Other Names: Lucerne, Purple Medic, Trefoil
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), also known as Lucerne, Purple Medic and Trefoil, is a perennial flowering plant
cultivated as an important forage crop.
Its primary use is for dairy production, followed by beef, sheep, horsese and goats, but it is also used for
human consumption. Alfalfa sprouts are used as a salad ingredient in the United States and Australia. Tender
shoots are eaten in some places as a leaf vegetable. Human consumption of older plant parts is limited primarily
by very high fiber content. Dehydrated alfalfa leaf is commercially available as a dietary supplement in several
forms, such as tablets, powders and tea. Alfalfa is believed to be a galactagogue.
Alfalfa is native to Iran, where it was probably domesticated during the Bronze Age to feed horses being brought
from Central Asia. It came to Greece around 490 B.C. being used as a horse feed for Persian army. It was introduced
from Chile to the United States around 1860. Now it is widely grown throughout the world.
Alfalfa contains many important substances, including several saponins, many sterols, flavonoids, coumarins,
alkaloids, acids, vitamins, amino acids, sugars, proteins (25% by weight), minerals, trace elements, and other
nutrients. Whole alfalfa also contains plenty of fiber with anticholesterolemic properties.
Alfalfa is one of the most nutritious foods known. Its calcium, chlorophyll, carotene, and vitamin K content
make alfalfa an important nutritional supplement. Alfalfa root saponins can inhibit increases in blood cholesterol
levels by 25% in experimental animals fed a high cholesterol diet. Offsetting this positive effect are findings
that the root is hemolytic and may interfere with vitamin E metabolism.
The high concentration of vitamin K found in whole alfalfa has beneficial effect on several forms of hemolytic
disease. Alfalfas also has antibacterial and antitumoral properties. In folk medicine, the herb has been used
as an appetizer and tonic, and as a diuretic to relieve urinary and bowel problems.
Perhaps the most common modern use of alfalfas is in the treatment of symptomatic arthritis, but although numerous
clinical and anecdotal reports are available, no scientific research has been done on it effectiveness.
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