Knowing more about Vanilla The genus Vanilla belongs to the Orchid family (Orchidaceae).

In 1693, Charles Plumier described three Vanilla types he had observed in the Antilles in his Plantarum americanarum. Linnaeus named one of the species as Epidendrum vanilla L. (now Vanilla mexicana Mill.) in 1753. Because Plumiers description antedated the establishment of the binomial system of Linnaeus in 1735, Plumiers generic concept had to be shared with Philip Miller in 1754, who was the first to describe the genus using the Linnean system. The generic epithet was derived from the Spanish word vainilla meaning little pod which is equivalent to the Latin word vagina meaning sheath which refers to the slender seed capsules. There are 103 accepted valid species in the genus and they are found throughout the tropical climates of the world. The Philippines has four species in which Vl. calopogon Rchb. f. and Vl. ovalis Blanco are both endemic, while Vl. aphylla Blume and Vl. platyphylla Schltr are indigenous. The names of vanilla are practically almost identical in all languages worldwide, with some orthographic variations such as bainila (Basque); wanilia (Polish); vanilka (Czech); vanilje (Danish); vanille (Dutch); vania (Latvian); al-fanilya (Arabic); vanil (Farsi); vanikkodi (Tamil); or panilli (Indonesian). On the other hand, the plant is called differently in Chinese: wahn nei la, heung gaahp laahn, heung lan, heung ji lan (Cantonese); or fan ni lan, xiang jia lan, and xiang cao (Mandarin). In the Philippines, the plant ( Vl. ovalis, in particular) is locally known as banilya (Tagalog); amlung or fanlumaum (Batangan); lansiwan (Hanunuo); and pilako (Bisaya Samar Leyte). Vanilla is a monopodial orchid that initially grows as a terrestrial plant, then climbs like a vine (hemiepiphyte) and later assumes an epiphytic characteristic. The plant has green photosynthetic stems in addition to the leaves, but some leafless species, or those with just rudimentary scales benefit from it. The leaves when present, is either fleshy or leathery. Inflorescences are usually axillary, sometimes branched, with one to several flowers opening in succession. The large, showy flowers usually last only for a day. The flowers can be white, yellow or greenish with the lip (labellum) sometimes marked with purple or orange. The lip is joined to the column at base and can be simple, trilobed, flat or funnel-shaped and sometimes has wavy (undulate) margins. Propagation can be through stem cuttings, tissue culture or embryo culture (seeds). Vanilla orchid is known for its popular flavouring substance called vanillin, which is usually added to various foods and beverages, like ice cream and chocolate drinks. Vanillin is the second most expensive spice in the world market, next to saffron because of the curing process that takes between 6-9 months, and involves several laborintensive heating and drying procedures. Besides vanillin (85% of total volatiles), other important aroma components are p-hydroxy benzaldehyde (up to 9%), p-hydroxybenzyl methyl ether (1%) and about 130 trace compounds (phenoles, phenol ether, alcohols, carbonyl compounds, acids, ester, lactones, aliphatic and aromatic carbohydrates and heterocyclic compounds) that significantly contribute to the unique aroma and flavor of vanilla. Meanwhile, vanillin is also used in the fragrance industry and to mask unpleasant odors or tastes in medicines. Vanillin was first isolated from vanilla capsules by Nicolas-Theodore Gobley in 1858. In 1874, it had been synthesized from glycosides of pine tree sap, and then in 1891 from a different compound extracted from cloves. Another substitute for natural vanillin was made from the cheaper waste sulphate liquor from paper mills, or coal tar extracts, or coumarin found in tonka beans. These discoveries caused competitions in the natural vanilla industry. Coumarins was banned by United States Food and Drugs Administration due to its carcinogenic properties which triggers regulating synthetic and artificial vanilla products and categorized food products (e.g., ice cream) as (a.) vanilla (two-fold natural extract); (b.) vanilla flavoured (combination, but natural vanilla predominates); and (c.) artificially flavoured (combination but synthetic/artificial predominates). Nutritional analysis reveals that a 100 g edible portion of vanilla fruit (capsule) contains: 9.0 mg of Sodium (Na +) and 148.0 mg of Potassium (K+) as electrolytes; 288 kcal of energy, 12.65 g of carbohydrates, 0.06 g protein, 0.06 g total fat, 0.425 mg Niacin, 0.035 mg Pantothenic acid, 0.026 mg Pyridoxine, 0.095 mg Riboflavin, 11 mg Calcium (Ca), 0.072 mg Copper (Cu), 0.12 mg Iron (Fe), 12.0 mg Magnesium (Mg), 0.230 mg Manganese (Mn), 6 mg Phosphorus (P), and 0.11 mg Zinc (Zn). In traditional medicine, vanilla extract is used to treat fevers, lack of appetite, stomachache, toothache, menstrual disorders, insomnia, cramps, lack of tone in the gastro-intestinal system, as a tonic and nerve stimulant, and as an aphrodisiac. Researchers also believed that the vanilla aroma has a marked influence on brain chemistry increasing the amount of serotonin, the chemical used to treat depression. A study also shows that vanilla leaf and stem extracts have potential anti-bacterial component against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the very resistant bacteria to synthetic drugs. Production of vanilla products highly depends on the availability of the capsule for processing. Initially, it was only in Mexico, the hometown of Vl. planifolia where high numbers of vanilla fruits were available due to the presence

of its natural pollinator, a black stingless bee ( Melipona beechii) and a certain hummingbird (Cynniris sp). Interestingly in 1841, a 12-year old French slave named Edmond Albius of the Bourbon Island (now Reunion) successfully developed a hand pollination technique using a thin stick or blade of grass and a simple thumb

gesture. After Albius discovery, Runion became for a time the world's largest supplier of vanilla. French colonists used Albius' technique in Madagascar to cultivate vanilla, and Madagascar remains one of the world's chief vanilla producers. While Albius' discovery remained credited to his name, he never benefited financially from his contribution to the island's economy; and in 1880, he died in poverty. Jorge R. Sahagun

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