At present, China's corn production ranks second in the world, with an annual output of more than 200 million tons. It is estimated that corn silk is about a million tons. In the past, corn silk and corn cobs were basically thrown away or burned, but later scientific research found that they have value in use, such as corn silk can be developed as a food resource.

Can corn silk be eaten? The views at home and abroad are basically the same. The US FDA considers corn silk to be a safe and non-toxic food, and drugs made from corn silk extract are over-the-counter. In Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other East Asian countries and regions, corn silk also has a history of traditional food.

The former Chinese Ministry of Health officially replied to this question: corn silk has a certain edible history in China, no safety problems have been found, and it can be used as general food management. In addition, China's national standards stipulate that corn silk can be used as a natural spice for a variety of foods. So when cooking corn, you can keep the coat of corn silk, which will better preserve the scent of corn.

There are records of corn silk in the ancient Chinese classics. Modern analytical techniques have confirmed that it contains various functional components such as flavonoids, polysaccharides, saponins, sterols, polyphenols.

The content of flavonoids in corn silk is about 3% of dry weight. Flavonoids are natural antioxidants and have potential application value in scavenging free radicals, inhibiting bacteria and regulating blood lipids. There are several polysaccharide components in corn silk. It has been observed by experimental animals that it has a certain effect on regulating blood sugar. In addition, corn silk polysaccharide also has diuretic, antioxidant and other activities. Corn silk saponin is another active ingredient. It has been tested in diabetic mice and found to have hypoglycemic effects with few side effects.