Buckwheat

1. Buckwheat is the common name of Fagopyrum esculentum belonging to dicot family
Polygonaceae.
Despite the common name and the grain-like use of the crop, buckwheat is
not grass (and are therefore considered pseudocereals) and are not related to wheat nor
other monocots.
The starchy seeds of buckwheat are processed to give a popular flour, used in a variety
of foods, such as noodles and pancakes, and the buckwheat flowers provide a nectar
source for honeybees, which in turn yield a dark colored honey. Other values for the
plants include using the hulls as filling for various upholstered products, such as pillows,
and using the plants as feed for animals and for erosion control.
Common buckwheat in flower
Common buckwheat likely was domesticated and first cultivated in southeast Asia,
possibly around 6000 B.C.E., and from there spread to Europe and to Central Asia
and Tibet.
Chemical composition of common buckwheat
Seeds Starch 71-78%
Proteins 18%
Minerals Rich in iron (60-100 ppm), zinc (20-30 ppm) and selenium (20-50 ppb).
Antioxidants 10-200 ppm of rutin and 0.1-2% of tannins
Aromatic
compounds
Salicylaldehyde (2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) is a characteristic component of
buckwheat aroma]
Herb Antioxydants 1-10% rutin and 1-10% tannins
Fagopyrin

2. Use of common buckwheat
Hulled buckwheat
One of the most common uses of the common buckwheat is to process the starchy
buckwheat seed into a popular flour.
The buckwheat fruit is an achene, similar to sunflower seed, with a single seed inside a
hard outer hull. The starchy endosperm is white and makes up most or all of buckwheat
flour.
The seed coat is green or tan, which darkens buckwheat flour. The hull is dark brown or
black, and some may be included in buckwheat flour as dark specks.
Buckwheat greens also can be eaten or the buckwheat seeds processed into a meal.
The nectar from buckwheat flower also makes a dark colored, strong mono-floral honey.
Buckwheat also is used for feed for animals and is sometimes used as a green manure,
as a plant for erosion control, or as wildlife cover and feed.
Buckwheat hulls are used as filling for a variety of upholstered goods, including pillows
and zafu. The hulls are durable and do not conduct or reflect heat as much as synthetic
fills. They are sometimes marketed as an alternative natural fill to feathers for those with
allergies. In this respect, medical studies have been done to measure the health effects
of buckwheat hull pillows.

3. Food
Soba noodles, made from buckwheat flour.
Naengmyeon, Korean cold noodle soup made with buckwheat flour.
In recent years, buckwheat has been used as a substitute for other grain in gluten free
beer. Buckwheat is used in the same way as barley to produce a malt that can form the
basis of a mash that will brew a beer without gliadin or hordein (together gluten) and
therefore can be suitable for coeliacs or others sensitive to certain glycoproteins.
Medicinal uses
Buckwheat contains rutin, a medicinal chemical that strengthens capillary walls, reducing
hemorrhaging in people with high blood pressure and increasing microcirculation in
people with chronic venous insufficiency. Dried buckwheat leaves for tea were
manufactured in Europe under the brand name "Fagorutin."
A buckwheat protein has been found to bind cholesterol tightly. It is being studied for
reducing plasma cholesterol in people with an excess of this compound.