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The bamboos, the world’s tallest grass, are evergreen flowering plants belonging to the Poaceae family. Their shoots are widely used in construction and for producing paper and pulp, while the younger tender shoots serve as food in some communities. One of the most remarkable aspects of this versatile plant is its flowering a rare and spectacular event that occurs only once in many decades, after which the plant dies.
While the flowering brings an abundant harvest of bamboo fruits, it also attracts unexpected visitors swarms of rats. What is it about the fruit that makes it so irresistible to these rodents? A study led by researchers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), Kerala, sought to answer this intriguing question.
Published in Nature Groups Scientific Reports, the research investigated the nutritional properties of the fruits of Melocanna baccifera, locally known as Muli. The study was funded by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and the Plan Funded Research Programme of the Government of Kerala.
Muli bamboo grows across North East India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, flowering only once every 40–50 years. Its fruits are eagerly consumed by rodents, which often move into nearby agricultural fields after the bamboo fruiting season. These rodents can cause significant crop loss, sometimes leading to famine, while their rapid multiplication contributes to the spread of diseases.
The researchers carefully extracted, screened, and identified the compounds present in Muli bamboo fruits. They found amino acids like lysine and glutamic acid, sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose, phenolic acids, and around 15 types of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Potassium was also identified as a significant mineral in the fruit.
Which of these compounds drew the rats? Feeding experiments revealed that rats were especially attracted to the fruit’s liquid (sap) and seeds. Yet, the fruits alone could not sustain them — rats fed only on bamboo fruit eventually died of insufficient energy and hypoglycemia. This disproved the common belief that the fruit’s proteins alone drove the rats’ rapid multiplication.
Other studies have highlighted the fruit’s high nutritional and medicinal value, rich in antioxidants. While not a complete food on its own, when supplemented with proteins, the fruit becomes a valuable food additive. As part of a balanced diet, it may help prevent colon cancer, support brain and cell function, maintain electrolyte balance, and reduce cholesterol levels.
The researchers hope these findings could help prevent and manage rodent outbreaks in regions where Muli bamboo grows, while also addressing the broader ecological and social challenges associated with its flowering, such as famines and disease outbreaks.
The most recent flowering of M. baccifera, from 2004–08, affected 1.76 million hectares in the North East Indian states of Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Assam. It led to the flowering and death of around 26 metric tons of Muli bamboo. Understanding the nutritional value of its fruits could encourage their use by humans, reducing the food available to rodents and easing the associated ecological pressures, according to Dr. Sabulal.
