Eruca
Sativa is an annual or over wintering herb with a
stale and unpleasant odor. It has a slender
tap root and an erect usually stiff, little branched
hairy stem, 10 – 60 cm in height. Lower leaves are
stalked, upper leaves are more or less sessile and
all are pinnatisect or rarely pinnate, with a long
oblong or obovate terminal lobe which is coarsely
toothed or lobed, rarely entire. Leaves appear very
similar in appearance to dandelion. Flowers are
relatively large, few and in small terminal racemes.
Petals are 12 – 20mm, pale yellow or whitish with
deep violet veins, twice as long as the sepals.
Fruits are a cylindrical siliqua about 3 times as
broad as long (12 –25 x 3 – 5 mm)
erect
and more or less parallel to the stem on short erect
stalks and with a flattened beak. Seeds are 1.5 –
2mm, yellow-brown or reddish, spherical or ovoid in
2 rows in each cell.
Eruca
is a native of southern Europe and Central Asia
where it has been cultivated since classical times.
It is not a commercial crop in the UK or northern
Europe but is widely grown in kitchen and market
gardens in southern France, Italy, Greece and the
near East (Egypt) where it is used for flavoring
salads and sexual enhancement. The plants are
naturalized in waste places, road shoulders and
fallow fields in northern and western Europe, well
beyond its original range. Eruca is also sometimes
referred to as Rocket, True Rocket, Rocket Salad,
Arugula, Roquette or White Pepper.
What
it does
Top
·
It
improves liver functions.
·
It
has great antioxidant effect in order to bring
virility and vitality of the cells and sperms.
·
It
awakens and activates all the hormonal cells
responsible for the testosterones, progesterones,
estrogens and sexual glands.
·
It
has a great antidiabetic effect, therefore it is
excellent for patients suffering with diabetes.
·
It
regulates hormonal effects.
For
this oil is not one spot as Viagra which has side
effect. It should be taken for long time to have
touched improve in general health and sexual
activity. It will positively affect many organs in
the human body before giving the best results. It
also contains great antibacterial action but not as
strong as the Black seed Oil.
Dose
for sexual enhancement should be 4-8 capsules only
to be taken during the day of sexual activity.
Biological
Components
Top
Details of Quality Characteristics
As
the generic name implies, rocket is high in erucic
acid, C22:1 (cis-13-docosenoic acid). Other crops
high in erucic acid are oilseed rape and Crambe.
Table
1. Fatty acid composition in seed oil of Eruca
sative from Germany.
Total
Oil (%)
29.1
Fatty
acids
% of the total content
(average of 4 replicates)
Palmitic
C16:0
5.1
Stearic
C18:0
3.1
Oleic
C18:1
15.1
Linoleic
C18:2
8.3
Linolenic
C18:3
14.7
Eicosenoic
C20:1
7.4
Erucic
C22:1
44.7
Source: Rocket: A Mediterranean crop for the world
(1996)
Essential
oil from the leaves of Eruca sativa contains 67
volatile components, representing 96.52% of the oil.
The oil is characterized by a high content of
sulphur and nitrogen containing compounds (Miyazawa
et al, 2002).
Current
Production and Yields
Rocket
is grown on a commercial scale in Portugal for
export to the UK and other northern European
countries as a 4th generation salad
product i.e prepared and sold in sealed bags after
having been cleaned and mixed with other leafy
vegetables (Joao C. Silva Dias 1996). High levels of
nitrogen applied increase fresh yield by up to 50%
(Ahmed et al, 2002). In trials oilseed yields of
180-350kg/ha have been achieved, commercial yields
are currently unknown although they are predicted to
be similar.
Constraints
upon Production
Unlikely
to be suited for production in cooler nothern
European climates. E. Sativa is well known for its
outstanding drought tolerance, as a result it plays
an important role in oilseed production in arid and
semi-arid regions around the world.
Other
Information
Eruca
matures from seed in 2-3 months, periods of very
warm temperatures cause it to bolt rather quickly.
It appreciates full sun although shade should be
provided from midday sin in summer.
The
crop also appreciates full sun although shade should
be provided from midday sun in summer. The crop also
appreciates regular watering or adequate
rainfall. It can tolerate temperatures down to
-4
degrees C.
There
are only a small number of regulated herbicides
available for eruca and these do not provide a wide
range of action and a good degree of selectivity.
Weed control must therefore be carried out by
alternative physical or agronomic means. However
Eruca sativa covers the soil very quickly and often
weeds are unable to grow after a short while.
Fungal
attacks to the young seedling can be common i.e:
Fusarium spp, Sclerotina spp and Phoma spp. Few
pests are likely to bother the crop, probably due to
its pungency. Flea beetle is the greatest potential
problem and can be particularly damaging, feeding on
the plants throughout the season and leaving them
unmarketable. Control of the flea beetle is
difficult, although there are chemicals available
environmental problems arise from their use. These
chemicals are not selective and their persistence
makes them unsuitable for use in such a shortcycle
crop. The only viable controls are natural
pyreturins. (Ciampolini et al, 2001)
Research
Research
is currently underway to use Eruca genes to improve
Brassica crops such as oilseed rape (brassica napus).
Some accessions of Eruca Sative have been shown to
possess resistance to stem canker pathogen (
Leptosphaeria maculans) which is an important
pathogen of oilseed rape.
Methylsulphinybutyl
isothiocyanate induces enzymes which have
anti-cancer activity and is found in Eruca but
not in oilseed rape. This glucosinolate has much
greater potency than those isothiocyanates which do
occur in oilseed rape. It may therefore be possible
to alter the flavour composition and the nutritional
value of oilseed rape through the intergression of
Eruca genes. (Magrath and Mithen 1996)
Useful
Websites
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/nexus/Eruca_sativa_nex.html
–Several links to useful sites providing
information on Rocket.
http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pdf/234.pdf
– Rocket: A Mediterranean crop for the world
References
Ahmed,
A.H.H., Khalil, M.K and Farrag, A.M., Nitrate
accumulation, growth, yield and chemical composition
of rocket (Eruca Sativa) plant as affected by NPK
fertilisation, kinetin and salicylic acid. Annals of
Agricultural science (Cairo) 47 (1), 1-26
Campolini,
M., Regalin, R., Guarnone, A. and Farnesi, I.,
(2001) Widespread and severe attacks by flea beetles
( Phyllotreta spp.) on Eruca sativa. L’Informatore
Agrario. 57 (48), 87-91
Clapham,
A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. (1962) Flora of
the British Isles. Cambridge University Press.
Bhandari,
D.C and Chandel, K.P.S. (1996) ‘Status of rocket
germplasm in India : research accomplishments and
priorities. In: Rocket: A Mediterranean crop for the
world. 13-14 Dec 1996. pp.67
De
Rougement, G.M.(1989) Crops of Britain and Europe.
Collins
Joao
C. Silva Dias. (1996) ‘Rocket in Portugal: botany,
cultivation, uses and potential’.
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