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Botany
Mais is a very coarse, erect, tall grass, 1.5 to 2 meters high. Stem is solid, with a soft and spongy center. Leaves are numerous and close together,
30 to 100 centimeters long and 2 to 10 centimeters wide, linear lanceolate. Male inflorescence is erect and terminal; the female inflorescence on the axils of the leaves, cylindric and large. The individual
fruit (grain) is is roundish or reniform, compressed, smooth, shining, yellow, white, reddish or even purplish-black.
Distribution
- Extensively cultivated in most parts of the
Philippines. In some islands and provinces, it is a staple article of food.
- Native of America.
- Extensively grown in the tropics and temperate regions of the world.
Constituents
- Analysis showed percentage of carbohydrate is high, with a good content of protein and fat, with a higher percentage of protein and fat than any other cereal.
- Corn lacks gluten.
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Constituents: Flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, saponins, volatile alkaloid,
allantoin, tannins, resin.
- Corn silk yields maizeric acid, 2%; fixed oil; resin; sugar; mucilage
and salts.
Properties
Considered anodyne, antilithic, antiseptic, cholagogue, demulcent, diuretic, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, lithotriptic, tonic, vasodilator.
Parts used
Hairs and cobs.
 Uses
Edibility / Nutritional
• Edible parts: Pollen, seed (raw or cooked), stem.
• Good source of carbohydrates,
B vitamins (riboflavin and thiamine), vitamin A and C, potassium and
zinc; rich in protein.
• Corn syrup is used in the manufacture of jams, jellies and
other sweets.
• Corn syrup is often used in combination with cane sugar and maple syrup.
• Corn starch is well known for its many uses.
• Edible oil is obtained from the seed, used for salads or cooking.
• Roasted seed use as a coffee substitute.
Folkloric
• Diuretic: Take decoction of hairs or cobs as tea.
• Decoction of pith of cob as tea is used for stomach complaints.
• Decoction of roots, leaves, and corn silk used for dysuria, bladder
complaints, and bed-wetting.
• The water in which unhusked corn is boiled is a pleasant tasting remedy
for urinary tract infection. The corn silk decoction is also thought
to be diuretic.
• Good emollient poultice used for ulcers, rheumatic pains and swellings.
• Decoction of parched corn (burned or roasted) taken as tea for nausea
and vomiting.
• Infusion of parched corn allays the nausea and vomiting of many diseases.
• Kidney stones: Infusion of corn hair in hot water, 3x daily.
• Poultice of corn silk for wounds and sores.
• In Europe, corn silk (stigma) used for genitourinary diseases. Also used for similar purposes in French Guinea, India, Spain and Greece.
• In China, corn silk is used for fluid
retention and jaundice.
Others
• The embryo is rich in oil and used widely for cooking, manufacture
of soaps.
• Sticky gum containing dextrin used for sealing envelops and gummed labels.
• Corn syrup is used in the manufacture of jams, jellies and
other sweets.
• Corn starch is well known for its many uses.
• Glue made from the start in the seed.
• Used for making alcohol.
• Cobs used to supply potash and by distillation can yield acetic acid and acetone. By controlled fermentation, may also yielded nitro-cellulose lacquers.
• Starch used in cosmetics.
• Stem fiber used in making paper.
• Corn spathe used for making straw hats and baskets.
Preparation
• Corn silk
infusion, fresh or dried: cystitis, 1 cup 3x daily.
• As tincture: 3 cc (50 drops) 3x daily for cystitis.
Studies
• Diuretic / Histopathological
Studies: Three
indigenous medicinal plants were studied: C citratus, R sativus, and
Zea mays. No morphometrical or histological changes were noted in the
liver and kidney of rats. Study concludes that the common use of these
indigenous diuretic plants is safe.
• Diuretic / anti-lithiasis effect: The influence of Zea mays on urinary risk factors for kidney stones
in rats: The study suggests the possible antilithiatic effect
of ZM infusion is probably through some diuretic activity.
• No Diuretic Effect: In a study of four traditional Vietnamese herbal remedies (Z mays, I cylindrica, Plantago major, O stamineus) claiming to increase diuresis, no diuretic effect was seen in a placebo-controlled double-blind crossover model.
• Anti-Diabetic: The Favorable Effect of Style of Zea mays L. on Streptozotocin
Induced Diabetic Nephropathy: Study indicates the WE of ZM
suppressed the progression of diabetic glomerular sclerosis in ST-induced
diabetic rat.
• Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor: Interfering with leukocyte adhesion is important in the treatment of bacterial sepsis and inflammatory diseases. Study of the crude methanolic extract of Zea mays exhibited significant TNF antagonistic activity and concludes that corn silk has potential for TNF- and LPS-mediated leukocyte adhesion and trafficking.
• Renal Effects: In water-loaded conscious rats (2.5 cc/100 body wt), corn silk aqueous extract was found to be diuretic at 500 mg KBW and kaliuretic at 300 and 500 mg KBW. At 5.0 cc/100 g BW, CSAE is kaliuretic at 500 mg KBW but glomerular filtration and filter load decreased without affecting proximal tubular function, sodium or uric acid excretion.
• Antibacterial Activity: Zea mays alcoholic extract showed activity against Klebsiella pneumonia, E coli, Salmonella paratyphi A, Salmonella typhi and B. subtilis.
• Dissecting Tocopherols Content: Study identified QTLs (quantitative trait loci) with major effects in the natural variation of tocopherols in maize grain. Study provides a guideline for breeders to improve traits that can minimize the risk of malnutrition, especially in developing countries.
• Mays Hair Extracts / Phytochemicals and Phenolic Content: Study screening mays hair extracts for bioactive compounds yielded saponins, flavonoids, tannins, phlobatannins, phenols, alkaloids, and cardiac glycosides in both aqueous and methanolic extracts. Findings suggest potential applications as therapeutic and antioxidative agents in pharmaceuticals, food, and other related industries.
• Nutritional Evaluation of Baby Corn: Study showed baby corn is a good source of various nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, crude and dietary fibers, and is a par or even superior in nutritional qualities to many other commonly used vegetables.
Availability
Commercial cultivation.
Corn silk, tea extracts in the cybermarkets.
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