Burdock, root

This species is native to the temperate regions of the old world, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, and from the British Isles through Russia, and the Middle East to China and Japan, including India. It is naturalized almost everywhere and is usually found in disturbed areas, especially in soil rich in nitrogen. It is commonly cultivated in Japan where it gives its name to a particular construction technique, burdock piling.

Greater burdock was used during the Middle Ages as a vegetable, but now it is rarely used, with the exception of Japan where it is called gobō (牛蒡 or ゴボウ), Taiwan (牛蒡), Korea where it is called ueong (우엉), Italy, Brazil and Portugal, where it is known as bardana or "garduna". Plants are cultivated for their slender roots, which can grow about 1 meter long and 2 cm across.

The root is very crisp and has a sweet, mild, and pungent flavor with a little muddy harshness that can be reduced by soaking julienned/shredded roots in water for five to ten minutes. The harshness shows excellent harmonization with pork in miso soup (tonjiru) and takikomi gohan (a Japanese-style pilaf).

Burdock root Nutrition Facts: Calories, Carbs, and Health Benefits

Burdock root is about 80.09% water, 17.34% carbohydrates (including 2.9% sugar and 3.3% dietary fiber), 1.53% protein, and 0.15% fat. If you consume one burdock root it will provide you with 27.05 grams of carbohydrates. That translates to 20.81 percent of the 130 grams of carbohydrates people should include in their daily diet, according to the Institute of Medicine (US). That same in a 100 gram amount, burdock root supplies 72 calories , the Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) content of burdock root is moderate (18.46% DV), with no other vitamins present in significant amounts. So if you have burdock roots in your diet, it helps your body to produce red blood cells (RBCs) and neurotransmitters, maintain metabolism of fats and carbohydrates into monosaccharides, break down peptides into amino acid monomers so that it can be used in the body and it is effective against mood disorders like depression, because vitamin B6 is responsible for creating neurotransmitters and regulates emotions through hormones like serotonin and dopamineAlzheimer’s disease with the help of other vitaminsanemia. In addition it contains a moderate amount of Manganese (12.89% DV) and Magnesium (12.26% DV).