Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Family: FABACEAE
Species: sativa
Other Names: lucerne, purple medick, purple medicle, buffalo herb, buffalo grass, chilean clover, alfalfa
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the flowering plant or the germinating seed.
Parts Used: sprouts, leaves, whole herb
Medicinal Properties: anti-inflammatory, diuretic, galactagogue, nutritive, stomach tonic, phytoestrogenic
alfalfa Internal Uses: anemia, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, cancer, celiac disease, colitis, convalescence, edema, fatigue, halitosis, high cholesterol, hyperestrogenism, hypoestrogenism, jaundice, menopause, menstrual problems, obesity, ulcers, varicose veins
Internal Applications: tea, capsules, tincture
Topical Uses: wounds
Topical Applications: Use as a bath herb, facial steam, hair rinse. Also, use as a poultice on wounds. The root can be peeled, dried and frayed (by hitting with a hammer) to be used as a toothbrush.
Culinary uses: The young leaves and flowers may be eaten as a salad or pot herb. After the seeds sprout, they are eaten as a salad vegetable.
Chemical Constituents: Chlorophyll, vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid, calcium, copper, phosphorus, manganese, iron, zinc, fluorine, electrolytes, isoflavones, coumrains, betaine, alkaloids (stachydrine), phytoestrogens antioxidant (tricin).
Contraindications: The herb is considered very safe, however there has been some concern about the safety of eating large amounts of the sprouts which contain the alkaloid, conavanine. Those with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis should avoid eating Alfalfa sprouts; however the leaves and flowers are perfectly safe for everyone.
Flower and Fruit: The clover like flowers can be yellow to violet blue. They are 9 to 10 mm long and appeat in oblong, many blossomed racemes. The fruit is a spiraled pod with 2 or 3 twists; the center is hollow and not thorny.
Leaves, Stems and Root: The annual, succulent plant grows from 45 to 100 cm high. The stems are erect, smooth and sharply angled. The leaves are trifoliate, petiolate, and alternate. The leaflets are thorny tipped, dentate toward the front, obovate, villous beneath. The stiplus are ovate, lanceolate, slightly dentate and acuminate.
Characteristics: The taste is unpleasantly salty, bitter and dry.
Habitat: The plant is indigenous to the Mediterranean region and has been widely cultivated elsewhere for centuries.

Comments: The name Alfalfa is derived from the arabic al-fac-facah and means 'father of all foods'. The genus name, Medicago, refers to Medea in North Africa from where this plant is thought to have originated. The species name, sativa, means 'with a long history of cultivation'. Alfalfa was an important crop to the Arabs who fed it to their racehorses. In folk medicine, the drug is used in the treatment of diabetes and malfunctioning of the thyroid gland. Alfalfa has isolated use as a diuretic and aromatic. The saponin contents act on the cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems. Where Alfalfa grows wild, it is an indicator of rich soil. It is planted by farmers and turned under to fix nitrogen and enrich the soil. When cows consume it, it increases their milk production. Alfalfa is an excellent nutritive food for people convalescing. It is a commercial source of chlorophyll.

Actions and Pharmacology

Compounds: includiing among others lutein

Triterpene saponins: sojasapogenols A-E aglycones medicagenic acid, hederagenin

Isoflavonoids: including among others, formononetin glycosides, genistein, daidzein

Coumestans: coumestrol, 3,-methoxy coumestrol, lucernol, sativol, trifoliol

Triterpenes: including among others, stigmasterol, spinasterol

Cayanogenic glycosides: corresponding to less than 80 mg HCN/100 g)

Compounds In The Seeds

L-canavaine

Betaine: stachydrine, homostachydrine

Trigonelline

Fatty oil

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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.