Laka Glossary

Laka: In Hawaiian mythology, Laka refers to the goddess of hula. She is energized by dance, movement, and medicine. Underneath the Lehua trees, individuals can come to Laka for healing.

L-Theanine: Theanine /ˈθiːəniːn/, also known as L-γ-glutamylethylamide and N⁵-ethyl-L-glutamine, is an amino acid analogue of the proteinogenic amino acids L-glutamate and L-glutamine and is found primarily in particular plant and fungal species. It was discovered as a constituent of green tea in 1949; in 1950, it was isolated from gyokuro leaves.

EGCG: Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, is the ester of epigallocatechin and gallic acid, and is a type of catechin. EGCG – the most abundant catechin in tea – is a polyphenol under basic research for its potential to affect human health and disease.

Chlorophyll: Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in the mesosomes of cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants.[2] Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρός, khloros ("pale green") and φύλλον, phyllon ("leaf").[3] Chlorophyll allow plants to absorb energy from light.

Polysaccharide: Polysaccharides (/ˌpɒliˈsækəraɪd/), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages.

Monosaccharide: Monosaccharides (from Greek monos: single, sacchar: sugar), also called simple sugars, are the simplest forms of sugar and the most basic units (monomers) from which all carbohydrates are built.[1][2]

Beta Glucan: Beta-glucans, β-glucans comprise a group of β-D-glucose polysaccharides (glucans) naturally occurring in the cell walls of cereals, bacteria, and fungi, with significantly differing physicochemical properties dependent on source. Typically, β-glucans form a linear backbone with 1–3 β-glycosidic bonds but vary with respect to molecular mass, solubility, viscosity, branching structure, and gelation properties, causing diverse physiological effects in animals.

Alpha Glucan: α-Glucans (alpha-glucans) are polysaccharides of D-glucose monomers linked with glycosidic bonds of the alpha form. Alpha-glucan is also commonly found in bacteria, yeasts, plants, and insects.

Ceremonial-grade: Ceremonial grade supposedly designates tea of a quality sufficient for its use in tea ceremonies and Buddhist temples. Almost always ground into a powder by granite stone mills, it is expensive. The unschooled drinker is unlikely to notice a large difference between ceremonial and premium grades.

Nootropic: are drugs, supplements, and other substances that are claimed to improve cognitive function, particularly executive functions, attention, memory, creativity, or motivation, in healthy individuals.^[2]

Metabolism: is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main purposes of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the elimination of metabolic wastes.

Bioactive: a compound that has an effect on a living organism, tissue or cell, usually demonstrated by basic research in vitro or in vivo in the laboratory. While dietary nutrients are essential to life, bioactive compounds have not been proved to be essential – as the body can function without them – or because their actions are obscured by nutrients fulfilling the function.

Bioavailable: the proportion of the administered substance capable of being absorbed and available for use or storage.^[11]

L-Tyrosine: one of the 20 standard amino acids that are used by cells to synthesize proteins. It is a non-essential amino acid with a polar side group. The word "tyrosine" is from the Greek tyrós, meaning cheese, as it was first discovered in 1846 by German chemist Justus von Liebig in the protein casein from cheese.^[3][4]

Reishi: Lingzhi, Ganoderma lingzhi, also known as reishi, is a polypore fungus ("bracket fungus") belonging to the genus Ganoderma. Its reddish brown varnished kidney-shaped cap with bands and peripherally inserted stem gives it a distinct fan-like appearance. When fresh, the lingzhi is soft, cork-like, and flat. It lacks gills on its underside, and instead releases its spores via fine pores (80–120 μm) yellow colors.^[1]  In nature, it grows at the base and stumps of deciduous trees, especially that of the maple. Only two or three out of 10,000 such aged trees will have lingzhi growth, and therefore its wild form is rare.^{[citation needed]} Lingzhi may be cultivated on hardwood logs, sawdust, or woodchips.

Cordyceps: is a genus of ascomycete fungi (sac fungi) that includes about 600 species. Most Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, parasitic mainly on insects and other arthropods (they are thus entomopathogenic fungi); a few are parasitic on other fungi.^[2] The generic name Cordyceps is derived from the Greek word κορδύλη kordýlē, meaning "club", and the Greek word κεφαλή cephali, meaning "head".^{[citation needed]} The genus has a worldwide distribution and most of the approximately 600 species^[3] that have been described are from Asia (notably Nepal, China, Japan, Bhutan, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand). Cordyceps species are particularly abundant and diverse in humid temperate and tropical forests.

Chaga: Inonotus obliquus, commonly called chaga (a Latinisation of the Russian word чага), is a fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae. It is parasitic on birch and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and resembles burnt charcoal. It is not the fruiting body of the fungus, but a sclerotium or mass of mycelium, mostly black because of a great amount of melanin.^[2] 

Lions Mane: Hericium erinaceus (also called lion's mane mushroom, mountain-priest mushroom or bearded tooth fungus) is an edible mushroom belonging to the tooth fungus group.^[1] Native to North America, Europe and Asia, it can be identified by its long spines (greater than 1 cm length), occurrence on hardwoods, and tendency to grow a single clump of dangling spines. The fruit bodies can be harvested for culinary use.

Tremella: Tremella fuciformis is a species of fungus; it produces white, frond-like, gelatinous basidiocarps (fruiting bodies). It is widespread, especially in the tropics, where it can be found on the dead branches of broadleaf trees. This fungus is commercially cultivated and is one of the most popular fungi in the cuisine and medicine of China.^[1] Tremella fuciformis is commonly known as snow fungus, snow ear, silver ear fungus, white jelly mushroom, and white cloud ears.^[1] Tremella fuciformis is a parasitic yeast, and grows as a slimy, mucus-like film until it encounters its preferred hosts, various species of Annulohypoxylon (or possibly Hypoxylon) fungi, whereupon it then invades, triggering the aggressive mycelial growth required to form the fruiting bodies.^[1][2]

Poria: is a fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It is a wood-decay fungus but has a subterranean growth habit. It is notable in the development of a large, long-lasting underground sclerotium that resembles a small coconut. W. extensa is also used extensively as a medicinal mushroom in Chinese medicine.^[2] Indications for use in the traditional Chinese medicine include promoting urination, to invigorate the spleen function (i.e., digestive function), and to calm the mind.^[3]

Sea Lettuce: The sea lettuces comprise the genus Ulva, a group of edible green algae that is widely distributed along the coasts of the world's oceans. Sea lettuce as a food for humans is eaten raw in salads and cooked in soups. It is high in protein, soluble dietary fiber, and a variety of vitamins and minerals, especially iron.^[5] 

Nori: is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus Pyropia including P. yezonesis and P. tenera.^[1] It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi or onigiri (rice balls).

Wakame: is a species of kelp native to cold, temperate coasts of the northwest Pacific Ocean. As an edible seaweed, it has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavour and texture.

Coconut sugar: (also known as coco sugar, coconut palm sugar, coco sap sugar or coconut blossom sugar) is a palm sugar produced from the sap of the flower bud stem of the coconut palm.^[1]

Amino acid: organic compounds that contain amino^[a] (−NH+3) and carboxylate (−CO−2) functional groups, along with a side chain (R group) specific to each amino acid.^[1] The elements present in every amino acid are carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N) (CHON); in addition sulfur (S) is present in the side chains of cysteine and methionine, and selenium (Se) in the less common amino acid selenocysteine. 

Macadamia: is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae.^[1][2] They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus are commercially important for their fruit, the macadamia nut /ˌmækəˈdeɪmiə/ (or simply macadamia). The nut was first commercially produced on a wide scale in Hawaii, where Australian seeds were introduced in the 1880s, and for some time they were the world's largest producer.^[5][6]  Raw macadamia nuts are 1% water, 14% carbohydrates, 76% fat, and 8% protein (table). A 100 gram reference amount of macadamia nuts provides 740 kilocalories, and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value (DV)) of numerous essential nutrients, including thiamine (104% DV), vitamin B₆ (21% DV), other B vitamins, manganese (195% DV), iron (28% DV), magnesium (37% DV) and phosphorus (27% DV) (table).

Cashew: Raw cashews are 5% water, 30% carbohydrates, 44% fat, and 18% protein (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, raw cashews provide 553 Calories, 67% of the Daily Value (DV) in total fats, 36% DV of protein, 13% DV of dietary fiber and 11% DV of carbohydrates.^[34] Cashews are rich sources (20% or more of the DV) of dietary minerals, including particularly copper, manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium (79-110% DV), and of thiamin, vitamin B₆ and vitamin K (32-37% DV) (table).^[34] Iron, potassium, zinc, and selenium are present in significant content (14-61% DV) (table).^[34] Cashews (100 grams, raw) contain 113 milligrams (1.74 gr) of beta-sitosterol.^[34]

Raw Honey: is as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling, or straining, without adding heat (although some honey that has been "minimally processed" is often labeled as raw honey).^[83] Raw honey contains some pollen and may contain small particles of wax.

Maca: Lepidium meyenii, known as maca or Peruvian ginseng, is an edible herbaceous biennial plant of the family Brassicaceae that is native to South America in the high Andes mountains of Peru. It was found exclusively at the Meseta de Bombón plateau close to Lake Junin in the late 1980s.^[1] It is grown for its fleshy hypocotyl that is fused with a taproot, which is typically dried, but may also be freshly cooked as a root vegetable. If it is dried, it may be further processed into a flour for baking or as a dietary supplement. It also has uses in traditional medicine.

Mitochondria: is a double-membrane-bound organelle found in most eukaryotic organisms. Mitochondria use aerobic respiration to generate most of the cell's supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is subsequently used throughout the cell as a source of chemical energy.^[2

Microbiome: is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps et al. as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably well-defined habitat which has distinct physio-chemical properties. The term thus not only refers to the microorganisms involved but also encompasses their theatre of activity".

Adaptogen: or adaptogenic substances^[1] are used in herbal medicine for the claimed stabilization of physiological processes and promotion of homeostasis.^[2]

Nervine: was a patent medicine tonic with sedative effects introduced in 1884 by Dr. Miles Medical Company (now Miles Laboratories).^[1][2][3] It is a cognate of 'Nerve', and the implication was that the material worked to calm nervousness.

Pathogen: any organism that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term pathogen came into use in the 1880s.^[1][2] Typically, the term is used to describe an infectious microorganism or agent, such as a virus, bacterium, protozoan, prion, viroid, or fungus.^[3][4][5]

Caffeine: is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class.^[11] There are several known mechanisms of action to explain the effects of caffeine. The most prominent is that it reversibly blocks the action of adenosine on its receptors and consequently prevents the onset of drowsiness induced by adenosine. Caffeine also stimulates certain portions of the autonomic nervous system. It is also used as a cognitive enhancer which increases alertness and attentional performance.^[12][13]

Scoby: is the commonly used acronym for "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast", and is formed after the completion of a unique fermentation process of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), acetic acid bacteria (AAB), and yeast to form several sour foods and beverages such as kombucha and kimchi.^[1]

Antioxidant: are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals and chain reactions that may damage the cells of organisms.

Glymphatic system: a system for waste clearance in the central nervous system (CNS) of vertebrates. According to this model, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flows into the paravascular space around cerebral arteries, combining with interstitial fluid (ISF) and parenchymal solutes, and exiting down venous paravascular spaces.^[1] The pathway consists of a para-arterial influx route for CSF to enter the brain parenchyma, coupled to a clearance mechanism for the removal of interstitial fluid (ISF) and extracellular solutes from the interstitial compartments of the brain and spinal cord. Exchange of solutes between CSF and ISF is driven primarily by arterial pulsation^[2] and regulated during sleep by the expansion and contraction of brain extracellular space. Clearance of soluble proteins, waste products, and excess extracellular fluid is accomplished through convective bulk flow of ISF, facilitated by astrocytic aquaporin 4 (AQP4) water channels.

Acetic acid: is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula CH₃COOH (also written as CH₃CO₂H, C₂H₄O₂, or HC₂H₃O₂). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component of vinegar apart from water and other trace elements.

Probiotic: are live microorganisms promoted with claims that they provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut flora.^[1][2] 

Prebiotic: non-digestible food ingredients

Postbiotic: also known as metabiotics, biogenics, or simply metabolites - are soluble factors (metabolic products or byproducts), secreted by live bacteria, or released after bacterial lysis providing physiological benefits to the host.^[1]

Anti-inflammatory: the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation or swelling. 

Anti-viral: one class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes antibiotic (also termed antibacterial), antifungal and antiparasitic drugs,^[3] or antiviral drugs based on monoclonal antibodies.^[4] Most antivirals are considered relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be used to treat infections. 

Anti-fungal: means to kill or to prevent growth of fungi

Neuro-protective: refers to the relative preservation of neuronal structure and/or function.^[1]