Roselle (plant)
Roselle is a species of Hibiscus probably native to West & East Africa and South-East Asia including Northeastern India, used for the production of bast fibre and as an infusion, in which it may be known as carcade.
Description
It is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based subshrub, growing to tall. The leaves are deeply three- to five-lobed, long, arranged alternately on the stems.The flowers are in diameter, white to pale yellow with a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and have a stout fleshy calyx at the base, wide, enlarging to, fleshy and bright red as the fruit matures. They take about six months to mature.
Names
Asia
Roselle is known as karkadeh in Arabic, chin baung by the Burmese, luoshen hua in Chinese, kraceī́yb กระเจี๊ยบ in Thai, and cây quế mầu, cây bụp giấm, or cây bụt giấm in Vietnamese. ZoboSouth-East Asia including Northeastern India and Mainland South Asia
Roselle is known as tengamora by various indigenous ethnic groups of Assam, dachang or datchang by Atongs, mwita among the Bodo, amile among Chakmas mostly in Chittagong, Gal•da among Garos, Hanserong among Karbi among Nepalese, and khata palanga Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts and takabhendi in Odia in the Balasore district of Odisha, pulicha keerai in Tamil and gongura in Telugu.It is called Ya Pung by the Marma people.
Africa
Among the Yoruba in southwest Nigeria, Roselle is known as isapa, and yakuwa by the Hausa people of northern Nigeria who also call the seeds as gurguzu and the capsule cover as zoborodo or zobo.Australia
Roselle is known as the rosella or rosella fruit in Australia.Latin America and the Caribbean
Roselle is known as saril or flor de Jamaica in Central America and sorrel in many parts of the Caribbean including most of the islands in the West Indies.Uses
In India, the plant is primarily cultivated for the production of bast fibre used in cordage, made from its stem. The fibre may be used as a substitute for jute in making burlap. Hibiscus, specifically roselle, has been used in folk medicine as a diuretic and mild laxative.The red calyces of the plant are increasingly exported to the United States and Europe, particularly Germany, where they are used as food colourings. It can be found in markets in places, such as France, where there are Senegalese immigrant communities. The green leaves are used like a spicy version of spinach. They give flavour to the Senegalese fish and rice dish thieboudienne. Proper records are not kept, but the Senegalese government estimates national production and consumption at per year. In Burma their green leaves are the main ingredient in chin baung kyaw curry.
Brazilians attribute stomachic, emollient, and resolutive properties to the bitter roots.
Chutney
In Bihar and Jharkhand roselle is also known as "kudrum" in local language. The bright red petal of the fruit is used for chutney which is sweet and sour in taste.
Vegetable
In Maharashtra, roselle is called ambadi. The ambadi leaves are mixed with green chillies, salt, some garlic to prepare a chutney which is served with jowar or bajra made bhakri. This is eaten by farmers as breakfast to start their day. A dry dish or sukhi sabzi is prepare with ambadi leaves.In Andhra cuisine, roselle is called gongura and is extensively used. The leaves are steamed with lentils and cooked with dal. Another unique dish is prepared by mixing fried leaves with spices and made into a gongura pacchadi, the most famous dish of Andhra and Telangana often described as king of all Andhra foods.
In Manipuri, it is called Sougri and it is used as a vegetables. It is generally cooked without oil by boiling with some other herbs and dried fish and is a favorite of the Manipuri people. Almost every household has this plant in their homes.
In Burmese cuisine, called chin baung ywet, the roselle is widely used and considered affordable. It is perhaps the most widely eaten and popular vegetable in Burma. The leaves are fried with garlic, dried or fresh prawns and green chili or cooked with fish. A light soup made from roselle leaves and dried prawn stock is also a popular dish.
Among the Paites tribe of the Manipur Hibiscus sabdariffa and Hibiscus cannabinus locally known as anthuk are cooked along with chicken, fish, crab or pork or any meat, and cooked as a soup as one of their traditional cuisines.
In the Garo Hills of Meghalaya, it is known as galda and is consumed boiled with pork, chicken or fish. After monsoon, the leaves are dried and crushed into powder, then stored for cooking during winter in a rice powder stew, known as galda gisi pura. In the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, the plant is locally known as jajew, and the leaves are used in local cuisine, cooked with both dried and fresh fish. The Bodos and other indigenous Assamese communities of north east India cook its leaves with fish, shrimp or pork along with boiling it as vegetables which is much relished. Sometimes they add native lye called karwi or khar to bring down its tartness and add flavour.
In the Philippines, the leaves and flowers are used to add sourness to the chicken dish tinola.
In Vietnam, the young leaves, stems and fruits are used for cooking soups with fish or eel.
In Mali, the dried and ground leaves, also called djissima, are commonly used in Songhaï cuisine, in the regions of Timbuktu, Gao and their surroundings. It is the main ingredient in at least two dishes, one called djissima-gounday, where rice is slowly cooked in a broth containing the leaves and lamb, and the other dish is called djissima-mafé, where the leaves are cooked in a tomato sauce, also including lamb. Note that djissima-gounday is also considered an affordable dish.
In Namibia, it is called mutete, and it is consumed by people from the Kavango region in northeastern Namibia.
In the central African nations of Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon the leaves are referred to as oseille, and are used puréed, or in a sauce, often with fish and/or aubergines.
Beverage
In the Caribbean, a drink is made from sepals of the roselle fruit. It is prepared by boiling fresh, frozen or dried sepals; and sometimes the calyces and seeds, of the fruit of the sorrel plant in water for 8 to 10 minutes, then adding sugar. It is often served chilled. This is done in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Antigua, Barbados, Belize, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, the US Virgin Islands and St. Kitts and Nevis where the plant or fruit is called sorrel. The drink is one of several inexpensive beverages commonly consumed in Mexico and Central America; they are typically made from fresh fruits, juices or extracts. In Mexican restaurants in the US, the beverage is sometimes known simply as Jamaica. It is very popular in Trinidad and Tobago especially as a seasonal drink at Christmas where cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves are preferred to ginger. It is also popular in Jamaica, usually flavored with rum.In Ghana, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Benin calyces are used to prepare cold, sweet drinks popular in social events, often mixed with mint leaves, dissolved menthol candy, and/or fruit flavors.
The Middle Eastern and Sudanese "Karkade" is a cold drink made by soaking the dried Karkade calyces in cold water overnight in a refrigerator with sugar and some lemon or lime juice added. It is then consumed with or without ice cubes after the flowers have been strained. In Lebanon, toasted pine nuts are sometimes added.
Roselle is used in Nigeria to make a refreshing drink known as Zobo and natural fruit juices of pineapple and watermelon are added. Ginger is also sometimes added to the refreshing drink.
With the advent in the U.S. of interest in south-of-the-border cuisine, the calyces are sold in bags usually labeled "flor de Jamaica" and have long been available in health food stores in the U.S. for making tea. In addition to being a popular homemade drink, Jarritos, a popular brand of Mexican soft drinks, makes a flor de Jamaica flavored carbonated beverage. Imported Jarritos can be readily found in the U.S.
In the US, a beverage known as hibiscus cooler is made from the tea, a sweetener, and sometimes juice of apple, grape or lemon. The beverage is sold by some juice companies.
In the UK, the dried calyces and ready-made sorrel syrup are widely and cheaply available in Caribbean and Asian grocers. The fresh calyces are imported mainly during December and January to make Christmas and New Year infusions, which are often made into cocktails with rum. They are very perishable, rapidly developing fungal rot, and need to be used soon after purchase — unlike the dried product, which has a long shelf-life.
In Africa, especially the Sahel, roselle is commonly used to make a sugary herbal tea that is sold on the street. The dried flowers can be found in every market. Roselle tea is quite common in Italy where it spread during the first decades of the 20th century as a typical product of the Italian colonies. The Carib Brewery, a Trinidad and Tobago brewery, produces a 'Shandy Sorrel' in which the tea is combined with beer.
In Thailand, roselle is generally drunk as a cool drink, and it can be made into a wine.
Hibiscus flowers are commonly found in commercial herbal teas, especially teas advertised as berry-flavoured, as they give a bright red colouring to the drink.
Rosella flowers are sold as wild hibiscus flowers in syrup in Australia as a gourmet product. Recipes include filling them with goats cheese; serving them on baguette slices baked with brie; and placing one plus a little syrup in a champagne flute before adding the champagne — the bubbles cause the flower to open.
In Dodoma Tanzania the Roselle juice is brewed to make Roselle wine famous by the name of choya.
Jam and preserves
In Nigeria, rosella jam has been made since colonial times and is still sold regularly at community fetes and charity stalls. It is similar in flavour to plum jam, although more acidic. It differs from other jams in that the pectin is obtained from boiling the interior buds of the rosella flowers. It is thus possible to make rosella jam with nothing but rosella buds and sugar.In Burma, the buds of the roselle are made into 'preserved fruits' or jams. Depending on the method and the preference, the seeds are removed or included. The jams, made from roselle buds and sugar, are red and tangy.
In India, Roselle is commonly made into a type of pickle.
"Sorrel jelly" is manufactured in Trinidad.
Rosella jam is made in Queensland, Australia as a home-made or speciality product sold at fetes and other community events.
Herbal medicine (high blood pressure)
Although a 2010 meta-analysis using 14 databases and hand searching journals conducted by the Cochrane hypertension group concluded "No studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria" a more recent meta-survey in the Journal of Hypertension suggests a typical reduction in blood pressure of around 7.5/3.5 units.Production
and Thailand are the largest producers and control much of the world supply. The world's best roselle comes from Sudan and Nigeria, b. Mexico, Egypt, Senegal, Tanzania, Mali and Jamaica are also important suppliers but production is mostly used domestically.In the Indian subcontinent, roselle is cultivated for vegetable fibres. Roselle is called meśta in the region. Most of its fibres are locally consumed. However, the fibre from the roselle plant has great demand in natural fibre using industries.
Roselle is a relatively new crop to create an industry in Malaysia. It was introduced in the early 1990s and its commercial planting was first promoted in 1993 by the Department of Agriculture in Terengganu. The planted acreage was in 1993 and steadily increased to peak at by 2000. The planted area is now less than annually, planted with two main varieties. Terengganu state used to be the first and the largest producer, but now the production has spread more to other states. Despite the dwindling hectarage over the past decade or so, roselle is becoming increasingly known to the general population as an important pro-health drink. To a small extent, the calyces are also processed into sweet pickle, jelly and jam.
Crop research
In the initial years, limited research work was conducted by University Malaya and Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute. Research work at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia was initiated in 1999. In many respects, the amount of research work is considered meagre in supporting a growing roselle industry in Malaysia.Hibiscus Acid has been isolated from its calyx which is done by the Institute for Integrated Programmes and Research In Basic Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University Kerala.
Recently, gallic and protocatechuic acids were identified using solvent extraction, column chromatographic fractionation, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as the antidiabetic and antihypertensive principles of the calyxes.
Crop genetic resources and improvement
Genetic variation is important for plant breeders to increase crop productivity. Being an introduced species in Malaysia, there is a very limited number of germplasm accessions available for breeding.UKM maintains a working germplasm collection and conducts agronomic research and crop improvement.