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. But I really do not know how to cook them. Help is welcome 
05-01-2009, 09:16 AM
| #9 (permalink) |
| Moderate Moderator   |  Asparagus and urine Following the consumption of asparagus, the urine of some people contains various sulfur-containing compounds, which produce a smell identified by some people. The prevalence of smell production and detection is debated. This phenomenon has been observed since the 18th century, and is caused by (the metabolism of) asparagusic acid and its derivatives, which are present in asparagus but not other vegetables. History The effect of eating asparagus on the eater's urine has long been observed: "asparagus... affects the urine with a foetid smell (especially if cut when they are white) and therefore have been suspected by some physicians as not friendly to the kidneys; when they are older, and begin to ramify, they lose this quality; but then they are not so agreeable" Marcel Proust claimed that asparagus "...transforms my chamber-pot into a flask of perfume." Chemical cause Certain compounds in asparagus are metabolized giving urine a distinctive smell due to various sulfur-containing degradation products, including various thiols, thioesters, and ammonia. The volatile organic compounds responsible for the smell are identified as:
This was first investigated in 1891 by Marceli Nencki, who attributed the smell to methanethiol. These compounds originate in the asparagus as asparagusic acid and its derivatives, as these are the only sulfur-containing compounds unique to asparagus. As these are more present in young asparagus, this accords with the observation that the smell is more pronounced after eating young asparagus. Metabolism The biological mechanism for the production of these compounds is less clear. The speed of onset of urine smell has been estimated to occur within 15-30 minutes of ingestion. Research completed and verified by Dr. R. McLellan from the University of Waterloo. Prevalence of production and identification Observational evidence from the 1950s showed that many people did not know about the phenomenon of asparagus urine. There is debate about whether all (or only some) people produce the smell, and whether all (or only some) people identify the smell. It was originally thought this was because some of the population digested asparagus differently than others, so that some people excreted odorous urine after eating asparagus, and others did not. However, in the 1980s three studies from France, China and Israel published results showing that producing odorous urine from asparagus was a universal human characteristic. The Israeli study found that from their 307 subjects all of those who could smell 'asparagus urine' could detect it in the urine of anyone who had eaten asparagus, even if the person who produced it could not detect it himself. Thus, it is now believed that most people produce the odorous compounds after eating asparagus, but only about 22% of the population have the autosomal genes required to smell them. Reference: Wikipedia |
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