Talk:Aristotelia chilensis

New version
I want to inform, that I would like to improve the wikipedia entry of Aristotelia chilensis. As information source I will mainly take scientific research papers. But there will also be a few other sources. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gujant (talk • contribs) 17:10, 1 November 2012 (UTC)


 * You can see the improved wikipedia entry below. Could you give my any suggestions for further improving? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gujant (talk • contribs) 5 December 2012‎

Aristotelia chilensis (Maqui or Chilean Wineberry) is a species of the Elaeocarpaceae family native to the Valdivian temperate rainforests of Chile and adjacent regions of southern Argentina. Maqui is sparly cultivated.

Tree
Maqui is a small dioecious tree reaching 4-5 m in height and is evergreen. Its divided trunk has a smooth bark. The branches are abundant, thin and flexible. The leaves are simple, opposite, hanging, oval-lanceolate, with serrated edges, naked and coriaceous. The leaf venation is well visible and the leaf stalk is strong red. In the beginning of spring the tree sheds the old cohort. The old cohort is used as a carbonhydrate source to form the new leaves and flowers.

Flowers and berries
Maqui flowers at the end of spring. The white flowers are unisexual and small. They yield a small edible fruit (Maqui berry). A tree at the age of seven years produces up to 10 kg berries per year. The small, purple-black berries are approximately 4-6 mm in diameter and contain 4-8 angled seeds. They taste reminding of blackberries, watermelon, and acai berries. The Maqui berry is also known as the Chilean wineberry, and locally in Spanish as Maqui or Maque.

Wild Maqui
The main area of wild Maqui can be found in the Chilean forests. It includes the Comquinmbo and Aysen Region and is 170’000 hectares. The average area yield is about 220 kg per hectare in one year. On this results a potential production of 37'400 tons of fresh berries per year. The real estimated production is about 90 tons per year because most of the Maqui area is very difficult to access.

Harvesting
The berries are collected in the time from December to March each year. The collecting time depends on the geographical position. Each season 2000 families, mainly Mapuche families, work in the process of collecting the berries. This work is financially important for the Mapuche families. The workers move to the collection area with high presence of Maqui near the Andes Mountains by their own.

The first harvest process is to collect the side branches of the trees and take them to one spot. In a next step they bang the branches to separate the berries and the leaf blades from the branches. The branches are taken again under the trees for decomposition. Then a mechanic process separates the berries from leaf blades. The stored fruits are finally sold. The supply for Maqui berries is very low at the local market. The price ranges from 0.65 US$ to 1.5 US$ per 100 gram.

Seed distribution
The Maqui berries are a favored food for birds at the end of summer. The seed distribution by birds is important for genetic diversity. The deforestation of the Valdivian temperate rainforests of Chile prohibit the seed dispersal by birds and leads to an inbreeding depression.

Cultivated Maqui
Maqui is planted in home gardens and is not grown on orchard scale. Most of the the fruits on the market come from the wild.

Agronomy
Maqui is frost sensitive and fairly tolerant of maritime exposure. It prefers a well-drained soil in full sun with a protection against cold drying winds. The soil should be slightly acid and moderate fertile. Maqui can be planted in USDA- zone 8 to 12. It is known that it is cultivated in Spain and in the milder and moister areas of Britain. Even in this area in Britain the plants are cut back by winter frosts. The plants react to the thinning by frost with a production of more shoots in spring.

Propagation
The seeds germinate without cold stratification. In zones with the possible appearance of frost it is recommended to sow in spring in a greenhouse. The plants are planted in autumn into individual pots if they are grown enough. The pots are still in the greenhouse for the first winter. After the last expected frost in spring the plants can be planted out into their finally positions. In their first winter outdoors a frost protection is required. For further propagation a vegetal reproduction is possible: Cuttings of wood with a length of 15 to 30 cm can be planted into pots. These cuttings normally root and can be planted out in the following spring.

Uses
Maqui berries are used for food and pharmaceutic mainly because of its interesting content of anthocyanin. The berries are raw, dried or processed into jam, juice, an astringent or as an ingredient in processed foods or beverages. In the traditional Chilean medicine the extract of Aristotelia chilensis has been used to trait diarrhea, inflammation and fever.

Anthocyanin
Several studies identified the anthocyanin composition of the Maqui berries and named eight different glucoside pigments of delphinidin and cyanidin. The principal anthocyanin is delphinidin 3-sambubioside-5-glucoside with a content of 34% of total anthocyanins. The total anthocyanin content of Maqui berries is relative high with an average of 137.6 mg per 100 gram of fresh fruit and 211.9 mg per 100 gram of dry fruit. (see Anthocyanins for tabulated content data) One study found out, that anthocyanins are also present in maqui leaves.

Anthocyanins are naturally produced by plants for self-protection against sun, irradiation, diseases and biological enemies. This self-protection is beneficial for Maqui to survive in the rough climate of central and southern Chile.

Benefits
The anthocyanin rich extract of Maqui berries has health-promoting properties which are researched by several studies. In a research with mice the extract had a protective effect against ischaemia by reperfusion heart damage. In vitro studies propose the inhibition of adipogenese and inflammation and the avoiding of LDL oxidation. The antioxidant activity of anthocyanin can maybe prohibit the oxidative damage of cells such as skin cells. Other studies evidence an anti-diabetic effect.

History
According to myths, the edible fruit was eaten by the Mapuche Indians. Claude Gay documented in 1844 in his "Physical Atlas of History and Politics of Chile" that natives used maqui to prepare chicha. The chicha may have contributed to an extraordinary strength and stamina for the warriors. The Mapuche Indians have used berry leaves, stems, fruit and wine medicinally for thousand of years.

"native to the Valdivian temperate rainforests of Chile and adjacent regions of southern Argentina" Implies it is mainly a Chilean fruit. Bias.
This sentence boils down to: native to Chile, and "adjacent" regions of Argentina. Why not: native to Argentina, and "adjacent" regions of Chile?

This implies a subtle bias: that the fruit is endogenous mainly to Chile. Why? Is it more abundant in Chile? Cite please. The fact that it's named "Aristotelia chilensis" does not mean it is a Chilean fruit. This could have marketing implications that could affect negatively one of the two countries involved.

I propose that the sentence be edited to "native to the Valdivian temperate rainforests of Chile and to the South-West Andes region of Argentina" OR "native to the South-West Andes region of Argentina and to the Valdivian temperate rainforests of Chile".

Which of the two should be decided upon the relative abundance of Maqui fruit in those two regions. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SunAbraxas (talk • contribs) 15:45, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

A programme on Channel Four claimed it only grows in Chile. This would contradict what this article says, but I do know that one cannot always rely upon what is said on television. Vorbee (talk) 19:46, 18 September 2017 (UTC)
 * It's unlikely that the plant is native to only one country, but rather is probably "regional" in origin to southwestern South America. Our problem is to provide a reliable secondary source for its origin; WP:SECONDARY. Other than this used in the article, I've looked but am unable to find a more specific, trustworthy source for the geographic origin. --Zefr (talk) 21:57, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Very Preliminary Human Study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25208615

60mg of this particular extract may be better than 30mg for increasing tear production.

I would like to know: does one get same benefits by eating other berries (or berry extracts)?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphinidin

ee1518 (talk) 12:45, 18 April 2016 (UTC)


 * That's such a weak study (7 and 6 subjects in 2 groups with dubious measures) in a minor journal (with a low impact factor) by industrial scientists who may be involved in manufacturing the product. Ignore this noise. There is also no confirmed evidence that delphinidin or any plant-derived extract has a human health benefit; see WP:MEDRS for guidance on required sourcing of supposed health claims. --Zefr (talk) 13:37, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Requested move 20 June 2018

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: consensus not to move the page to the proposed title at this time, per the discussion below. Dekimasu よ! 06:58, 27 June 2018 (UTC)

Aristotelia chilensis → Maqui – Common name and used for fruit. Used throughout article. Similar to acai palm. Bod (talk) 18:57, 20 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Oppose per Naming conventions (flora). &mdash;Xezbeth (talk) 12:11, 21 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose "Common name" does not mean "vernacular name" in Wikipedia. One problem is the variability of spelling; although "maqui" seems the most frequent, "macqui" and "maquei" get substantial numbers of hits in Google. The English name appears to be "Chilean wineberry", although this is less frequent than the other vernacular names. The large number of Google hits at present seems to reflect a current fad for the berries as a so-called 'superfood'. Who knows how long this will last? The scientific name is clear, precise and unambiguous. Peter coxhead (talk) 12:25, 21 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Maqui may be the local common name in Chile, and marketed that way in the fad-prone American superfood industry, but it is just a moniker for hype inducing sales to gullible people. We should stay with the scientific name. --Zefr (talk) 14:20, 21 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose. For the same reasons as stated above. Rhode Island Red (talk) 15:36, 21 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose, per Peter coxhead. Also note that maqui is a disambiguation page, and no case is being presented that this is the primary topic of "maqui". Plantdrew (talk) 01:47, 26 June 2018 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

New Article Name?
Per "Scientific names are to be used as article titles in all cases except when a plant has an agricultural, horticultural, economic or cultural use that makes it more prominent in some other field than in botany; e.g. rose, apple, watermelon. These exceptions are determined on a case-by-case basis through discussion towards consensus." Naming_conventions_(flora)

Can we come up with a common name article title for this page? How about "Maqui berry" or "Maqui tree" along the lines of Açaí palm? I'm not familiar with the scientific name of this plant and many others probably aren't either. Bod (talk) 00:14, 13 August 2018 (UTC)
 * No. There's no notable common name because there has been no significant market growth for maqui berries. --Zefr (talk) 00:34, 13 August 2018 (UTC)
 * This article here (http://www.medicinehunter.com/maqui) says it is the newest superfruit. And it links to a Fox News segment about this superfruit. It does mention the "botanical name". But its not really fair to give Acai a real name, but let Maqui have to wait until it gets its fad. Bod (talk) 00:49, 13 August 2018 (UTC)
 * I've never understood why the article title seems to matter so much to some people. So long as there are redirects and widely used vernacular names are in the text, no-one will have any problem in finding the article. The issue is WP:PRECISION. The scientific name has a precise application; vernacular names frequently don't, differing from country to country, and from region to region within countries. Peter coxhead (talk) 08:39, 13 August 2018 (UTC)