IMPORTANT: I need an answer in 3 days!

A friend who is romanian described to me a wonder drug that she [and
apparently many romanians] know only as 'japanese crystals'. the
romanian words they use are 'cristale japoneze'.

this is only a preliminary question to get a feel of what wealth of
knowledge is out there. I will have more follow-up questions which
will be posted later. I used to be a GA-researcher and know that you
guys will be able to find the answer for me. You might want to get in
touch with a real live Romanian who is has the acumen and stomach for
research, because the few romanians i asked couldn't help and/or were
unwilling to. makes me think that this wonder drug is almost like the
'life force' thing that people from indiana jones to lara croft have
been trying to seek. anyway, i digress...

further information that may help:

1) the drug has atleast one 'well known'[in romania perhaps] benefit,
which is lowering blood pressure. my romanian friend swears by it, and
says her dad had it and got his BP under control. besides that
information she was unable to tell me anything else, and even got
antagonistic when i pressured [uh-oh!]

2) i asked her to get it from whatever druid she gets it from for her
dad, and have it shipped to me in the US. she said that the crystals
had a short shelf life and would die before it reached me. i don't
know if that information is accurate.

3) she said that her dad mixed it in water with sugar and lemon, and
that it tasted like lemonade. i know what you're thinking: you mix
anything with lemon and sugar and it's gauranteed to taste like
lemonade! but that's what she said.

my questions are thus:

1) What is the biological name, if any, of the plant/fungi/source/etc.? 

2) Where can it be acquired?

3) any further information/comments that makes researching this topic
easy would be welcome.

i guess that's it. any GA-research out there up for the challenge? it
might prove to be quite a non-challenge in the end, but who knows.

thanks in advance,
Shiv

ps1: this question was typed hastily from a work computer, so please
excuse half-informations, typos and grammar. i am standing by to offer
clarifications.

ps2: IMPORTANT: I need an answer with 3 days!

---

Clarification of Question by adnanavis-ga on 18 May 2006 08:42 PDT

Please do not answer this question after Sunday 12 midnight EST. Post
a RFC and I will let you know if I can allow more time. thank you!

Shiv

Dear adnanavis,

Japanese Crystals, also known as Crystal Algae (which is misleading
since they do not contain substances derived from algae), Tibi,
Tibicos, or Water Kefir, are a symbiosis formed by various yeasts
(like Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and bacteria (like Lactobacillus
brevis, Streptococcus lactis) when combined. Together, the
microorganisms from small whitish-translucent lumps resembling
crystals. They have no specific scientific name.

Being living organisms, the crystal-like structures reproduce when
kept properly, thus providing a permanent supply.

Please note that the countless healthy effects attributed to Water
Kefir beverages are not scientifically proven. On the other hand, no
negative effects are known, either.

It is unclear where and when use of Japanese Crystals for preparing
beverages with an alleged healthy effect began or how and by whom they
were first made for this purpose. However, they were already in use in
various parts of Europe under several names in the 1930s.

There are very few sources to purchase Japanese Crystals/Water Kefir
grains from, probably du to the unusual nature of the material (after
all, they are living microorganisms that can not be stored easily). I
did not find suppliers in the USA at all, but here is a German
supplier who will ship, with instruction on how to use the crystals,
since it is a rather complicated process:

Vitaldrinks.de
Maren Buerger
Louisenstrasse 3
01099 Dresden
Germany
--
E-Mail: maren.buerger@vitaldrinks.de
Website: http://www.kombuchapilz.de/english/start.htm

This section of the website is about Water Kefir / Japanese Crystals:
http://www.kombuchapilz.de/english/waterkefir.htm

Hope this helps!
Regards,
Scriptor



Sources:

Wikipedia: Wasserkefir (in German)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasserkefir

Wikipedia: Tibicos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_kefir

Japankristalle.de: FAQ (in German)
http://redirect.homeip.net/japankristalle/FAQ.15.0.html

Search terms used:
"japanische kristallalgen"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=%22japanische+kristallalgen%22&btnG=Suche&meta=
wasserkefir algen
://www.google.de/search?q=wasserkefir+algen&hl=de&lr=&newwindow=1&safe=off&start=0&sa=N

without checking the links and sources cited, i am rating this answer
a 5 star because i am impressed at the diligence. i am proud to have
once belong to this community of researchers. excellent work
scriptor-ga!