vegetable

Orsino garlic

What is wild garlic?

Wild garlic is a vegetable belonging to the family of Liliaceae * and to the genus Allium (Species Allium ursinum ).

Also known as wild garlic, garlic with broad leaves, wood garlic and wild leek, it stands out for its large, broad and velvety leaves, which give off a pungent smell of garlic.

The name "orsino" is due to the fact that bears, but also wild boars, are fond of its underground bulbs and eat in large quantities.

Wild garlic is a bulbous herbaceous plant native to the Eurasian continent. For its many pharmacological and culinary uses, it is commonly harvested in the wild (especially in Europe). However, due to its remarkable resemblance to poisonous plants such as lily of the valley and the autumn colchico (called false saffron ), there are also cases of poisoning associated with harvesting errors.

Active principles

Chemical composition of wild garlic

The composition of wild garlic bulb includes:

  • Water 63%
  • Glucidi 27%
  • Protein 6%
  • 3% fiber
  • Vitamins, minerals, antioxidant enzymes etc. 1%.

Wild garlic contains some active ingredients with pharmacological action, all concentrated in the sulphurated essential oil. Among these, the most important are:

  • Alliisine : sulfur glucoside
  • Alliinases : enzyme

    Note : the combination of alliisine and allinase causes the formation of allicin and, later, of allyl disulfide.

  • Vitamins : especially C (ascorbic acid) and B1 (thiamine)
  • Other useful phytochemicals : prostaglandins, acid-phenols, phytosterols, polyphenols, flavonoids.

Property

Pharmacological properties of wild garlic

Wild garlic is widely used in herbal medicine, thanks to its numerous phytotherapeutic properties. For internal use, among the various pharmacological characteristics of wild garlic, we can mention the actions:

  • Depurativa
  • Antiseptic
  • Anthelmintic (vermifuge)
  • anti-asthma
  • hypotensive
  • cholesterol lowering
  • hypoglycemic
  • Antiplatelet agent
  • antitumor
  • Diuretic
  • vasodilator
  • febrifuge

Wildly used, wild garlic instead has the following pharmacological properties:

  • rubefacient
  • Disinfectant.

Indications

When to use wild garlic?

  • Wild garlic is a purifier, meaning it has a slightly detoxifying effect on the body; it can be very useful in convalescence or after drug therapies.
  • It prevents or fights infections and infestations, especially from bacteria and worms, which is why it is used as a natural food preservative and can also promote remission from infections and gastrointestinal parasites. It tends to destroy the micro-organisms with which it comes into contact, even when applied to the skin.
  • Thanks to its bronchodilator effect, wild garlic reduces the consequences of asthma and is especially useful during seasonal allergic reactions and mild pathologies of the respiratory tract (colds, coughs, etc.).
  • It reduces blood pressure, especially in the case of primary arterial hypertension, which is why the hypertensive diet should always contain a good amount of garlic.
  • It tends to reduce total cholesterol and improve the relationship between LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol); it is a valid ally in the hypercolesterolemic diet therapy.
  • Wild garlic also tends to reduce excess blood sugar and can only help in case of type 2 diabetes.
  • It reduces the aggregation of platelets, preventing the formation of atheromas and thrombi, a very important aspect in case of increased cardiovascular risk.
  • Wild garlic, like all other plants rich in these sulfur compounds, is the subject of studies for its potential preventive activity in the onset of tumors.
  • Increases urine secretion due to a direct and accelerating effect on renal filtration.
  • Wild garlic causes vasodilation, or an increase in the capillary and arterial section, as a consequence of the intervention on the smooth muscles of the vessels themselves. As a demonstration of this, at topical level it causes the redness of the skin, improving the blood circulation.
  • It is antipyretic, which facilitates the reduction of body temperature; it is therefore useful for lowering fever.

Mode of Use

Homemade use of wild garlic

With fresh wild garlic can be produced independently decoctions for internal use and for compresses, or poultices for external use.

Industrial use of wild garlic

At industrial level, wild garlic is widely used for the production of disinfectants and repellents.

Furthermore, the food supplement and herbalist / pharmaceutical industries offer a wide range of wild garlic products (pure or mixed) such as: powders, tablets, capsules, elixirs, essences, oils, ointments, tinctures and syrups.

dosage

How much ramsons do you eat?

As a culinary ingredient, wild garlic has no minimum or maximum dosage; the rule of "common sense" always applies.

The use of bear garlic as a food supplement, or in any case as a concentrated remedy, must respect the dosage mentioned on the product label.

Side effects

There are no known side effects worthy of note about wild garlic used as a food. At drug concentrations it can induce abdominal cramps and, rarely, a significant lowering of blood pressure and / or glycaemia.

Pharmacological Interactions

Used as a food, there are no noteworthy drug interactions. At higher concentrations, better to pay attention if in presence of hypotensive and hypoglycemic therapies.

Warnings

Consumed as a food, there are no noteworthy warnings.

Before taking highly concentrated wild garlic products, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, consult your doctor or pharmacist.

Kitchen

Wild garlic in the kitchen

The two elements responsible for the typical aroma of garlic are alliisine and the enzyme alliinase. Taken separately they are odorless, but combined they allow the transformation of the alliinase into allicin and then into allyl disulfide (glucoside genin); allicin and allyl disulfide are two strongly aromatic molecules.

Both bulb and leaves can be used of wild garlic. The plant can be used to flavor various recipes. Both cooked and raw, it goes well with meat, fish, eggs, hard mature cheeses, fresh spreads, fresh ricotta, cereals, potatoes, legumes and vegetables of all kinds.

The Cornish Yarg, a particular type of Anglo-Saxon cheese, has a crust covered with wild garlic leaves. In Turkey, in the Van region, flowers and bulbs are used to prepare herbal cheeses. Wild garlic leaves are a typical ingredient of raw salads, cooked vegetables and soups in regions where it grows wild.

The bulbs, when used raw, should be undressed and minced; when left whole to flavor the sauté, they should instead be kept in shirt (with the outer fibrous film) to prevent them from burning, removing them at the appropriate time. It is common to prepare the sauté even with chopped garlic, but it is absolutely necessary to prevent it from turning brown; the burned garlic, in addition to giving an unpleasant smell and taste, is harmful to health.

The leaves have a more tenuous flavor and can be used in Genovese pesto to replace traditional wedges.

Wild garlic is also used as a forage. The animals that feed on them produce an aromatic milk, from which a very particular kind of butter is diffused in Switzerland starting from the XIX century.

Botany

*Classification

A certain indecision still exists on the family to which the wild garlic belongs. Some bibliographic sources believe that he is an exponent of the Family Amaryllidaceae, or a close relative of the common garlic (Genus Allium, Specie sativum ); others consider it more similar to chives, making it part of the Liliaceae family. Also tulip, lily and lily of the valley are exponents of the latter.

Description

Wild garlic is a bulbous geophite plant, a perennial single-skin herb that reproduces mainly through seeds.

Devoid of a real stem, from the narrow and elongated bulbs start the petioles flowers (umbrellas made up of 20 stellar flowers, of 16-20 mm of diameter, with 6 white petals) and of leaves of lanceolate form, long up to 25 cm long and 7 cm wide, bright green.

The fruits, ripened by flowers, are schizocarps that enclose three round-shaped seeds. Downwards, the small dark roots also depart from the bulbs.

Distribution of wild garlic

Wild garlic is native to the temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia, including the British archipelago. It is common in the Caucasus, throughout Italy up to 1, 500 meters above sea level and in most of the English and Irish plains, with the exception of the north east of Scotland, Orkney, Shetland and the Channel Islands.

Wild garlic prefers deciduous, fresh and moist deciduous forests, especially near water courses.