花蓮地區阿美族的 kenaw：藥食兩用的小根蒜（Allium macrostemon Bunge）

Kenaw (in Amis language) is an aboriginal edible wild plant in Hualien and an appetite enjoyed by the indigenous Pangcah (Amis). Kenaw has a leek-like and garlic-like smell, and its bulb has a pungent flavor. Kenaw is rare on the market; therefore it is not well known among the Taiwanese. In this study, kenaw plants were collected from Yuemei, Shoufeng Township, Hualien County, Taiwan, and then examined their morphology and DNA sequences. Our results demonstrated that the kenaw is the bulb of Allium Mocrostemon Bunge. The volatile components of fresh kenaw was determined by GC/MS. Thirty compounds were identified, with dipropyl disulfide, methyl propyl disulfide, and dipropyl trisulfide being present in the highest proportions. These organic sulfides possibly play a critical role in determining the characteristic smell and taste of kenaw. The carbohydrate, protein, and fat content of fresh kenaw bulbs were respectively 19.88, 3.57 and 0.13 g/100 g of raw and fresh sample. The fresh kenaw bulbs were extracted with 100% ethanol (E), 50% ethanol (WE), or water (W) by the ultrasonic microwave-assisted extraction method. Among them, E extract showed that the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and also exhibited the highest total antioxidant capacities using DPPH and ABTS assays. In addition, co-cultivation experiments between human natural killer (NK)-92 cells and human lymphoblastoid K562 cells revealed that cytotoxic activity of NK-92 cells against K562 cells was increased in the presence of kenaw extracts, especially W. However, further work is still needed to evaluate the bioactive components and physiological effects of Allium Mocrostemon.