View source for Biology:Hijiki

{{Short description|Species of seaweed}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Hijiki
| image = Icones of Japanese algae (Pl. CXXVIII) (8006311177).jpg
| genus = Sargassum
| species = fusiforme
| authority = ([[Biography:William Henry Harvey|Harv.]]) Setch., 1931 
}}

{{nihongo|'''Hijiki'''|ヒジキ, 鹿尾菜 or 羊栖菜|hijiki}} (''Sargassum fusiforme'', [[Biology:Synonym (taxonomy)|syn]]. ''Hizikia fusiformis''), sometimes called '''hiziki''', is a brown sea vegetable growing wild on rocky coastlines of East Asia.

Hijiki has been a part of the Japanese culinary sphere and diet for centuries. It is rich in dietary fiber and essential minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium. According to Japanese folklore, hijiki aids health and beauty, and thick, black, lustrous hair is connected to regular consumption of small amounts.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} Hijiki has been sold in {{wipe|United Kingdom}} natural products stores for 30 years and its culinary uses have been adopted in [[Earth:North America|North America]].

Recent studies have shown that hijiki contains potentially [[Biology:Toxin|toxic]] quantities of inorganic [[Chemistry:Arsenic|arsenic]], and the food safety agencies of several countries (excluding Japan), including {{wipe|Canada}}, the {{wipe|United Kingdom}}, and the {{wipe|United States}}, have advised against its consumption.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/nal_web/fsrio/printresults.php?ID=4968|title=Survey of Total and Inorganic Arsenic in Seaweed - Food Safety Research Information Office|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|date=2004|access-date=30 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328011453/http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/nal_web/fsrio/printresults.php?ID=4968|archive-date=28 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/information-for-consumers/fact-sheets/specific-products-and-risks/chemical-hazards/inorganic-arsenic/eng/1332268146718/1332268231124|title=Inorganic Arsenic and Hijiki Seaweed Consumption|publisher=Canadian Food Inspection Agency|date=20 March 2012|access-date=12 March 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/surveillance/fsis2004branch/fsis6104#.UzSI3Vd7Q1I]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719114816/http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/surveillance/fsis2004branch/fsis6104#.UzSI3Vd7Q1I|date=July 19, 2013}}</ref>

==In the West==
In 1867 the word "hijiki" first appeared in an English-language publication: ''A Japanese and English Dictionary'' by James C. Hepburn.

Starting in the 1960s, the word "hijiki" started to be used widely in the United States,{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} and the product (imported in dried form from Japan) became widely available at natural food stores and Asian-American grocery stores, due to the influence of the [[Unsolved:Macrobiotic diet|macrobiotic]] movement, and in the 1970s with the growing number of Japanese restaurants.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

==Appearance and preparation==
{{multiple image
 | total_width = 660
 | image1      = Hijiki,_at_The_Meshiya_(2014-10-18).JPG
 | width1      = 1989
 | height1     = 1270
 | caption1    = Japanese simmered hijiki
 | image2      = Totmuchim (tot with tofu and doenjang).jpg
 | width2      = 3456
 | height2     = 2304
 | caption2    = Korean ''tot-muchim'' (seasoned ''tot'')
 | image3      = Totbap.jpg
 | width3      = 900
 | height3     = 675
 | caption3    = Korean ''totbap'' (''tot'' rice)
}}

Hijiki is green to brown in colour when found in the wild. A fisherman and a professional diver harvest the hijiki with a [[Sickle|sickle]] at low tide of the spring tide of May from March. After collection, the seaweed is boiled and dried to be sold as dried hijiki. Dried processed hijiki turns black. To prepare dried hijiki for cooking, it is first soaked in water then cooked with ingredients like soy sauce and sugar to make a dish.

In {{wipe|Japan}}, hijiki is normally eaten with other foods such as vegetables or fish. It may be added to foods that have been steamed, boiled, marinated in soy sauce or fish sauce, cooked in oil, or added to soup, stir fries or quiches. Hijiki seaweed may be mixed with rice for sushi but is not used as a wrap to prepare sushi.  [[Biology:Konjac|Konjac]] (konnyaku) gel in Japan is typically prepared with hijiki mixed in to give it its characteristic grey color and texture.

In [[Place:Korea|Korea]], the seaweed is called ''tot'' ({{lang|ko|톳}}) and eaten as ''namul'' (seasoned vegetable side dish) or cooked with ''bap'' (rice).

==Nutrition==
Hijiki contains dietary fiber and minerals such as iron, [[Chemistry:Calcium|calcium]], and [[Chemistry:Magnesium|magnesium]]. Dietary fiber is good for the intestine and iron helps to prevent [[Medicine:Anemia|anemia]]. The ratio of calcium to magnesium in hijiki is 2 to 1.

==Arsenic health risk==
Several government food safety agencies advise consumers to avoid consumption of hijiki seaweed. Testing showed that it contains significantly higher concentrations of inorganic [[Chemistry:Arsenic|arsenic]]  than other types of seaweed, and these results have been independently verified.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Martin|last=Rose|year=2007|journal=Food and Chemical Toxicology|volume=45|pages=1263–1267|title=Arsenic in seaweed - Forms, concentration and dietary exposure|doi=10.1016/j.fct.2007.01.007|pmid=17336439|issue=7|display-authors=0}}</ref> Government food safety agencies that advise against consumption include the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA),<ref>[http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/specif/arsenice.shtml Inorganic Arsenic and Hijiki Seaweed Consumption] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107042749/http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/specif/arsenice.shtml |date=2007-01-07 }}, P0157E-01, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2001</ref> the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of the United Kingdom,<ref name="UK">{{cite web|title=Consumers advised not to eat hijiki seaweed|publisher=FSA of the United Kingdom|date=5 August 2010|url=http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2010/aug/hijikiseaweed|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130418141202/http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2010/aug/hijikiseaweed|archive-date=18 April 2013}}</ref> and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/nal_web/fsrio/printresults.php?ID=4968|title=Survey of Total and Inorganic Arsenic in Seaweed - Food Safety Research Information Office|access-date=30 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328011453/http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov/nal_web/fsrio/printresults.php?ID=4968 |archive-date=28 March 2014}}</ref>

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan responded with a report pointing out that while the consumption of more than 4.7 g hijiki seaweed per day could result in an intake of inorganic arsenic that exceeds the tolerable daily intake for this substance, the average daily consumption for Japanese people is estimated at 0.9 g.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/2004/07/tp0730-1.html|title=Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, '''Q&A about the arsenic in hijiki seaweed''', in Japanese|access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> Several of the reports{{which|date=August 2018}} from other food safety agencies acknowledged that occasional hijiki consumption was unlikely to cause significant health risks but advised against all consumption regardless.<ref name="UK" />

Although no known illnesses have been associated with consuming hijiki seaweed to date, inorganic arsenic has been identified as [[Biology:Carcinogen|carcinogen]]ic to humans. Exposure to inorganic arsenic has been linked with gastrointestinal effects, [[Medicine:Anemia|anemia]], and liver damage.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000 |title=Arsenic Compounds |url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/arsenic-compounds.pdf }}</ref> People who follow a [[Unsolved:Macrobiotic diet|macrobiotic diet]] that often includes large amounts of seaweed may be at greater risk.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

==See also==
*[[Medicine:Arsenic poisoning|Arsenic poisoning]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{cite journal|last1=Zou|first1=Hui-xi|last2=Pang|first2=Qiu-Ying|last3=Zhang|first3=Ai-Qin|title=Excess copper induced proteomic changes in the marine brown algae Sargassum fusiforme|journal=Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (2015)|date=January 2015|volume=111|pages=271–280|doi=10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.10.028|pmid=25450944}}<!--|accessdate=10 February 2015-->

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070107042749/http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/specif/arsenice.shtml Canadian Food Inspection Agency] — Factsheet
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060901151207/http://www.fehd.gov.hk/safefood/report/hijiki/ Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of Hong Kong] — Hijiki and Arsenic
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051226143337/http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/faq/hijikiqanda/ Food Standards Agency of the United Kingdom] — Hijiki: your questions answered
*[http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/publications/media-releases/2004-10-21.htm New Zealand Food Safety Authority] — Hijiki media release
*[https://archive.today/20070315071835/http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/006/Y4765E/y4765e0b.htm Seaweeds Used as Human Food]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1204264}}

[[Category:Fucales]]

{{Sourceattribution|Hijiki}}