Wasabi is known to have antitumor effects and can even be a potential anticancer chemotherapeutic agent. The one-of-a-kind compound of wasabi, 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate, is responsible for causing the effects that proceed to cell death. The health benefits of wasabi, however, are not widely known to the world up to this point, so many studies are being conducted in order to accumulate the evidence in relation to the properties of the compound with the objective of providing potential cancer-fighting medication with minimal adverse effects. With the high chemical structure of wasabi components, it has been well established that it has no carcinogenic effect and is indeed beneficial to human health. In this article, we explore the health benefits of the wasabi plant in the various aspects of its function in relation to the different masking techniques used in order that one can consume the wasabi in peace.
There are many people who can relate to being timid before trying a product, such as wasabi. Wasabi is widely known for its bold and spicy taste, which some people even feel is painful with the zing it has once eaten. It is called “fuel” in Japanese. There have been recent studies discovering the numerous benefits of wasabi, including its cancer-fighting properties. Wasabi is a member of the Brassicaceae family and originated from Japan. It is generally served with sushi, sashimi, and even used as a flavoring agent in mayonnaise, Japanese horseradish paste, salad dressing, and in many snacks involving soybeans. The wasabi extract is taken from the underground part of the stem of the wasabi plant. The extract in powder form is even known to keep its color and pungency in cold water.
History and Cultivation
Wasabi does not grow naturally in the wild; it is often found in cold mountain streams. Wasabi plants grow in areas where cold and clean water is abundant. Currently, the largest commercial facility can produce 200 tons of wasabi annually. However, the demand for wasabi is larger than it seems, since there is a growing demand in the cosmetic industries for its beneficial properties. The high cost for commercial production is due to the time before continuous wasabi cultivation is stable, which takes about 2 years. The taste of wild wasabi cannot be imitated in cultivated wasabi. Growing points of wasabi are present in a sparsely prepared area along mountain streams, especially around places where clear cold water flows. These areas are large and usually far away from urban areas, making it difficult to secure good access.
Wasabi (Wasabia japonica, Brassicaceae) is a popular plant with a pungent taste and unique aroma. It has gained considerable attention in terms of its pungent taste, which is used in various traditional Japanese dishes, and its potential health benefits. The pungency of wasabi comes from hydrolysis of the compound sinigrin, specifically catalyzed by isothiocyanates (ITCs). Several studies have revealed that ITCs are associated with anticancer properties, and some consumers regularly ingest wasabi paste for its potential health benefits, although there have been only a limited number of studies on wasabi in both the public and private sectors. Currently, there are three species in the genus Wasabia, including Wasabia japonica, Wasabia koreana, and Wasabia tenuisecta. Wasabia japonica is the most popular and has been cultivated since ancient times in Japan.
Culinary Uses
In comparison to this native roots variety Wasabi, others such as the related Wasabi-o (Petasites japonicas) and the Western horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) can develop greater plant biomass. Because the isothiocyanates created by the sinigrin or progoitrin precursors in all of them are french-fry fryers when heated, the roots are often pickled for long-term storage. Cancer and other illnesses, especially those related to metabolism and digestive tracts top the list for the foods that are often enhanced with these pungent condiments, and many studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of isothiocyanates, especially sulforaphone found richly in broccoli, on liver, pancreas and gastrointestinal health.
The unique pungent, spicy and sinus-piercing flavor of Wasabia japonica comes from the isothiocyanates: the enzyme myrosin and the glucosinolate precursors, released only when the root is grated fresh. Other Japanese horseradishes, including the Western Eutrema given the same common name, are often confused and substituted for Wasabia japonica because the genuine product is difficult to grow and cultivate. Even the eyes of the leaves of Wasabia japonica spout an unmistakable mustard scent when poked, but because of its high cost, only in Japan will one most often encounter the real thing, served as a paste accompanying raw fish in sushi and sashimi dishes. Although available as an attractive landscape plant, its slow vegetative growth, reluctance to germinate from seeds, autoimmune response to limit rhizome production and attacks by pests such as moose and voles render attempts to grow large quantities of the plant daunting.
Chemical Composition of Wasabi
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Wasabi contains a suite of unique isothiocyanates (ITCs) and non-ITCs, with the most dominant being 6-MITC, that are not found in many other plants. Many of its compounds occur as glucosinolates in its root, which are enzymatically converted into these bioactive derivatives only when the root is damaged, such as when it is chewed or grated. Its chemical composition, release mechanism, and action are reasons purported for protecting the plant from biological stresses, which are also beneficial for cellular homeostasis in the consumer’s body.
Wasabi is a well-recognized spice, which pleases the eye with its bright green color, awakens the mind with its strong aroma, and excites the tongue with its pungent taste. As with many other pungent spices, the spice is used sparingly because of its sharp taste. What makes wasabi particularly interesting though is its claimed health benefits. These days, to probe into these health benefits of wasabi, wasabi is often searched at the chemical level to explore the constituents that are believed to be the compounds that bestow medicinal properties when ingested.
Key Compounds
Wasabi, a pungent-tasting plant belonging to the Brassicaceae family, has been traditionally used to improve flavor, preserve freshness, antioxidate, and for purifying and detoxifying effects on fresh seafood. There are some other health benefits frequently reported in traditional Chinese medicine, including anti-cancer potential, maintaining liver function, stimulating digestion, and reducing the symptoms of constipation, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities, promoting urination, and so on. Based on these reports, modern research has contributed to an in-depth view of these traditionally described benefits. The natural health promotion growth, development, and maintenance of the healthy conditions functions that may have been underestimated. Numerous recent publications discuss various health benefits driven by consuming this unique medicinal plant. However, a wide range of phytochemical molecules and significant properties of wasabi that are worthy to draw public attention, or public awareness, remain insufficiently explored. This paper aims to provide a platform for further research, development, commercialization, and application by unveiling these valuable secrets of this popular food based on market and academic analyses. The first section of this article provides a succinct overview of the healthy compounds, wasabi flavor driving effects and discovery, that includes descriptions of mild taste, horseradish-like spicy hot taste, transformation from precursors, quality management, and isothiocyanate stability.
A bioactive isothiocyanate, allyl isothiocyanate, is the main wasabi flavor molecule, contributing to its pungent taste as well as its abundant pharmacological features, which contain anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and distant health-improvement effects, with proven therapeutic potential against multiple chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. A stable allyl isothiocyanate molecule is present in corresponding concentrations in authentic wasabi products, not in “fake” wasabi imitations. Unlike fake wasabi products, real wasabi with stable allyl isothiocyanate can only be obtained from cultivating the authentic wasabi plant. Faking wasabi lowers the expected efficacy and health benefits of authentic wasabi ingestion. The maintenance itself is an opportunity to enjoy its benefits, according to Mong, who stated that “eating real wasabi is one of the most powerful dietary habits toward maintaining long-term self-health.” It is, therefore, important for consumers to distinguish how to get real wasabi to enjoy the benefits.
Wasabi (i.e., Wasabia japonica Matsum) has significant health benefits based on scientific studies. Its characteristic flavor and healthy compounds driving the benefits are two-fold. Its horseradish-like hot flavor is unique and regarded as a health-promoting food among the Asian population. Discovering healthy compounds responsible for its unique effects potentially encourages the intake of the wasabi flavor to its full extent.
Health Benefits of Wasabi
This latter research point, isothiocyanates sinking H. pylori, unleashes another nutritional/health interest of particular importance to Europeans, where gastritis (most often caused by the presence of H. pylori) and peptic ulcer are very common. Recall that, in the United States, such gastrointestinal problems are more often caused by taking too many painkillers! After eating, the stomach naturally produces increased amounts of protective mucus to line the stomach walls and help prevent digestion of the stomach tissue by the stomach acid. Such protection against the acid is due to the carbonate salts inherent in the mucus. In the want of that protective mucus, the naturally seeking stomach acid can generate painful conditions ranging from gastritis all the way to peptic ulcers. A stomach with stomach flora including H. pylori can be a stomach without this essential mucus protection. Isothiocyanates in your wasabi may help mitigate the bacterial problem.
Wasabi contains chemicals with several possible health benefits. Some of these natural chemicals boast antibacterial properties. Other chemicals in wasabi inhibit the transformation of premalignant cells into malignant tumors. In addition, one of these chemicals triggers apoptosis, a genetically programmed self-destruction of cells that have turned cancerous. Could this cell-clearing property eventually result in a cure for cancer? Research continues. Perhaps the best known wasabi chemical in terms of health benefits is the isothiocyanate called 6-MITC. 6-MITC is a very potent antimicrobial compound. Why do wasabi-loving people in Japan have a lower incidence of stomach cancer than other places? Could consumption of wasabi be the reason? Is there a connection? Data are being collected and evaluated. The protection appears to stem from isothiocyanates like 6-MITC that inhibit or kill a bacterium called ‘Helicobacter pylori’, a leading cause of stomach cancer.
Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties
With this special application, it is said that at home, when processing meat, as a garnish for meat dishes and as a material for bittermún, it has been used in meat dishes where pathogen control is particularly important, such as raw meat dishes, raw fish dishes, roast beef, and hamburger. Additionally, the high bactericidal effect against Gram-positive bacteria such as Streptococcus pyogenes in wasabi and horseradish components could explain the reason for which the sauce prepared from both of these ingredients has been commercialized from the United States as a meat sauce to prevent the growth of these bacteria. This is due to the facts that the inclusion of pungent components such as wasabi in food causes a strong inactivation of bacteria.
In vitro studies have reported that wasabi has antibacterial properties. This is particularly exciting as the rates of antibiotic resistance among microorganisms are on the rise. It appears that wasabi’s antibacterial properties are due to the presence of the compound 6-MSITC in wasabi. In one study, 6-MSITC was extracted from wasabi and examined for its antibacterial and antifungal properties. In this study, 6-MSITC was shown to have high antibacterial activity against eight common human pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that 6-MSITC was extremely effective against methicillin- and vancomycin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and amvr), which are eight times as contagious as general Staphylococcus aureus, and the effects of the compound against VRE and Clostridium difficile, which are significant targets among hospital infections. These results make wasabi a promising natural method to be used in place of our current a.
Anti-Inflammatory Effects
Wasabi can contribute to tissue repair following injury because, following gel deformation and isothiocyanate induction, mitochondrial mass, intracellular ATP, and respiratory capacity are typically renewed. Due to its ability to enhance the transcription of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, maintenance, and repair, the influence of wasabi isothiocyanate has been of particular interest in the obesity, atherosclerosis, insulin resistance, and diabetic retinopathy research fields for a number of years. Mitochondrial functionality and content can be fine-tuned to optimize the outcomes of other therapeutic targets, including the inflammatory and both the intrinsic and extrinsic blood clotting cascades. The isothiocyanates present in wasabi are both water- and lipid-soluble, meaning that they can quickly access every site of potential tissue damage in our body which we, ourselves, or the bacterial, viral, or parasitic flora which live within us, cannot seal off to prevent entry or exit.
Wasabi is known worldwide as both a delectable flavor enhancer in sushi, sashimi, and a range of other Japanese dishes, and as a functional food with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-adipogenic, and anti-cancer properties. However, insights into the intra-oral detection systems and the biochemical responses that follow wasabi exposure in humans have, until recently, largely remained elusive due to the compound’s intrinsic volatility. Thanks to its unique combination of anticancer, anti-adipogenic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and cyto-protective properties, wasabi offers an affordable, readily available, and easily consumable means of assisting in the fight against the obesity epidemic, acute and chronic inflammation, as well as a range of other modern human health issues.
Cancer Prevention Potential
Isothiocyanates have several anti-cancer effects: reducing the activation of pro-cancer genes, participating in Phase I and Phase II detoxification of cancer-causing agents, and initiating apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells. The seeds of the wasabi plant are so strong, they contain a water-soluble protein, which, when absorbed, suppresses the ability of cancer 9R2 genes, which are involved in cell proliferation and the development of cancer, to form tumor colonies.
The potential cancer prevention ability of isothiocyanates has been known for decades. Animal studies from the 1980s have already clearly shown that isothiocyanates can inhibit the formation of cancer caused by chemicals present in the environment. At the same time, these studies showed that wasabi alone and in combination with other plants had inhibitory and preventive effects on the development of cancerous changes in various organs. The contained airy product 6-MITC inhibits the formation of glandular tumors, which gives hope for inhibiting their growth in the body when consumed.
Potential Side Effects and Precautions
Wasabi is also an anticoagulant, which means that its consumption can thin the blood. While this could provide some users with multiple benefits, it can also interfere with the blood-clotting process and potentially become life-threatening if not taken seriously. People who already take heart, stroke, or clot prevention drugs should avoid using wasabi. Lastly, women who are pregnant or nursing should be especially careful with wasabi consumption. The food’s anticoagulant capabilities may cause miscarriages in pregnant women, and for nursing mothers, the effects of the compounds in their milk have not been studied. Overall, engaging in wise, moderate wasabi consumption should keep its challenges at bay. Be sure to take these precautions and side effects into consideration if you want to taste a little of the health benefits that this sharp-smelling plant can offer.
Overall, wasabi is a fairly new, unstudied food in the current scientific literature, and researchers do not yet fully understand its health effects. It may have both beneficial and deleterious effects overall. Other precautions to consider about wasabi involve the nature of the compounds in the plant itself. Allyl hydroxybenzene, the compound that creates wasabi’s strong smell and taste, can be quite irritating to the mouth, nose, and eyes. It is actually quite common for people in the agronomy field who work with wasabi and its cousin horseradish to develop upper respiratory tract issues due to inhaling the vapor from this compound, and using it in a kitchen may also cause adverse reactions. It is thought that the reason both plants contain high levels of this compound has to do with the plants’ lack of insecticides in their native environment. Unlike in the U.S., New Zealand does not require pesticides to be added to wasabi, meaning that the plant has developed a strong, fresh scent and flavor to keep bugs away.
Future Research Directions
In the future, more and more innovative animal models and human clinical trials should be used to investigate the health benefits of wasabi. We wish that studies such as those mentioned in this review will help human beings to obtain the best possible health status. Chemoprotective compounds that block, reverse, or impede carcinogenesis are of prime interest for the pharmacological and food industries. Unlike chemotherapy, chemoprotective compounds protect against carcinogenesis at a variety of target molecules, causing minimal side effects. Plentiful preclinical studies show that isothiocyanates found in wasabi have chemopreventive, chemoprotective, and toxicological effects against many human cancers. However, the molecular targets of wasabi’s protective effect against carcinogenesis have not yet been clarified.
Even though few studies have been carried out to examine its health benefits, wasabi undoubtedly has strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic, hepato-protective, gastro- and oral health, and anti-carcinogenic effects. In addition, considerable clinical studies confirm its anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, cardiovascular protective, and obesity protective activity. In this review, we summarize the health-promoting effects of wasabi and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. The promotion of human awareness and investigation of the underlying molecular mechanisms of wasabi’s properties is an important and necessary task that we wish to undertake following this review. In the future, we hope that more and more researchers will study wasabi to understand its health benefits for the human body. To elucidate the details of the health-promoting effects of wasabi and to establish appropriate clinical dose and use, more interdisciplinary and multi-country research is required.