "anemonin" which readily occurs with dehydration as in hay making.

In principle it seems it would be potentially edible even for humans if well dried as in hay. But, be careful - as I don't know if the database includes too many humans who have tried eating hay, so one might be encountering new problems.

 

[rich59]

I sometimes try out new plants that have no record that I can find of been eaten. First the thing I do is check very thoroughly that it is not poisonious, then I look at the family it belongs to. Personally I wouldn't try any ranunculus, but I have tried bindweed root. Bindweed is related to sweet potato, it is copious and easy to id weed, but i have never eaten more than really small amounts as it is very fiddly to get out of the ground.

I do wonder how anyone ever worked out tomatoes or celery were edible, I suppose the answer is very carefully.

Bindweed according to pfaf has purgative qualities. Any evidence for that from experience?

 

[rik_uk3]

Rich, you can be my fungi taster any day mate

 

[xylaria]

Bindweed according to pfaf has purgative qualities. Any evidence for that from experience?

I didn't eat enough to notice really. I pulled up what looked like plentiful supply in the allotment but the roots are long thready things that break easly. I ate a small quantiity raw without ill efffect, but never got enough to see what it tastes like cooked.

I have been reading up protanemonine in schauenberg, paris guide to medicinal plants, it has antibiotic action as well as the blistering action. The ranunculosides group of lactones act as buffers in humus production. They are chemically related to coumarins, and although the book has no mention of this, coumarins react with UV, which maybe a reason why buttercup is fine in hay (sun-dried), but you still had problems after cooking The protoanemonine is broken down by an enzyme cooking it might of denatured that enzyme. Generally the whole group of plants isn't used much in any type medicine or food, what is used are tinctures preped in labs not kitchens.

 

[jimford]

Bindweed according to pfaf has purgative qualities. Any evidence for that from experience?

Langham says of the buck-thorn, that ‘the beries do purge downwards mightily flegme and choller'!

I can guess what the 'purge downwards mightily' is, and the 'flegme and choller' doesn't sound too good either - so on the whole I'll take the bindweed over the buckthorn!

Jim

 

[Goatboy]

Hi on the eating things you shouldn't I write this from hospital,

I mixed up some daffodil bulbs with my onion sets in the shed the other day, and due to having the cold couldn't taste them as I ate them fried with some liver. Felt very ill and went to A&E where they rushed me into intensive care, they did some tests and the doctor came back and told me I'd eaten daffodil bulbs and that it was very serious...


but that I should be up and about in spring