Japanese immunity plum?

[Felix]

Ive been told there is a dried and salted(?)japanese plum, sold in asian supermarkets, with excellent immunity boosting properties. (apparently alot more effective than shitake mushrooms)

Anyone know the name of this plum?

[smogs]

you can get echinacea (spelling?) for 5 buks a punnet at alot of plant nurseries as well..

wood ear mushrooms sposed to be good too (chineese super market again)

[coin]

the sour plum's called ume

when it's pickled, it's called umeboshi..which you can buy at health food stores

there's also a paste/puree & vinegar made from the ume

all these are available in healthfood stores that stock "spiral foods" brand, i think.. www.spiralfoods.com.au

[Rev]

yum

[Felix]

Thanks :cool:

[coin]

i don't know that it has any specific immuno stimulant / modulation action ? unlike the reishi shrooms

altho, supposedly the shiso leaves the ume are pickled with, have this property, i don't know how much of this is present in the end product

i think the action on the plums is more that they alkalinize the body, which improves its function overall, thereby reducing the opportunity for infection ?

speaking of sourness, is anyone familiar with amla berries (amalaki) ? i've become addicted to these indian pickled amla .. so incredibly spicy, sour & salty. obviously these things are good digestive stimulants, but it's interesting that it's so intense, that i just have to think about the aroma, or think about eating it, and my whole mouth just gushes with saliva. that's always been the case for me, if i contemplate eating a hot chilli, but this takes it up another level some people prefer the little green mangoes

spiralfoods are very expensive (to my budget) .. tho high quality, it seems. may be better to find them at asian markets as you suggest

[ 03. September 2004, 17:03: Message edited by: coin ]

[Felix]

Yep,apparently ume alkalinizes the blood, lymph and body fluids. Alkaline blood is said to be more resistant to microorganisms. Umeboshi, miso and reishi tea/soup sounds good .

100g of umeboshi costs around 4 bucks from the asian markets. I might go and check if they stock shiso leaves...

[coin]

when the umeboshi is pickled with the salt, it's layered with shiso leaves (i think this is how it's done) .. this lends that special red/purple colour & spicy/fragrant flavour & aroma to the ume .. they're used for other pickle products also

i've only ever seen preserved shiso leaves in korean grocery stores..they're packed in cans like those used for pickled sardines/herrings. and i think they're labelled as perilla (another name for them..also sometimes called beefsteak plant) .. i didn't think much of them packed in this way like preserved vine leaves used for dolmades .. there's something unappealing about how limp & vinegary they are

[Felix]

Perilla frutescens. Might have a look for seeds or plants...

[coin]

these guys have them, and most large nurseries (even kmart etc) stock this brand. if they you don't see them in stock, you could probably easily order it

http://www.renaissanceherbs.com.au/herbs/PERILLA.html

this is a list of activity:

very potent anti-allergic activity, inhibition of antigen-specific T helper type 2 responses, very expressed inhibition of aldose reductase activity, strong inhibitory effect on xanthine oxidase activity, gout, anti-inflammatory activity, antidepressive, strong sedative, anti-HIV activity, suppressive effect on glomerulonephritis, inhibits cyclooxygenase activity

[Felix]

Great! Thanks Coin :cool: