The team behind the study believe that the stripes disrupt the polarisation of light reflected off human bodies, making them less delicious-looking to horseflies and other bugs. Scientists believe the striped patterns make dark-skinned people less visually attractive to horseflies and other biting insects The results were startling: the dark-skinned mannequin was 10 times more attractive to horseflies than the striped model and twice as attractive than the light-skinned dummy. They then stuck them in the middle of a meadow for eight weeks in summer, and counted the number of horseflies and other biting insects each one attracted. They used three shop mannequins-one with dark skin, one with lighter skin, and a dark-skinned model painted with white stripes-and coated each with a thin layer of adhesive to capture creepy crawlies. It is known that zebras get bitten far less than animals with a single fur colour, so a team of researchers decided to see if the light stripes painted on humans would have a similar deterrent effect. Traditionally mixed from clay, chalk, ash and cattle dung, the white or grey paint is widely thought to help individuals moderate body heat in soaring bush and savanna temperatures.īut scientists now believe that the striking striped patterns also slash the amount of biting insects attracted to the naked flesh of people living in Nature. It also serves as a substitute for saffron, and to treat high cholesterol, thinning hair and hypertension.Īnnatto is one of the many gifts that tribal people have given mankind, and is testament to their encyclopedic knowledge of their ecosystems.Tribes in Africa, Australia and southeast Asia have practiced bodypainting in cultural ceremonies for generations. When the seeds are crushed and soaked in water, they produce an orange-yellow or red paste, which creates the yellow hue of Cheddar and Maroilles, the orange-tint of salad oils and popcorn, and the vibrant flush of red lipsticks. It is only in recent years that annatto has arguably become the world’s most important natural food colourant, next to caramel.
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The curanderos, or herbal healers of the Peruvian Amazon, squeeze the juice from the fresh leaves to cure eye infections.
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South American Indians also apply annatto medicinally: as an aphrodisiac and a digestive, a sunscreen and inspect repellent. Many tribes employ it as a fabric dye and food spice. The Aztecs are thought to have added it to chocolate drunk by their priests today, the Tsáchila of Ecuador use it to dye their hair red and the Zo’é of Brazil to paint their bodies. The rose-coloured seeds of the tree, contained within spiny capsules, produce a pigment commonly known as annatto, for which Indian tribes have long had many uses.
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The name is derived from the Nahuatl word ‘achiotl’ it is also known as ‘aploppas’, or ‘urucu’ in the Tupi language.Īnnatto seeds before preparation. What links them all, however, is a tree with pink flowers and heart-shaped leaves called the ‘achiote’ tree, which is indigenous to South America. The jungle plant that gives many products their red hue is the discovery of Amazonian Indians - another gift from tribal peoples to all humanityĪt first glance, it is not easy to find an obvious connection between uncontacted Indians in the rainforest of north-western Brazil, cheeses such as British Cheddar and French Maroilles, red lipstick and cinema popcorn. Annatto: from Amazonian body paint to popcorn