Greenplus "Green K Farm Successfully Cultivates Superfood 'Cissus'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Greenplus announced on the 11th that its subsidiary Green K-Farm has successfully cultivated the superfood "Cissus quadrangularis (Cissus)" over an area of 6000m².

Green K-Farm is a smart farm greenhouse operated by Greenplus, the leading advanced greenhouse company in South Korea. It is a smart farm applying patented technologies such as the "Up-Down System," designed to use the entire advanced greenhouse area as a cultivation space, and the "Rhizosphere Heating and Cooling System," which promotes crop growth and reduces energy costs by heating and cooling only around the roots of the plants.

Green K-Farm’s Cissus is cultivated in a controlled environment with a height of 1 to 3 meters, preventing contamination by foreign substances or other plants, thereby ensuring safety and superior quality.

Until now, Cissus has not been cultivated domestically in South Korea, and most products distributed in the country have been imported directly from overseas, which caused issues such as mixing with other plants and detection of foreign substances during cultivation and harvesting stages. Additionally, domestic outdoor cultivation of Cissus had drawbacks such as vulnerability to pests and diseases, but these have been resolved through smart farm cultivation, resulting in significant improvements in crop quality and production volume, according to the company.

The "Cissus" successfully cultivated by the company has recently gained attention as a superfood. It is known to be effective for dieting and has been introduced as a food that helps with weight control by the UK Food Standards Agency and Health Canada. It also helps suppress appetite; according to the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in the United States, consuming Cissus extract for 8 weeks resulted in a 28.9% decrease in the "leptin hormone," which induces feelings of fullness. Furthermore, in Southeast Asia, it is used medicinally for joints, hemorrhoids, and constipation.

A Greenplus official stated, "Currently, Green K-Farm is undergoing safety testing of the cultivated Cissus with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and once approval is completed, we plan to officially launch health functional foods and processed foods such as powders in the domestic market." He added, "In response to ecological and environmental changes caused by climate change such as global warming, we will annually introduce one to two excellent medicinal plants domestically and disseminate know-how for new revenue generation for individual farms or agricultural corporations through research, cultivation, and distribution processes in advanced smart farms."