Misplaced Pages

#935064

103-545: Amorphophallus konjac –also known as konnyaku , and konjac – is a vegetable species native to Yunnan in southwest China which has an edible corm . It is also known as devil's tongue , voodoo lily , snake palm , or elephant yam . It is a relative of the titan arum ( A. titanum ), one of the largest flowering plants in the world and a congener of konjac. It is cultivated in warm subtropical to tropical areas of East and Southeast Asia, from China and Japan south to Indonesia and Vietnam (USDA hardiness zone 6–11). It

206-535: A Loloish or Bai name. The Yuanmou Man , a Homo erectus fossil unearthed by railway engineers in the 1960s, has been determined to be the oldest-known hominid fossil in China. By the Neolithic period, there were human settlements in the area of Lake Dian . These people used stone tools and constructed simple wooden structures. Around the 3rd century BC, the central area of Yunnan around present day Kunming

309-432: A heteropolysaccharide or heteroglycan . Natural saccharides are generally composed of simple carbohydrates called monosaccharides with general formula (CH 2 O) n where n is three or more. Examples of monosaccharides are glucose , fructose , and glyceraldehyde . Polysaccharides, meanwhile, have a general formula of C x (H 2 O) y where x and y are usually large numbers between 200 and 2500. When

412-466: A barrier to monsoon winds, trapping moisture in the province. This gives the alpine flora in particular what one source has called a "lushness found nowhere else". This topographic range combined with a tropical moisture sustains extremely high biodiversity and high degrees of endemism , probably the richest botanically in the world's temperate regions. Perhaps 17,000 species of higher plants, of which an estimated 2,500 are endemic, can be found in

515-546: A choking risk, but are nonetheless affected by the government bans. Some products that remain in East Asian markets have an increased size, unusual shape, and more delicate consistency than the round, plug-like gels that were associated with the choking incidents. The snacks usually have warning labels advising parents to make sure their children chew the jelly thoroughly before swallowing. Japan's largest manufacturer of konjac snacks, MannanLife , temporarily stopped producing

618-479: A coma and died 27 months later at age 11. The Enriles won a $ 16.7 million judgment against the Taiwanese manufacturer of the candy. Konjac corm powder has a noticeably fishy smell and is used as an ingredient in vegan alternative seafood products. It can be incorporated into plant-based versions of seafood. For Chinese cooking, thin strands of konjac gel can be used as substitute for shark fins when preparing

721-513: A deep hatred of Muslims after an incident in which he was stripped naked and nearly lynched by a mob of Muslims. He ordered several Muslim rebels to be slowly sliced to death . Tariq Ali wrote about the real incident in one of his novels and claimed the Muslims who had nearly lynched Shuxing'a were not Hui but belonged to another ethnicity. Nevertheless, the Manchu official blamed all Muslims for

824-1111: A feedstock for the production of rayon (via the viscose process), cellulose acetate, celluloid, and nitrocellulose. Chitin has a similar structure but has nitrogen -containing side branches, increasing its strength. It is found in arthropod exoskeletons and in the cell walls of some fungi . It also has multiple uses, including surgical threads . Polysaccharides also include callose or laminarin , chrysolaminarin , xylan , arabinoxylan , mannan , fucoidan , and galactomannan . Nutrition polysaccharides are common sources of energy. Many organisms can easily break down starches into glucose; however, most organisms cannot metabolize cellulose or other polysaccharides like cellulose , chitin , and arabinoxylans . Some bacteria and protists can metabolize these carbohydrate types. Ruminants and termites , for example, use microorganisms to process cellulose. Even though these complex polysaccharides are not very digestible, they provide important dietary elements for humans. Called dietary fiber , these carbohydrates enhance digestion. The main action of dietary fiber

927-601: A giant forest-dwelling bovine , the Indochinese tiger and the Asian elephant . Other extremely rare species are the Yunnan box turtle and the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey . It is feared that the Yunnan lar gibbon , another moribund species, has already gone extinct. Yunnan province has 11 national and regional nature reserves. In total, the covered protected area in China is about 510,000 hectares. The freshwater fish fauna

1030-602: A new kingdom called Dachanghe . Nanzhao, a once-powerful empire, disappeared. In 928, Yang Ganzhen (楊干貞) usurped the Dachanghe king and established Zhao Shanzheng, a qingpingguan as emperor of Datianxing (大天興). In 929, Yang Qianzhen abolished Zhao Shanzheng and established himself as Emperor of Dayining (大義寧). In 937, Duan Siping overthrew the Dayining Kingdom and established the Dali Kingdom . The kingdom

1133-506: A plant-based version of shark fin soup . Konjac can also be used for facial massage accessories, which are popular in Korea and gaining popularity in the West. Most commonly this is through the use of a konjac sponge, which is unique in that it can be used on sensitive skin that may become easily irritated with more common exfoliating tools (such as loofahs or washcloths). It can be used in

SECTION 10

#1732784014936

1236-472: A positive periodic acid-Schiff stain (PAS). The list of polysaccharides that stain with PAS is long. Although mucins of epithelial origins stain with PAS, mucins of connective tissue origin have so many acidic substitutions that they do not have enough glycol or amino-alcohol groups left to react with PAS. By chemical modifications certain properties of polysaccharides can be improved. Various ligands can be covalently attached to their hydroxyl groups. Due to

1339-425: A slightly oceanic taste and smell (from the seaweed powder added to it, though some forms omit the seaweed). In Japan, it is valued more for its texture than flavor. Ito konnyaku ( 糸蒟蒻 ) is a Japanese food consisting of konjac cut into noodle-like strips. It is usually sold in plastic bags with accompanying water, which is drained before cooking. The name literally means 'thread-konjac'. Japanese konnyaku

1442-450: A structural component of a plant cell. It can be a homopolysaccharide or a heteropolysaccharide depending upon the type of the monosaccharides. Polysaccharides can be a straight chain of monosaccharides known as linear polysaccharides, or it can be branched known as a branched polysaccharide. Pathogenic bacteria commonly produce a bacterial capsule , a thick, mucus-like layer of polysaccharide. The capsule cloaks antigenic proteins on

1545-451: A structural component of many animals, such as exoskeletons . Over time it is bio-degradable in the natural environment. Its breakdown may be catalyzed by enzymes called chitinases , secreted by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi and produced by some plants. Some of these microorganisms have receptors to simple sugars from the decomposition of chitin. If chitin is detected, they then produce enzymes to digest it by cleaving

1648-466: A supposed medicinal food. Japanese documents from around the 18th century mentions its intestinal cleansing property. Nakajima Toemon developed a method to produce konjac flour in 1776, which are more durable for transportation and storage, contributing to their wider consumption. Konjac is grown in East and Southeast Asia and it is prized for its large starchy corms, used to create a flour and jelly of

1751-604: A variety of livestock, including cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs and dogs. Anthropologists have determined that these people were related to the people now known as the Tai . They lived in tribal congregations, sometimes led by exiled Chinese. During the Three Kingdoms , the territory of present-day Yunnan, western Guizhou and southern Sichuan was collectively called Nanzhong . The dissolution of Chinese central authority led to increased autonomy for Yunnan and more power for

1854-684: A wide range of flora and fauna, and the province has been called a natural zoological and botanical garden. Bordering Chinese provincial-level divisions are Tibet , Sichuan , Guizhou and Guangxi . Starting from the east and working clockwise, bordering countries are Vietnam ( Hà Giang , Lào Cai , Lai Châu and Điện Biên provinces), Laos ( Phongsaly , Oudomxay and Luang Namtha provinces), Myanmar (states of Shan and Kachin ). The main border crossings are: There are several major lakes in Yunnan. The province has nine lakes with areas of over 30 km (12 sq mi). They include: Yunnan

1957-448: Is a glucose polymer in which glucopyranose units are bonded by alpha -linkages. It is made up of a mixture of amylose (15–20%) and amylopectin (80–85%). Amylose consists of a linear chain of several hundred glucose molecules, and Amylopectin is a branched molecule made of several thousand glucose units (every chain of 24–30 glucose units is one unit of Amylopectin). Starches are insoluble in water . They can be digested by breaking

2060-474: Is a perennial plant , growing from a large corm up to 25 cm (10 in) in diameter. The single leaf is up to 1.3 m (4 ft) across, bipinnate , and divided into numerous leaflets. The flowers are produced on a spathe enclosed by a dark purple spadix up to 55 cm (22 in) long. The food made from the corm of this plant is also widely known in English by its Japanese name konnyaku , it

2163-517: Is a biosurfactant whose production is tightly regulated at the transcriptional level, but the precise role that it plays in disease is not well understood at present. Protein glycosylation , particularly of pilin and flagellin , became a focus of research by several groups from about 2007, and has been shown to be important for adhesion and invasion during bacterial infection. Polysaccharides with unprotected vicinal diols or amino sugars (where some hydroxyl groups are replaced with amines ) give

SECTION 20

#1732784014936

2266-446: Is applied by stirring or shaking, pouring, wiping, or brushing. This property is named pseudoplasticity or shear thinning ; the study of such matters is called rheology . Aqueous solutions of the polysaccharide alone have a curious behavior when stirred: after stirring ceases, the solution initially continues to swirl due to momentum, then slows to a standstill due to viscosity and reverses direction briefly before stopping. This recoil

2369-480: Is consumed in parts of China's Sichuan province; the corm is called moyu ( Chinese : 魔芋 ; lit. 'demonic taro'), and the jelly is called "konjac tofu" ( 魔芋豆腐 móyù dòufu ) or "snow konjac" ( 雪魔芋 xuě móyù ). In Vietnam , konjac is mainly grown in An Giang province. The corms are collected and processed into flour. The flour is used to make drinks, cakes, and noodles. The dried corm of

2472-466: Is cooked and consumed in China, Vietnam, Japan and Korea. The two basic types of cake are white and black. Noodles made from konnyaku are called shirataki . The corm of the konjac is often colloquially referred to as a yam , though it is not related to tubers of the family Dioscoreaceae . Wild forms grow naturally in China and Southeast Asia. Konjac has been used in Japan since the 6th century, as

2575-611: Is due to the elastic effect of the polysaccharide chains, previously stretched in solution, returning to their relaxed state. Cell-surface polysaccharides play diverse roles in bacterial ecology and physiology . They serve as a barrier between the cell wall and the environment, mediate host-pathogen interactions. Polysaccharides also play an important role in formation of biofilms and the structuring of complex life forms in bacteria like Myxococcus xanthus . These polysaccharides are synthesized from nucleotide -activated precursors (called nucleotide sugars ) and, in most cases, all

2678-793: Is exclusive of the reproduction and is only found in the albumen gland from the female snail reproductive system and in the perivitelline fluid of eggs. Furthermore, galactogen serves as an energy reserve for developing embryos and hatchlings, which is later replaced by glycogen in juveniles and adults. Formed by crosslinking polysaccharide-based nanoparticles and functional polymers, galactogens have applications within hydrogel structures. These hydrogel structures can be designed to release particular nanoparticle pharmaceuticals and/or encapsulated therapeutics over time or in response to environmental stimuli. Galactogens are polysaccharides with binding affinity for bioanalytes . With this, by end-point attaching galactogens to other polysaccharides constituting

2781-449: Is found in the form of granules in the cytosol /cytoplasm in many cell types and plays an important role in the glucose cycle . Glycogen forms an energy reserve that can be quickly mobilized to meet a sudden need for glucose, but one that is less compact and more immediately available as an energy reserve than triglycerides (lipids). In the liver hepatocytes , glycogen can compose up to 8 percent (100–120 grams in an adult) of

2884-414: Is highly diverse with about 620 species, including more than 580 natives (the remaining are introduced ). This equals almost 40% of the freshwater fish species in China. Of the Yunnan natives, more than 250 are endemic to the province and many of these are threatened. Several species that are restricted to single lakes (notably Dian , Erhai , Fuxian and Yilong ) are likely already are extinct. By far,

2987-458: Is hot at the valley bottoms, but there are freezing winds at the mountaintops. The terrain is largely mountainous, especially in the north and west. A series of high mountain chains spreads across the province. There is a distinct canyon region to the west and a plateau region to the east. Yunnan's major rivers flow through the deep valleys between the mountains. The average elevation is 1,980 m (6,500 ft). The mountains are highest in

3090-481: Is made by mixing konjac flour with water and limewater . Konjac cannot be eaten raw because it contains oxalic acid. The product come in various shades of gray; konnyaku made from corm are naturally dark, while those made from konjac flour are white. Hijiki is often added for the characteristic dark color and flavor. It is then boiled and cooled to solidify. Konjac made in noodle form is called shirataki and used in foods such as sukiyaki and gyūdon . Konjac

3193-436: Is made primarily by the liver and the muscles , but can also be made by glycogenesis within the brain and stomach . Glycogen is analogous to starch , a glucose polymer in plants , and is sometimes referred to as animal starch , having a similar structure to amylopectin but more extensively branched and compact than starch. Glycogen is a polymer of α(1→4) glycosidic bonds linked with α(1→6)-linked branches. Glycogen

Amorphophallus konjac - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-660: Is situated in a mountainous area, with high elevations in the Northwest and low elevations in the Southeast. Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the altitude can vary from the mountain peaks to river valleys as much as 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Yunnan is rich in natural resources and has the largest diversity of plant life in China. Of the approximately 30,000 species of higher plants in China, Yunnan has perhaps 17,000 or more. Yunnan's reserves of aluminium , lead , zinc and tin are

3399-607: Is that the name means "south of Yun Range " ( 云岭之南 ) However, this has been disproven because the name "Yunling Mountains" first appeared in Tang dynasty (618–907) literature, but the name "Yunnan" first appeared during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). Modern research gives more conjectures. You Zhong said "Yunnan" means "south of the mountain (referring to the Cang Mountain ) with clouds". Wu Guangfan said "Yunnan" might be

3502-774: Is the source of two rivers, the Xi River (there known as the Nanpan and Hongshui ) and the Yuan River . The Hongshui is a principal source stream of the Xi River. Rising as the Nanpan in eastern Yunnan province, it flows south and east to form part of the boundary between Guizhou province and Guangxi autonomous region. Flowing for 345 km (214 mi), it unites with the Yu River at Guiping to form what eventually becomes

3605-431: Is to change the nature of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract and how other nutrients and chemicals are absorbed. Soluble fiber binds to bile acids in the small intestine, making them less likely to enter the body; this, in turn, lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. Soluble fiber also attenuates the absorption of sugar, reduces sugar response after eating, normalizes blood lipid levels and, once fermented in

3708-537: Is used by some plants as a means of storing energy and is typically found in roots or rhizomes . Most plants that synthesize and store inulin do not store other forms of carbohydrates such as starch . In the United States in 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved inulin as a dietary fiber ingredient used to improve the nutritional value of manufactured food products. Arabinoxylans are found in both

3811-552: The A-band (homopolymeric) and B-band (heteropolymeric) O-antigens have been identified and the metabolic pathways defined. The exopolysaccharide alginate is a linear copolymer of β-1,4-linked D -mannuronic acid and L -guluronic acid residues, and is responsible for the mucoid phenotype of late-stage cystic fibrosis disease. The pel and psl loci are two recently discovered gene clusters that also encode exopolysaccharides found to be important for biofilm formation. Rhamnolipid

3914-698: The First Mongol invasion of Burma in the 1270s and 1280s. With the fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368, the Ming dynasty destroyed the Yuan loyalists led by Basalawarmi and the remnants of the House of Duan in the Ming conquest of Yunnan by the early 1380s. The Ming installed Mu Ying and his family as hereditary aristocrats in Yunnan. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, large areas of Yunnan were administered under

4017-521: The Khmer peoples of Zhenla . Generally speaking, Nanzhao was then the most powerful kingdom in mainland Southeast Asia, and played an extremely active role in multistate interactions. In 859, Nanzhao captured Bozhou , and this event exacerbated the Nanzhao-Tang clashes. When the Tang governor of Annam took Bozhou back in the following year, Nanzhao, with the help of native peoples, occupied Hanoi as

4120-623: The San Francisco Bay Area among children and elderly people caused by suffocation while eating konjac candy, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued product warnings in 2001, and there were subsequent recalls in the US and Canada. Choking and intestinal blockage risk warnings have been published at more recent websites. Unlike gelatine and some other commonly used gelling agents , konjac fruit jelly does not melt readily in

4223-576: The Tang dynasty , Emperor Xuanzong gave Piluoge , the chief of Nanzhao , the title of "King of Yunnan", because Nanzhao originated from Yunnan county. Gradually the king of Yunnan controlled more and more territory, and "Yunnan" became the common name of this area. Therefore, the Yuan dynasty created the Yunnan Province after it occupied the Dali Kingdom . Han dynasty literature did not record

Amorphophallus konjac - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-629: The Three Kingdoms period , imperial Chinese authority in Yunnan weakened, and much of the region came under the control of the Cuanman . The area was later ruled by the Sino-Tibetan -speaking kingdom of Nanzhao from (738–937), followed by the Bai -ruled Dali Kingdom (937–1253). After the Mongol conquest of the region in the 13th century, Yunnan was conquered and ruled by the Ming dynasty . From

4429-490: The Xi River . The province is drained by six major river systems: Yunnan is China's most diverse province, biologically as well as culturally. The province contains snow-capped mountains and true tropical environments, thus supporting an unusually full spectrum of species and vegetation types. The Yunnan camellia ( Camellia reticulata ) is the provincial emblem. During summer, the Great Plateau of Tibet acts as

4532-456: The Yuan dynasty onward, the area was part of a central-government sponsored population movement towards the southwestern frontier, with two major waves of migrants arriving from Han -majority areas in northern and southeast China. As with other parts of China's southwest, Japanese occupation in the north during World War II forced another migration of Han people into the region. These two waves of migration contributed to Yunnan being one of

4635-438: The alpha -linkages (glycosidic bonds). Both humans and other animals have amylases so that they can digest starches. Potato , rice , wheat , and maize are major sources of starch in the human diet. The formations of starches are the ways that plants store glucose . Glycogen serves as the secondary long-term energy storage in animal and fungal cells, with the primary energy stores being held in adipose tissue . Glycogen

4738-407: The beta -linkages, so they do not digest cellulose. Certain animals, such as termites can digest cellulose, because bacteria possessing the enzyme are present in their gut. Cellulose is insoluble in water. It does not change color when mixed with iodine. On hydrolysis, it yields glucose. It is the most abundant carbohydrate in nature. Chitin is one of many naturally occurring polymers . It forms

4841-524: The glycosidic bonds in order to convert it to simple sugars and ammonia . Chemically, chitin is closely related to chitosan (a more water-soluble derivative of chitin). It is also closely related to cellulose in that it is a long unbranched chain of glucose derivatives. Both materials contribute structure and strength, protecting the organism. Pectins are a family of complex polysaccharides that contain 1,4-linked α- D -galactosyl uronic acid residues. They are present in most primary cell walls and in

4944-446: The kidneys and even smaller amounts in certain glial cells in the brain and white blood cells . The uterus also stores glycogen during pregnancy to nourish the embryo. Glycogen is composed of a branched chain of glucose residues. It is primarily stored in the liver and muscles. Galactogen is a polysaccharide of galactose that functions as energy storage in pulmonate snails and some Caenogastropoda . This polysaccharide

5047-466: The native chieftain system . Under the Qing dynasty a war with Burma also occurred in the 1760s due to the attempted consolidation of borderlands under local chiefs by both China and Burma. Yunnan was a destination for Han Chinese during Yuan rule. Migrants moved into the area during Ming and Qing rule. During the Ming dynasty, 3 million Han Chinese mostly from Nanjing (the original Nanjing population

5150-557: The "Five Foot Way" – was extended south to around present day Qujing , in eastern Yunnan. In 109 BC, the Han dynasty conquered Dian during its southern expeditions . Under orders from Emperor Wu , General Guo Chang  [ zh ] ( 郭昌 ) was sent south to Yunnan, eventually establishing the Yizhou commandery . By this time, agricultural technology in Yunnan had improved markedly. The local people used bronze tools, plows and kept

5253-641: The 1,000 mile journey to Kunming , capital of Yunnan in China's mountainous southwest. It was here that the National Southwest Associated University (commonly known as Lianda University) was established. For eight years, staff, professors and students had to survive and operate in makeshift quarters that were subject to sporadic bombing campaigns by the Japanese. There were dire shortages of food, equipment, books, clothing and other essential needs, but they managed to conduct

SECTION 50

#1732784014936

5356-1008: The 19th century by scientists of the French National Museum of Natural History , Paris, in connection with permanent settlements of missionaries of the Missions étrangères de Paris in north-west Yunnan, among them noticeably Jean-André Soulié and Felix Biet . From 1916 to 1917, Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews led the Asiatic Zoological Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History through much of western and southern Yunnan, as well as other provinces of China. The book, Camps and Trails in China , records their experiences. Other notable explorers include Heinrich Handel-Mazzetti ; George Forrest ; Joseph Francis Charles Rock , who from 1922 to 1949 spent most of his time studying

5459-527: The Cuan clan ruled eastern Yunnan for over four hundred years. International trade flowed through Yunnan. An ancient overland pre- Tang trade route from Yunnan Province passed through Irrawaddy in Burma to reach Bengal . Yunnan was inhabited by so-called barbarians not fully under the control of the Tang government and the route, though ancient, was not used much in pre-Tang times, and Chinese attempts to control

5562-615: The Dali plain, resulting in only another slaughter. By the end of the eighth century, Tang was no longer a major threat to Nanzhao. Nanzhao's expansion lasted for several decades. In 829, Nanzhao suddenly plundered Sichuan and entered Chengdu . When it retreated, hundreds of Sichuan people, including skilled artisans, were taken to Yunnan. In 832, the Nanzhao army captured the capital of the Pyu kingdom in modern upper Burma . Nanzhao also attacked

5665-551: The Lufeng Formation and the Lunan Group (Lumeiyi, Xiaotun, and Caijiacong formations). In this area is the noted Stone Forest or Shilin, eroded vertical pinnacles of limestone (Maokou Formation). In the eastern part the rivers generally run eastwards. The western half is characterized by mountain ranges and rivers running north and south. Yunnan has a generally mild climate with pleasant and fair weather because of

5768-552: The Nanzhao forces were driven away. But Tang China had lost its ability to attack Nanzhao. While Nanzhao was being defeated in Annam, it still occasionally attacked Sichuan. In 869, Shilong ( 世隆 ), the eighth king and the first empire of Nanzhao, invaded Sichuan. In 874, Nanzhao attacked Sichuan again. In 902, Zheng Maisi, the Qingpingguan ( 清平官 ,"Prime Minister") of Nanzhao, murdered the infant king of Nanzhao, and established

5871-490: The Tang army moved to Bozhou. When the Tang forces returned, Nanzhao troops retreated from Hanoi but attacked and plundered Yongzhou . In the winter of 862, Nanzhao, allying with local groups, led an army of over 50,000 men to invade Annam again. It is reported that the Tang forces lost over 150,000 soldiers (either killed or captured by Nanzhao) in the two Annam battles. The autumn of 866 saw Tang victory in Hanoi and soon all of

5974-408: The active lives of moving animals. In bacteria , they play an important role in bacterial multicellularity. Cellulose and chitin are examples of structural polysaccharides. Cellulose is used in the cell walls of plants and other organisms and is said to be the most abundant organic molecule on Earth. It has many uses such as a significant role in the paper and textile industries and is used as

6077-1198: The bacterial surface that would otherwise provoke an immune response and thereby lead to the destruction of the bacteria. Capsular polysaccharides are water-soluble, commonly acidic, and have molecular weights on the order of 100,000 to 2,000,000 daltons . They are linear and consist of regularly repeating subunits of one to six monosaccharides . There is enormous structural diversity; nearly two hundred different polysaccharides are produced by E. coli alone. Mixtures of capsular polysaccharides, either conjugated or native, are used as vaccines . Bacteria and many other microbes, including fungi and algae , often secrete polysaccharides to help them adhere to surfaces and to prevent them from drying out. Humans have developed some of these polysaccharides into useful products, including xanthan gum , dextran , welan gum , gellan gum , diutan gum and pullulan . Most of these polysaccharides exhibit useful visco-elastic properties when dissolved in water at very low levels. This makes various liquids used in everyday life, such as some foods, lotions, cleaners, and paints, viscous when stationary, but much more free-flowing when even slight shear

6180-485: The colon, produces short-chain fatty acids as byproducts with wide-ranging physiological activities (discussion below). Although insoluble fiber is associated with reduced diabetes risk, the mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. Not yet formally proposed as an essential macronutrient (as of 2005), dietary fiber is nevertheless regarded as important for the diet, with regulatory authorities in many developed countries recommending increases in fiber intake. Starch

6283-522: The convention. Polysaccharides are an important class of biological polymers . Their function in living organisms is usually either structure- or storage-related. Starch (a polymer of glucose) is used as a storage polysaccharide in plants, being found in the form of both amylose and the branched amylopectin . In animals, the structurally similar glucose polymer is the more densely branched glycogen , sometimes called "animal starch". Glycogen's properties allow it to be metabolized more quickly, which suits

SECTION 60

#1732784014936

6386-828: The end of the year 2021, the total population is 48.01 million. [1] Polysaccharide Polysaccharides ( / ˌ p ɒ l i ˈ s æ k ə r aɪ d / ), or polycarbohydrates , are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food . They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages . This carbohydrate can react with water ( hydrolysis ) using amylase enzymes as catalyst, which produces constituent sugars (monosaccharides or oligosaccharides ). They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as starch , glycogen and galactogen and structural polysaccharides such as hemicellulose and chitin . Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of

6489-414: The enzymes necessary for biosynthesis, assembly and transport of the completed polymer are encoded by genes organized in dedicated clusters within the genome of the organism . Lipopolysaccharide is one of the most important cell-surface polysaccharides, as it plays a key structural role in outer membrane integrity, as well as being an important mediator of host-pathogen interactions. The enzymes that make

6592-432: The etymology of "Yunnan", and there are many theories about its origin. One common theory states that the name means "south of colorful clouds" ( 彩云之南 ; cǎiyún zhī nán ). Some annals in the Ming dynasty , for example Dian Lüe ( 滇略 ) and Yunnan General Annals ( 云南通志 ), support this. However, modern historian Tan Qixiang states that this theory is a superficial explanation of the literal meaning. Another common theory

6695-522: The flora, peoples and languages of southwest China, mainly in Yunnan; and Peter Goullart , a White Russian who studied Naxi culture and lived in Lijiang from 1940 to 1949. Yunnan is the most southwestern province in China, with the Tropic of Cancer running through its southern part. The province has an area of 394,100 km (152,200 sq mi), 4.1% of the nation's total. The northern part of

6798-424: The formulation of drugs and devices such as oral colon -targeting drug delivery systems (OCDDS), which enable drugs to be delivered directly to the colon. In traditional hand papermaking in Japan, konnyaku imparts strength to paper for dyeing, rubbing, folding—and other manipulations, such as momigami . Shirataki noodles have gained popularity in the US for their low carbohydrate content. Yunnan Yunnan

6901-470: The fresh weight soon after a meal. Only the glycogen stored in the liver can be made accessible to other organs. In the muscles , glycogen is found in a low concentration of one to two percent of the muscle mass. The amount of glycogen stored in the body—especially within the muscles , liver , and red blood cells —varies with physical activity, basal metabolic rate , and eating habits such as intermittent fasting . Small amounts of glycogen are found in

7004-482: The incident. A British officer testified that the Muslims did not rebel for religious reasons and that the Chinese were tolerant of different religions and were unlikely to have caused the revolt by interfering with the practice of Islam. Loyalist Muslim forces helped Qing forces crush the rebel Muslims. The Qing armies massacred only Muslims who had rebelled or supported the rebels and spared Muslims who took no part in

7107-436: The jellies after a 21-month-old Japanese boy choked to death on a frozen MannanLife konjac jelly. 17 people died from choking on konjac between 1995 and 2008. MannanLife konjac jelly's packaging added a note to consumers, advising them to cut the product into smaller pieces before serving it to small children. In 1999, 8-year-old Michelle Enrile from San Jose, California , choked on a piece of konjac gel candy. She lapsed into

7210-442: The konjac plant contains around 40% glucomannan gum. This polysaccharide makes konjac jelly a viscous substance that may be used in traditional Chinese medicine . Konjac can also be made into a popular East Asian fruit jelly snack, known variously in the US as lychee cups (after a typical flavor) or konjac candy, usually served in bite-sized plastic cups. Perhaps because of several highly publicized deaths and near-deaths in

7313-656: The largest in China, and there are also major reserves of copper and nickel . Historically, the southwestern Silk Road to Bhitargarh in Bangladesh passed through modern Yunnan. Parts of Yunnan formed the Dian Kingdom during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. The Han dynasty conquered the Dian Kingdom in the late 2nd century BC, establishing the Yizhou Commandery in its place. During the chaos of

7416-616: The local tribal structures. In AD 225, the famed statesman Zhuge Liang led three columns into Yunnan to pacify the tribes. His seven captures of Meng Huo , a local magnate, is mythologized in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms . In the 4th century, northern China was largely overrun by nomadic tribes from the north. In the 320s, the Cuan ( 爨 ) clan migrated into Yunnan. Cuan Chen ( 爨琛 ) named himself king and held authority from Lake Dian , then known as Kunchuan . Henceforth

7519-423: The most diverse order in Yunnan are Cypriniformes , both in total species number and number of endemics. The unique Sinopyrophorus bioluminescent beetles were described from Yunnan in 2019. Yunnan has been designated: A main source of wealth lies in its vast mineral resources ; indeed, mining is the leading industry in Yunnan. Yunnan has proven deposits of 86 kinds of minerals in 2,700 places. Some 13% of

7622-453: The most ethnically diverse provinces of China, with ethnic minorities accounting for about 34 percent of its total population. Major ethnic groups include Yi , Bai , Hani , Zhuang , Dai , and Miao . Yunnan has also been identified as the birthplace of tea , and as the region of origin of the plant genus Cannabis . The name "Yunnan" first referred to a place when the Han dynasty created Yunnan County near modern Xiangyun . During

7725-491: The mouth. Some products form a gel strong enough to require chewing to disintegrate the gel. Though the product is intended to be eaten by gently squeezing the container, a consumer can suck the product out with enough force to unintentionally lodge it in the trachea. Because of this hazard, the European Union and Australia banned konjac fruit jelly. Some konjac jelly snacks are not of a size and consistency that pose

7828-530: The nonwoody parts of terrestrial plants. Acidic polysaccharides are polysaccharides that contain carboxyl groups , phosphate groups and/or sulfuric ester groups. Polysaccharides containing sulfate groups can be isolated from algae or obtained by chemical modification. Polysaccharides are major classes of biomolecules. They are long chains of carbohydrate molecules, composed of several smaller monosaccharides. These complex bio-macromolecules functions as an important source of energy in animal cell and form

7931-809: The north where they reach more than 5,000 m (16,000 ft); in the south they rise no higher than 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The highest point in the north is the Kawagebo Peak in Deqin County on the Diqing Plateau , which is about 6,740 m (22,110 ft); and the lowest is in the Red River Valley in Hekou County , near the Vietnamese border, with an elevation of 76.4 m (251 ft). The eastern half of

8034-756: The plateau are the Lower Permian Maokou Formation, characterized by thick limestone deposits, the Lower Permian Qixia Formation, characterised by dolomitic limestones and dolomites , the Upper Permian basalts of the Ermeishan Formation (formerly Omeishan plateau basalts), and the red sandstones , mudstones , siltstones , and conglomerates of the Mesozoic – Paleogene , including

8137-478: The primary and secondary cell walls of plants and are the copolymers of two sugars: arabinose and xylose . They may also have beneficial effects on human health. The structural components of plants are formed primarily from cellulose. Wood is largely cellulose and lignin , while paper and cotton are nearly pure cellulose. Cellulose is a polymer made with repeated glucose units bonded together by beta -linkages. Humans and many animals lack an enzyme to break

8240-531: The proved deposits of minerals are the largest of their kind in China, and two-thirds of the deposits are among the largest of their kind in the Yangtze River valley and in south China. Yunnan ranks first in the country in deposits of zinc , lead , tin , cadmium , indium , thallium and crocidolite . Other deposits include iron , coal , copper , gold , mercury , silver , antimony and sulfur . More than 150 kinds of minerals have been discovered in

8343-594: The province forms part of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau . The province borders Guangxi and Guizhou in the east, Sichuan in the north, and the Tibet Autonomous Region in the northwest. It shares a border of 4,060 km (2,520 mi) with Myanmar ( Kachin and Shan States ) in the west, Laos ( Luang Namtha , Oudomxay , and Phongsaly Provinces ) in the south and Vietnam ( Hà Giang , Lào Cai , Lai Châu , and Điện Biên Provinces ) in

8446-647: The province is a limestone plateau with karst scenery and unnavigable rivers flowing through deep mountain gorges; the western half is characterised by mountain ranges and rivers running north and south. These include the Nu Jiang ( Salween ), the Lancang ( Mekong ), and the Jinsha ( Yangtze ), which flow in close proximity in the Three Parallel Rivers protected area. The rugged, vertical terrain produces

8549-563: The province's location on south-facing mountain slopes, receiving the influence of both the Pacific and Indian oceans, and although the growing period is long, the rugged terrain provides little arable land . See Agriculture in Yunnan . Under the Köppen climate classification , much of the province lies within the subtropical highland (Köppen Cwb ) or humid subtropical zone ( Cwa ), with cool to warm winters, and temperate summers, except in

8652-629: The province. It assumed strategic significance, particularly as the Burma Road from Lashio , in Burma to Kunming was a fought over supply line of vital importance to China's war effort. University faculty and students in the east had originally decamped to Changsha , capital of Hunan . But as Japanese forces were gaining more territory they eventually bombed Changsha in February 1938. The 800 faculty and students who were left had to flee and made

8755-588: The province. The potential value of the proven deposits in Yunnan is 3 trillion yuan , 40% of which come from fuel minerals, 7.3% from metallic minerals and 52.7% from nonmetallic minerals. Yunnan has sufficient rainfall and many rivers and lakes. The annual water flow originating in the province is 200 cubic kilometres, three times that of the Yellow River . The rivers flowing into the province from outside add 160 cubic kilometres, which means there are more than ten thousand cubic metres of water for each person in

8858-484: The province. The province is said to have "as much flowering plant diversity as the rest of the Northern Hemisphere put together". Yunnan has less than 4% of the land of China, yet the province harbors around 42.6% of all protected plant species and 72.5% of all protected wild animals in the country, of which 15% are strictly endemic to Yunnan. Yunnan is home to, most notably, the southeast Asian gaur ,

8961-628: The province. This is four times the average in the country. The rich water resources offer abundant hydro-energy. China is constructing a series of dams on the Mekong to develop it as a waterway and source of power; the first was completed at Manwan in 1993. Yunnan consists of sixteen prefecture-level divisions : eight prefecture-level cities and eight autonomous prefectures : These 16 prefecture-level divisions are in turn subdivided into 129 county-level divisions (17 districts , 18 county-level cities , 65 counties , and 29 autonomous counties ). At

9064-520: The regional commander of Jiannan (present-day Sichuan ), led a Tang campaign against Nanzhao. The king of Nanzhao, Geluofeng, regarded the previous incident as a personal affair and wrote to Xianyu to seek peace. However, Xianyu Zhongtong detained the Nanzhao envoys and turned down the appeal. Confronted with Tang armies, Nanzhao immediately turned its allegiance to the Tibetan Empire . The Tubo and Nanzhao agreed to be "fraternal states"; Geluofeng

9167-406: The repeating unit. Depending on the structure, these macromolecules can have distinct properties from their monosaccharide building blocks. They may be amorphous or even insoluble in water. When all the monosaccharides in a polysaccharide are the same type, the polysaccharide is called a homopolysaccharide or homoglycan, but when more than one type of monosaccharide is present, it is called

9270-404: The repeating units in the polymer backbone are six-carbon monosaccharides , as is often the case, the general formula simplifies to (C 6 H 10 O 5 ) n , where typically 40 ≤ n ≤ 3000 . As a rule of thumb, polysaccharides contain more than ten monosaccharide units, whereas oligosaccharides contain three to ten monosaccharide units, but the precise cutoff varies somewhat according to

9373-462: The route were disrupted by the rise of Nanzhao . Yunnan was settled by several local tribes, clans, and cultures before the 8th century. Around Lake Erhai , namely, the Dali area, there emerged six zhao : Mengzi ( 蒙巂 ), Yuexi ( 越析 ), Langqiong ( 浪穹 ), Dengdan ( 邆赕 ), Shilling ( 施浪 ), and Mengshe ( 蒙舍 ). Zhao ( 诏 ) was an indigenous non-Chinese language term meaning "king" or "kingdom." Among

9476-473: The running of a modern university . Over those eight years of war (1937–1945), Lianda became famous nationwide for having and producing many, if not most, of China's most prominent academics, scholars, scientists and intellectuals. Both of China's only Nobel laureates in physics Yang Chen-Ning & Tsung-Dao Lee studied at Lianda in Kunming. Thousands of plant, insect and mammal species were described in

9579-466: The same name. It is also used as a vegan substitute for gelatin . In Japan, over 90% of all domestically produced konjac is made in Gunma Prefecture . In Japanese cuisine , konjac ( konnyaku ) appears in dishes such as oden . It is typically mottled grey and firmer in consistency than most gelatins. It has very little flavor; the common variety tastes vaguely like salt , usually with

9682-475: The six regimes Mengshe was located south of the other five; therefore given the new, larger context, it was called Nanzhao (Southern Kingdom). By the 730s Nanzhao had succeeded in bringing the Erhai Lake–area under its authority. In 738, the western Yunnan was united by Piluoge , the fourth king of Nanzhao, who was confirmed by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty as king of Yunnan. Ruling from Dali ,

9785-702: The southeast. For practical purposes, all of Yunnan province falls within the Zomia region of Asia. Yunnan is at the far eastern edge of the Himalayan uplift , and was pushed up in the Pleistocene , primarily in the Middle Pleistocene , although the uplift continues into the present. The eastern part of the province is a limestone plateau with karst topography and unnavigable rivers flowing through deep mountain gorges. The main surface formations of

9888-433: The surface of medical devices, galactogens have use as a method of capturing bioanalytes (e.g., CTC's), a method for releasing the captured bioanalytes and an analysis method. Inulin is a naturally occurring polysaccharide complex carbohydrate composed of fructose , a plant-derived food that human digestive enzymes cannot completely break down. The inulins belong to a class of dietary fibers known as fructans . Inulin

9991-473: The thirteen kings of Nanzhao ruled over more than two centuries and played a vital role in the dynamic relationship between the Tang dynasty and the Tibetan Empire as a buffer state . By the 750s, Nanzhao had conquered Yunnan and became a potential rival to Tang China. The following period saw several conflicts between Tang China and Nanzhao. In 750, Nanzhao attacked and captured Yaozhou, the largest Tang settlement in Yunnan. In 751, Xianyu Zhongtong ( 鮮于仲通 ),

10094-479: The truly tropical south, where temperatures regularly exceed 30 °C (86 °F) in the warmer half of the year. In general , January average temperatures range from 8 to 17 °C (46 to 63 °F); July averages vary from 21 to 27 °C (70 to 81 °F). Average annual rainfall ranges from 600 to 2,300 mm (24 to 91 in), with over half the rain occurring between June and August. The plateau region has moderate temperatures. The western canyon region

10197-589: The uprising. In 1894, George Ernest Morrison , an Australian correspondent for The Times , traveled from Beijing to British-occupied Burma via Yunnan. His book, An Australian in China , details his experiences. The 1905 Tibetan Rebellion in which Tibetan Buddhist Lamas attacked and killed French Catholic missionaries spread to Yunnan. Yunnan was transformed by the events of the Second Sino-Japanese War , which caused many east coast refugees and industrial establishments to relocate to

10300-689: Was conquered by the Mongol Empire in 1253 after Dali King Duan Xingzhi defected to the Mongols. The Duans incorporated into the Mongol dominion as Maharajas of the new province. The Mongolian prince sent to administer the region with them was killed. In 1273, Kublai Khan reformed the province and appointed the semu Ajall Shams al-Din Omar as its governor. The Yunnan Province during the Yuan dynasty included significant portions of Upper Burma after

10403-432: Was given the titles zanpuzhong ("younger brother"). The Nanzhao-Tubo alliance ensured a disastrous defeat for Xianyu's expedition, with the Tang general's army of 80,000 men being reduced to a quarter of its original size. Tang China did not give up after one failure. In 753, another expedition was prepared, but this was also defeated by Nanzhao. In 754, the Tang organized an army of more than 100,000 troops that advanced to

10506-590: Was known as Dian . The Chu general Zhuang Qiao  [ zh ] ( 庄蹻 ) entered the region from the upper Yangtze River and set himself up as "King of Dian". He and his followers brought into Yunnan an influx of Chinese influence, the start of a long history of migration and cultural expansion. In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang unified China and extended his authority south. Commanderies and counties were established in Yunnan. An existing road in Sichuan  –

10609-588: Was later largely replaced by Wu-speakers), and some from Shanxi and Hebei, settled in Yunnan. Although largely forgotten, the bloody Panthay Rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and other local minorities against the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty caused the deaths of up to a million people in Yunnan. The Manchu official Shuxing'a started an anti-Muslim massacre, which led to the rebellion. Shuxing'a developed

#935064