Chia Power

Sixteen seconds of Chia Phototropism

Someone should make an animated GIF of this. Not sure how many hours this timelapse video covers. But don't let anyone tell you that plants don't move.

 

A Primary Source

Download the original article as a pdf

Bulletin de la Societe Botanique de France, 1882, Book 29. Pg 138-139.
Chia seeds, by M. Hiland Flowers (the American Journal of Pharmacy, May 1882).

(Translated from the French) These are the seeds of Salvia hispanica which, despite the name, is from America, as is common knowledge.  It grows in the northern regions of Mexico.  The oil extracted from this seed is even better than flax oil for certain industrial uses. 
It is also used in preparing a refreshing beverage.  To one glass of cold water, add a spoonful of seeds and a bit of orange blossom water. This beverage is an emollient and a soothing agent in any illness accompanied by fever. The gelatinous substance that the seeds produce is used for the same pharmaceutical purposes for which we use flax seeds.  For the aforementioned reasons, and for that of trying to lower its price (now 60 cents per pound), people are starting to cultivate it in the United States, specifically in Pennsylvania.

Footnote: This sage is probably not the only seed in America whose seeds produce a gelatinous substance and which are used for medicinal or nutritional purposes.  Dr. Edward Palmer, who is responsible for important recent botanical explorations of the northern regions of Mexico and the western states of the American Union, wrote a paper on plants used by the Native Americans.  He established that the chia of Mexico, of New Mexico and of Arizona is produced by  Salvia columbariae Benth.  Mr. A. Gray, in his Botany of California, vol. 1, p 599, holds the same opinion, as does Mr. Rothrock in his Report Upon United States Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian, vol. 6, p 48.   Rothrock’s book explains that prospectors in California made good use of the seeds called chia, which are those of  Salvia columbariae.   Large quantities were found in graves dating from several centuries back (see Bankroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States, vol.2 pp. 232, 280, 347, 360).  It appears that the Aztecs grew chia regularly, much as the Egyptians grew flax, the containers of which are found in their graves.  The Nahuatl name for this plant is actually "chia", or more correctly "chianzotzotl".  Thus was it described under the name of Salvia chian by La Llave. 

In France Guibourt classified the seeds in question under the name of Salvia hispanica L. (see his Natural History of Simple Drugs, 4th ed. 11, p. 432  and his Observations on the Products of Mexico, published in 1866).  He even had the plant cultivated in the gardens at the School of Pharmacy where, unfortunately, it did not take.  The Pharmacopoea Mexicana which appeared in the town of Puebla, Mexico in 1832 also speaks of Salvia hispanica.  Let us add to the information provided in the same issue of the American Journal of Pharmacy by Mr. John M Maisch, that the best proof of chia’s origin is that there are 3 distinct varieties (Fray Bernardino de Sahugun, General History of Things from “New Spain,” p. 537 and 624).  These difficulties present a promising thesis subject for a young pharmacist.

MY COMMENTS: In American schools, students are now being taught to consult primary sources such as scholarly articles, research papers, correspondence, maps, and photographs.  It is no longer sufficient to rely upon the encyclopedia (or Wikipedia).  This historic article, which was published in the Journal of the Botanical Society of France, is an excellent primary source.

So what does this article mean? The main paragraph summarizes some uses of chia that were common in 1882. The footnote, however, is a muddle, at best. It describes the confusion about which species of chia is  used. 

Apparently some "young pharmacist" did come along and sort out "these difficulties" because we now know that Salvia hispanica was used throughout Mexico and that Salvia columbariae was used by native Americans in the United States. (But remember that when this article was written there were only 38 states! )

Anyway, I've been collecting primary sources addressing the uses of chia seeds, and I'll add some of them here from time to time. I hope you find them interesting.

Note: Credit for this translation goes to my very talented friend Caroline in Madison.

I am presently seeking someone who can help me translate papers from the Spanish. Please email me for more info.

Chia seeds on a sponge timelapse!

Botany Day

I just taught a 1.5 hour session on chia botany, for a group of teachers at Stony Brook University's CESAME. I'd like to welcome them to this website!!

 

 

And here are some useful links:

A COPY OF MY POWERPOINT as a pdf file.

My Chia Lab Educational resource site (in progress) www.chialabs.org

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Botanists mentoring students online www.plantingscience.org

http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/starthere.html (Plants in Motion) Great Time-Lapse videos with explanations.

Long Island Botanical Society: www.libotanical.org

NY Flora Association http://nyflora.wordpress.com/

My Botany Website: http://chia.typepad.com/botany/

 

I had a great time today and hope everyone who participated will have a chance to hang out here a little bit and try some chia recipes as well as some science activities.

If you are interested in taking another class with me this summer, check out NYCTD's Green Learning.

My programs will soon be in the BOCES catalog, offering Chia Science for Teachers and Students. Don't hesitate to get in contact if I can help you with any botanical project!!

 

Margaret

Better Than Fish Oil

These yummy gummy fish are made with omega-3 fatty acids extracted from chia seeds!

Scooped by Janice VanCleave

Great chia science project ideas! From one of the best! 

Kids Cook USA

I am reblogging this from the wonderful Kids Cook USA website.

(9 year old twins, Georgia and Michael, have collected and posted 1000 healthy recipes from children around the country. Here's a healthy raw vegan contribution from the Roll Kids.)

CHIA SEED PUDDING

by The Roll Kids

(Tyler,14 Trapper,13 Mathis, 6 and Jaya, 2)

What's Chia Seed Anyway?

Chia seeds are known to be the "runner" food of the Aztecs. They are packed with protein. This recipe features chia seeds and is a raw vegan pudding that is great brain food. We often make it the night before a school exam. We eat it chilled in the morning for breakfast.

Ingredients

2 tbsp raw cacoa powder

4 tbsp raw honey

8 tbsp chia seeds (black)

1 medium-sized avocado

2 tbsp organic coconut oil

2 cups filtered water

Directions

Put chia seeds in a small bowl with filtered water stir for three to five minutes until they become gelatinous (like Jello). In a food processor, add chia seed and water mixture, honey, avocado, cacoa powder, and coconut oil. Process for 3 minutes, stoping to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Adjust honey and cacoa powder to taste. Pour into individual serving bowls and chill (not you, the pudding). Serve cold and enjoy!

Adding Nutrients to a Chia Pet???

A question posted on the Twiggers website.

Question:

if you added nutrients to a chia pet would it live longer?

Wrong Answer: Technically, yes – a little longer. It wouldn’t radically change the time it lives – simply because they are very short lived plants in the first. place.

My Answer:

No,no,no! Chia is not normally short lived. These plants can grow to be huge! Over 15 feet tall. But that's if they're growing in soil and aren't crowded together.

But on the chia pet, the seeds are crowded, and no amount of added nutrients will extend their lives beyond about 3 weeks.

The only exception is if you refrigerate them. You can add weeks to their lives if you leave them in the cold and dark.

Good luck!!

Miniature Fairy Garden

I ran across this perfect chia project for children. Read instructions here.

 

 

This is how it looked 5 days after planting!!!

Welcome Teachers!

We recently presented our "Salba Seed Science" curriculum to the New York State Science Teachers conference in Rochester, NY.

In order to conserve paper, we didn't provide handouts, but rather directed teachers to visit this website.

Here's the link you'll need to access our Chia Labs site where you will find resources for students and teachers. Please bookmark it and plan to visit often, because we will be updating frequently.

You might also like to check out this blog's entries that are tagged, "Education."

And if you have any questions or are interested in being involved in using chia in your classroom, please contact me by email. 

To obtain chia seed, visit your local health food store or buy it online through our Amazon store. Expect to pay $7 to $20 per pound. You probably need no more than one ounce per classroom.

Some ideas for future experiments with chia seeds.

How does the type of soil influence germination and growth? compare sand and potting soil with filter paper.

What is the greatest concentration of salt that seeds will tolerate? What about pH? Fertilizer? (Please don't even think about testing the effect of Red Bull and Rock Music. These are not serious.)
 
What about freezing seeds before germinating? Soaking overnight and THEN freezing?
 
Most surveyed students stated that oxygen, water, sunlight and soil are necessary for seed germination. Is this true??
 
What is the effect of toasting in a 150degree oven for 3 hours? (Couldn't this happen to seeds in the desert?)
 
Can chia seed grow on a brick (check my website for a photo.)
 
Does crowding effect germination and growth?
 
Effect of Light intensity (can be varied by placing seeds nearer or further from the light bulb.)
 
How long can you leave the gel at room temperature before the viability of the seeds is reduced?
Does refrigerating the gel protect seed viability?
 
Are there sponges or paper towels which seem to inhibit seedling germination and growth (perhaps because of an antimicrobial chemical)

Chia Seed Science - A sprouting experiment-

This last Friday, my colleague Rachel and I presented a Chia Seed Science experience for thirty-two 7th grade students at Thomas Giordano Middle School in the Bronx. This was the outline for the day:

1.      World hunger. Can we help solve it?

2.    A new seed crop has been discovered.

3.    What do we know about this crop?

4.   What can we learn about it, by doing controlled experiments?

Each group of students then set up an experiment to test the effect of salt on the germination of seeds. When this experiment is finished, in about a week, they will be able to conduct their own experiments.

Some Useful Articles About Chia Seeds

I have been collecting chia articles from a number of websites and have posted links to them here. I hope I am not infringing copyright. In each case, the author and publisher are credited.

In this 2005 article in the Saturday Evening Post, author Ted Kreiter provides a good introduction to chia seed, and to the medical findings of Dr. Vladimir Vuksan, who  studied the effects of Salba on human health at the University of Toronto.

Native Seeds/SEARCH is an amazing not-for-profit that has done much to preserve the biodiversity of native American crops. They published this article.pdf in a recent newsletter.

Our friends at Good Cause Wellness have published this 16 page nutritional profile of chia seed, including pages of great recipes.

Salvia columbariae is another species of chia, native to the American Southwest. It was an important part of the diet of virtually all native American tribes in California.  Here is a descriptive datasheet from the USDA.

Finally, last December Bottom Line Health Secrets published this short article which acknowledges my expert assistance. The day it appeared, my web traffic tripled!!

David Hershey Fan Club

David Hershey is a botanist living in Maryland who specialized in botany education.

Don't Just Pet Your Chia is the title of an article he published in 1995 (Science Activities 32(2):8-12). The article includes lots of great information about the history of chia seeds  and several classroom activities including experiments testing tolerance to salinity and something called a "sponge pyramid."

Under the Fair Use Provision of Copyright Law, and with permission of the author, this article can be downloaded here.

A.D.H.D., Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the New York Times

Back on April 16, 2006, an article appeared in the Sunday Magazine of the New York Times entitled, Does Eating Salmon Lower the Murder Rate? The author cites several studies which link violent and antisocial behavior to a dietary deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids.

Although this was several months before I first heard about the omega-3 fatty acid content of chia seeds,  I was already interested in this aspect of nutrition.

I wrote this letter to the editor

In response to the article on omega-3 fatty acids, I have one observation: Children in schools across America are suffering from inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. This epidemic of A.D.H.D. arguably began soon after American parents discontinued the practice of administering the dreaded daily spoonful of cod-liver oil!

Margaret Conover
Stony Brook, N.Y.

My letter was published on April 31! I was so proud of myself!

I had discovered that internet is full of anecdotal reports of the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on A.D.H.D. In this article, the author suggests that some children have a decreased ability to use plant-based omega-3 fatty acids, which predisposes them to A.D.H.D. If this is true, chia seed (and flax seed) supplements would be ineffective for these children. Clearly much research remains to be done.