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Somehow these managed to survive a really long time getting no care or attention at all, I cant really remember what they are exactly but i think half the seeds may have come from someone on here as some extra maybe? and the other half from somewhere else? that time is all a bit hazey for me. I have put some in pots and will eventually pot them all properly.

A really cool paper, this is like an under-explored thing. Anyone here into fermented food and tried anything exotic? Come on people, get exotically fermenting up stuff.... I've done cacao fermentation (liked that), tried turmeric fermentation (didn't do this large scale to get a healing amount). Want to ferment things like green tea, ginseng and ashwagandha (more active compounds are formed fermenting these) Keen one day to ferment more healing food with some select quality probiotic strains. Fermented up an Aptenia brew (alcoholic) to get an apple tasting refreshing beverage but I was worried oxalates were being liberated rather than degraded so didn't pursue. Past the alcohol days anyway. Done plenty of Aptenia fermentations, some with added yeast, little bit of Sceletium. Sometimes the Aptenia fermented really well, other times it fouled. Fruits and vegetables, as a source of nutritional compounds and phytochemicals: Changes in bioactive compounds during lactic fermentation. Fermentation belongs to some of the most ancient food processes in human history. Microorganisms naturally present on the substrate, develop their fermentative activity. This leads to the transformation of the initial material and to modification of biochemical composition. Fermentation causes considerable changes that affect the organoleptic properties (taste, texture and in a lesser extend color), the nutritional value and the microbial safety of food. Therefore, human interest in fermentation lays on the four potential advantages for food: (1) improved shelf life and safety, (2) improved nutrition health properties, (3) organoleptic modification and (4) production of active principles of interest The increase of nutrient density by lactic fermentation is mostly due to a decrease of sugar content. Thanks to the activity of various enzymes, fermentation of fruits and vegetables tends to improve bio-accessibility and/or bioavailability of various type of compounds such as proteins, amino-acids, vitamins and antioxidants compounds (such as polyphenols). However, a common conclusion for several works is that the selection of starter can contribute to maintain or to increase antioxidant activity when compared to spontaneous fermentation. Changes in antioxidant activity point out that modifications of composition occur over fermentation. One of the main mechanism that could explain antioxidant activity variation is the release of bioactive compounds from conjugated phytochemicals. Metabolism of phenolic compounds by LAB has been reviewed by Rodriguez et al (Rodriguez et al., 2009). Interestingly, among LAB, Lb. plantarum is of great interest since it possesses enzymes leading to the production of high-added value compounds, such as powerful antioxidants As a whole, molecular nature of phenolic compound can be modified through fermentation leading to new derived compounds with biological activities potential including modification of microbiota populations and gut immunoglobulin levels. In addition, polyphenols bioavailability can be positively influenced by glucosidase, over fermentation, thereby increasing in situ radical scavenging potential as well as putative stimulation of natural antioxidant body defenses http://sci-hub.tw/10.1016/j.foodres.2017.09.031 Fermented plant medicines: Something as simple as fermented ginger has improved anti-inflammatory properties. Not sure how this applies to turmeric... Sceletium, even Aptenia: "...the process of bruising and fermentation alters the alkaloid profile, which we will deal with in some detail below. All that said, total alkaloid levels can range between 0.3% and 2.3% of dry weight. The average for cultivated material is generally around 0.8% total alkaloids, though there are certain high-yield stains that have been developed that can average double that. the fermentation of Kanna accomplishes the following primary outcomes: Lowers oxalic acid Lowers 4′-O-demethylmesembrenol Significantly converts mesembrine to mesembrenone and ∆7-mesembrenone May increase total alkaloid levels (by a very small measure)" https://sceletium.com/chemistry-pharmacology/ Ashwagandha: Ashwagandharishtha style preparations can be made. Ashwagandharishtha is a liquid polyherbal formulation traditionally prepared by fermentation process using the flowers of Woodfordia fruticosa. It contains roots of Withania somnifera as a major crude drug. Alcohol generated during the fermentation causes the extraction of water insoluble phytoconstituents. Yeasts present on the flowers are responsible for this fermentation. https://ayurmedinfo.com/2011/06/27/ashwagandharishta-uses-ingredients-dose-and-side-effects/ Lemon Balm (and other base plants) for Kombucha: The use of lemon balm for kombucha fermentation can yield a beverage with improved functional characteristics compared to the traditional kombucha prepared from black tea. Sweetened black or green tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is the traditional and almost only recommended medium for preparing kombucha because of high levels of nitrogen sources (like purine derivatives, caffeine and theophylline) which are necessary for growth and reproduction of SCOBY cells. Although it has been noticed that some herbal teas cannot be used as alternative nitrogen sources due to the lack of purine derivatives (12), sweetened echinacea (Echinacea purpurea L.) and winter savory (Satureja montana L.) have been demonstrated as suitable tea alternatives, yielding a fermentation product in a shorter time and comparable to the traditional beverage with regard to the basic chemical and microbiological characteristics. Also, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) can be successfully used as nitrogen source for kombucha fermentation. This aromatic herb is cultivated throughout the world because of its application in several fields. In medicine it is used for the treatment of headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, nervousness, anemia, bronchitis, high blood pressure, rheumatism, and enhancing memory. Cacao: Differences in microbial activities result in different cacao flavour characteristics. Catechins and epicatechins were present in large amount in cacao and quite unstable during fermentation. While it's possible to increase interesting alkaloid concentrations and form polyphenol breakdown products which are active, there are several pathways, polyphenols also undergo enzymatic oxidation by polyphenol oxidase and condensate in high molecular weight tannins. That's where if you want the benefits of epicatechin (cognitive, cardiovascular etc healing), you're best without a fermented product. As raw as possible. For a spiritual effect, the cacao fermentation seems to add something.The traditional cacao fermentations tend to rely on more than yeast, the presence of yeasts, lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria seems to be optimal. Maybe a kombucha is good, I didn't find my chocolate kombucha attempts brought out deeper chocolate flavour though but that was a one off trial. There are brewing cultures like prepared lambic culture that contains the Saccharomyces culture along with the lactic acid and Brettanomyces cultures. (Wyeast 3278). Don't know if they'd be interesting? Green tea: Lactic acid bacteria allow conversion of EGCG, EGC, and EC → GCG and GC in green tea Green tea antioxidant power when treated increased 55% compared to untreated tea. Yerba mate antioxidant power increased by 43% compared to untreated tea. You get interesting polyphenol profiles. Despite the benefits of polyphenols, many clinical studies and animal models have shown that these compounds, especially the polymers, esters, and glycosides, are abundant, but are not always absorbed by oral administration. The functional effect of the compound depends not only on the amount ingested, but on its bioavailability. Therefore, the enzymatic hydrolysis of polyphenols from food is a subject worth investigating. There are tannases etc. Ginseng: Having specific β-glucosidase activity can be used to enhance the health benefits of Panax ginseng in either fermented foods or bioconversion processes. Bifidobacterium strains to cause production of ginsenoside aglycones. It also bioconverts a wide variety of polyphenols. Ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Re continuously decreased, whereas ginsenosides Rd, Rg1, and Rg2 increased after 1-2 d of fermentation. [ref] Others: When common dietary polyphenols are subjected to fermentation, the newly formed biotransformation phytochemicals are more capable of causing a beneficial shift in microbial growth stimulation. New polyphenols are also created. This is sometimes beneficial, other times not - with cacao, polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity, respectively was reduced by fermentation; Epicatechin is degraded to less anti-oxidant substances. It can however allow for hydrolysis of things like initial glucosides and aglycons. Fermented grape pomace yields more total antioxidants and antioxidant activity than its unfermented counterpart. Anthocyanins often form gallic acid and protocatechuic acid Remarkably, even fermented fish oil, an agent with well-documented anti-inflammatory and mood-support properties, has been shown to provide an enhanced anti-inflammatory activity versus its unfermented counterpart. Yes, you can beneficially ferment herbal products. Unfortunately I can't find much on how alkaloids and constituents or other actives change, other than in sceletium, during fermentation. Researchers have examined the in vivo properties of an herbal blend typically used in traditional medicine to treat inflammatory disorders, comparing its effects in the unfermented and fermented form. Blood LPS levels were significantly lower when treated with the fermented blend, as was C-reactive protein, a primary marker of systemic inflammation. In separate work involving a singular traditional food or medicinal agent, the anti-inflammatory botanical Sophora flavescens, researchers, again using LPS as the inducing agent, found a more pronounced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity with the fermented form Magnolia flower as a source of polyphenols on fermentation increased the total phenolic contents, total flavonoids, and antioxidative and anticancer activities. Isoflavones ferment well, so do often other flavonoids. For more fermented roots, fruits, veggies and plant medicines, see here

This quote is exactly why I love the work in this article. "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away" Antoine de Saint-Exupery