''Angelica keiskei'', commonly known under the Japanese name of , literally "tomorrow's leaf", is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family. It is native to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, where it is found on the Pacific Coast. It is native to the area of the

Bōsō Peninsula The is a peninsula that encompasses the entirety of Chiba Prefecture on Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula covers ...

Miura Peninsula is a peninsula located in Kanagawa, Japan. It lies south of Yokohama and Tokyo and divides Tokyo Bay, to the east, from Sagami Bay, to the west. Cities and towns on the Miura Peninsula include Yokosuka, Miura, Hayama, Zushi, and Kamakur ...

Izu Peninsula The is a large mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The penins ...

, and the

Izu Islands The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo Prefecture. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply � ...

. It has been widely cultivated outside its natural range.

Description

It is a perennial, with a typical growth height of 50–120 cm. Like most other members of the carrot family, it produces large umbels of white flowers and has dissected leaves. ''Angelica keiskei'' closely resembles ''Angelica japonica'', but can be distinguished by its blooming period, which lasts from May to October, whereas ''A. japonica's'' blooming period lasts only between May and July. Another indicator is the characteristic color of its sap.

Taxonomy

This species is named in honor of Keisuke Ito, a Japanese physician and biologist. A named cultivar of this species, "Koidzumi", refers to botanist Gen'ichi Koizumi. The Japanese name of ''Angelica keiskei'', "ashitaba", stems from the above-average regenerative capabilities it exhibits after injury.

Cultivation

Many Japanese plant ashitaba in herb gardens, flower pots, and backyards. This is due to the modest conditions for cultivation and fast rate of growth. This is a cold hardy plant, with optimal temperatures ranging between 12 and 22 °C. Harvesting a leaf at the break of day often results in a new sprout growing overnight, being visible the following morning, hence the name "tomorrow's leaf." Image:Angelica keiskei leaves.jpg, ''Angelica keiskei'' leaves in cultivation File:Angelica keiskei flowers.jpg, Flowers

Uses

As food

The main use of their stipes, leaves, and

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

s is in regional cuisine, where they are used to prepare ''

soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found ...

tempura is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word ...

shōchū is a Japanese distilled beverage. It is typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as chestnut, sesame seeds, potatoes, or even carrots. ...

'', tea, ice cream, pasta, etc.. The ''Mikura-jima'' variety might excel in this regard, as it is reputed to be less bitter than others.

Historical use

Traditionally, it is seen as a major contributor to the supposedly healthier, extended lives of the local residents, possibly due to the

chalconoid Chalconoids Greek: χαλκός ''khalkós'', " copper", due to its color), also known as ''chalcones'', are natural phenols related to chalcone. They form the central core for a variety of important biological compounds. They show antibacterial, ...

s that are unique to this species of ''Angelica''. At one point in

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, the haulm's yellow sap was effectively used in the external treatment of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, which prompted

Kaibara Ekken __NOTOC__ or Ekiken, also known as Atsunobu (篤信), was a Japanese Neo-Confucianist philosopher and botanist. Kaibara was born into a family of advisors to the ''daimyō'' of Fukuoka Domain in Chikuzen Province (modern-day Fukuoka Prefecture ...

to describe the herb in his ''Yamato honzō'' (大和本草), under the name of ''ashitagusa'' (鹹草), as "a powerful tonic drug." In folk medicine, it is claimed to be a diuretic, tonic, to improve digestion, and to speed wound healing and prevent infection when applied topically. Also, its nutritive qualities are said to be the factor behind the internal exiles and their families' never waning stamina in the face of their arduous, compulsory labor. For similar reasons, it very widely serves as pasture for cattle, reckoned to improve the quality of milk, as well as the yield, and to maintain cattle health at the same time. Most of these claims have yet to be proven in trials, while studies have substantiated the presence of

furocoumarin The furanocoumarins, or furocoumarins, are a class of organic chemical compounds produced by a variety of plants. Most of the plant species found to contain furanocoumarins belong to a handful of plant families. The families Apiaceae and Rutace ...

s in several of these plants' components. Furanocumarin is known to increase skin sensitivity to sunlight and may cause

dermatitis Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved c ...

Research

4,4′-dimethoxychalcone, a chalcone found in Angelica keiskei koidzumi, prolongs the survival of several species such as yeasts, worms, and flies, and decreases senescence in human cell cultures.Carmona-Gutierrez, D., Zimmermann, A., Kainz, K., Pietrocola, F., Chen, G., Maglioni, S., ... & Castoldi, F. (2019). The flavonoid 4, 4′-dimethoxychalcone promotes autophagy-dependent longevity across species. Nature communications, 10(1), 1-17.

References

External links

*http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Angelica%20keiskei {{Authority control Angelica Japanese vegetables