**7. Bamboo chemicals and pharmaceutical products**

The ashes of bamboo are used to polish jewels and manufacture electrical batteries. Bamboo beverage and beer have been widely accepted mainly in Asian countries such as China, Korea and Japan. Bamboo has been reported to be valuable in health care delivery and processed into beverages, medicines, pesticides and other household items such as toothpaste, soaps, etc. The culm, shoot and leaf of bamboo have been reported to possess anti-oxidation, anti-ageing, antibacterial and antiviral properties. Some materials extracted from bamboo are used in fresh flavour and preservation of food. This is due to the nutritious and active minerals (such as vitamins, amino acids, flavine, phenolic acids, polysaccharide, trace elements and steroids) they contain [76]. Bamboo leaf contains 2–5% flavine and phenolic compound that have the power to remove active oxy-free radicals, stopping nitrification and abating blood fat. Of late, research has shown bamboo charcoal as one of the base materials for human health, from water treatment to its uses as a shield from electromagnetic radiation. Bamboo extracts contain valuable elements, which are used in pharmaceuticals, creams and beverages. Bamboo gas can be used as a substitute for petroleum. Activated charcoal is used as a deodorant, purifier, disinfectant, medicine, agricultural chemicals and an absorbent of pollution and excessive moisture. A number of researchers have also produced bamboo ethanol and butanol. Butanol is similar to ethanol being a form of alcohol. It has high-density; non-corrosive and can, therefore, be mixed with gasoline. Another significant product from bamboo is activated carbon. Activated carbon is a non-graphitic form of carbon, which is produced by activation of any carbonaceous material such as bamboo, wood chips, etc. Activated carbon is employed in the decolourisation of sugar and sweeteners, drinking water treatment, gold recovery, production of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, catalytic process, off-gas treatment of waste incinerators, automotive vapour filters, colour/odour correction in wines and fruit juices.

Some chemical and pharmaceutical products are cellulose, bio-ethanol, bio-methane, starch, charcoal, flavour and preservatives, bamboo leaf tea (see **Table 5**).
