Alfalfa

Think green! Alfalfa is used in Japan as a medicinal herb for hypertension, and in China, it is traditionally used as a diuretic and an arthritis remedy. Some recommend it to help treat diabetes, asthma, and hay fever. Today, Alfalfa is a common ingredient in "green food" powders, often combined with blue-green algae and wheat or barley grass. Studies indicate it lowers blood cholesterol levels and may help prevent heart disease and possibly some strokes

Alfalfa is an herb, a food, and the source of a nutritional green food concentrate. Alfalfa is a perennial (Medicago sativa) of the pea family widely grown as a hay feed for livestock. The Arabs consider Alfalfa so nutritious that they named it the "father of all foods."

Traditional Uses

Alfalfa is used in Japan as a medicinal herb for hypertension, and in China, it is traditionally used as a diuretic (to promote the excretion of urine), arthritis remedy, and aid to gain weight. Some western herbalists recommend it to help treat diabetes. It has also been used to treat asthma and hay fever.

Modern Uses

Alfalfa is a common ingredient in "green food" powders, often combined with blue-green algae and wheat or barley grass. Most forms are rich in chlorophyll, beta carotene, vitamins B6, C, and E, and calcium. Studies indicate it lowers blood cholesterol levels and may help prevent heart disease and possibly some strokes. Contemporary studies confirm that Alfalfa extracts have insulin- and pancreas-affecting activities. In recent years, alfalfa has become a minor folk remedy for rheumatoid arthritis, but lacks clinical evidence of efficacy.

Recent Findings

Italian researchers tested a plant product based on extracts of the leaves of Salvia officinalis (sage) and Medicago sativa (Alfalfa) in 30 menopausal women with these symptoms. The treatment eliminated hot flushes and night sweating completely in 20 women: four women showed good improvement and the other six showed a reduction in symptoms.

Do scientists know how it works?

This a difficult question to answer, as Alfalfa is not associated with a particular set of therapeutic uses. Alfalfa saponins appear to reduce blood cholesterol and tryglycerides, probably by decreasing intestinal absorption of dietary cholesterol. The herb contains the anti-inflammatory bioflavonoid quercetin, which may account for its alleged benefits in asthma and hay fever.

Types of Products

Alfalfa various forms include dried leaves, tablets, capsules, concentrated drops, tinctures, and extracts. It is also used in sprouted form, but the leaves are more medicinal.

Safety

Raw sprouts as well as seeds contain natural toxins that are potentially damaging to human health if eaten. Alfalfa has produced symptoms of SLE (systemic lupus erythamatosus) in monkeys, and should not be used by persons with SLE or other autoimmune conditions (e.g., multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis), except under a physician's guidance.

References

  • De Leo V [Treatment of neurovegetative menopausal symptoms with a phytotherapeutic agent]. Minerva Ginecol 1998 May;50(5):207-11. [Article in Italian]

  • Gray, A.M., and Flatt, P.R. "Pancreatic and extra-pancreatic effects of the traditional anti-diabetic plant, Medicago sativa (lucerne)," Br J Nutr (1997), 78(2):325-34

  • Sroka, Z., et al., "Stimulation of pancreatic lipase activity by saponins isolated from Medicago sativa L.," Z Naturforsch (1997), 52(3-4):235-9.