Lamb’s quarter has been the star of the YouTube commercials that plague the videos I want to watch for at least the last year or so. The person hawking its use (and her book) makes it sound like you’ll survive the apocalypse if only you have those two items. I finally decided it was time to see what all the hullabaloo was about.
Lamb’s quarter, Chenopodium album, is also known as pigweed, goosefoot, wild spinach, and fat hen (hint—you can use it to feed chickens). This prolific weed grows just about everywhere—roadsides, waste areas, streambeds, and gardens—especially my garden—and really favors growing with potatoes, which I can readily attest to.
And while lamb’s quarter does indeed have some limited medicinal uses which will be covered later, it’s more commonly used as food, hence the common name wild spinach, and it is indeed a member of the same family as spinach, chard, beets, amaranth, and quinoa. The fresh leaves contain 58 calories per cup, in addition to the following vitamins and minerals:
- Vitamin K, 700%+ of the USRDA
- Vitamin A, 100%
- Vitamin C, 74%
- Calcium, 46%
- Manganese, 41%
- Copper, 39%
- Vitamin B2, 36%
- Vitamin B6, 24%
- Vitamin E, 22%
- Iron, 15%
- Vitamin B1, 15%
- Protein, 11%
- Potassium, 11%
- Vitamin B3, 10%[1]
Like spinach, lamb’s quarter contains oxalic acid and if eaten raw should only be consumed in small quantities, like as part of a salad or in smoothies or juice. Fortunately, the oxalic acid is neutralized to some extent by cooking, and lamb’s quarter is good sautéed or added to soups.[2]
HARVEST
Lamb’s quarter is harvested in the summer and fall. All aerial parts of the plant are suitable for eating—leaves, shoots, flowers, and seeds, but it is the leaves that are most commonly consumed. For fresh eating, it is best to use leaves from plants less than 12 inches tall. Leaves from taller plants are best cooked.
Lamb’s quarter is indeed a nutrition powerhouse, and its use as food will probably be greater than as a medicine. However, that’s not to discount its medicinal uses. Read on:
PREPARATION
Infusion. Add boiling water to the fresh or dried leaves and let them steep, covered, for 10-15 minutes.
Poultice. Fresh leaves are chewed and applied to the affected area.
MODERN USAGE
- Gastrointestinal
- Hepatic
- Liver toxicity[6]
- Skin
- Urogenital
HISTORICAL USAGE
- Dental
- Aching teeth (chew the leaves) [11]
- Gastrointestinal
- Anorexia[12]
- Constipation (eat the leaves)[13]
- Dysentery[14]
- Hemorrhoids[15]
- Stomachache (leaf infusion)[16]
- Musculoskeletal (leaf infusion)[17]
- Arthritis
- Rheumatism
- Neurological (bruised leaf poultice)[18]
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Heat stroke
- Respiratory
- Cough[19]
- Skin (leaf poultice)[20]
- Burns
- Inflamed eyelids
- Swellings
- Wounds
Caution: Due to the oxalic acid content, the consumption of fresh lamb’s quarter may interfere with the assimilation of supplemental iron and calcium. Avoid eating lamb’s quarter a few hours before or after taking either of these supplements.
[1] https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/lambs-quarters-chenopodium-album-facts/ (accessed 16 September 2022).
[2] G. Savage, et al., Oxalate Contents of Raw, Boiled, Wok-Fried and Pesto and Juice Made from Fat Hen (Chenopodium album) Leaves, Foods, 21 December 2018, Vol 8 No 1, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30577599/ (accessed 16 September 2022).
[3] A. Poonia, et al., Chenopodium album Linn: review of nutritive value and biological properties, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 52, 3977–3985, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-014-1553-x#citeas (accessed 15 September 2022).
[4] A. Poonia, et al., Chenopodium album Linn: review of nutritive value and biological properties, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 52, 3977–3985, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-014-1553-x#citeas (accessed 15 September 2022).
[5] A. Poonia, et al., Chenopodium album Linn: review of nutritive value and biological properties, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 52, 3977–3985, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-014-1553-x#citeas (accessed 15 September 2022).
[6] S. Hussain, et al., Chenopodium album extract ameliorates carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in rat model, Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, May 2022, Vol 29 No 5, 3408-3413, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35844414/ (accessed 15 September 2022).
[7] A. Said, Mechanisms underlying the wound healing and tissue regeneration properties of Chenopodium album, Biotechnology, October 2020, Vol 10 No 10, 452, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33062580/ (accessed 15 September 2022).
[8] A. Poonia, et al., Chenopodium album Linn: review of nutritive value and biological properties, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 52, 3977–3985, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-014-1553-x#citeas (accessed 15 September 2022).
[9] A. Poonia, et al., Chenopodium album Linn: review of nutritive value and biological properties, Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 52, 3977–3985, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-014-1553-x#citeas (accessed 15 September 2022).
[10] Sharma In vitro study of aqueous leaf extract of Chenopodium album for inhibition of calcium oxalate and brushite crystallization, Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2016, Vol 3 No 2, 164-171, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.ejbas.2016.02.001 (accessed 15 September 2022).
[11] Linda Kershaw, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies, 2000, 203.
[12] QG Ma, et al., Tropolone derivatives with hepatoprotective and antiproliferative activities from the aerial parts of Chenopodium album Linn, Fitoterapia, October 2020, 146, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32979464/ (accessed 15 September 2022).
[13] Linda Kershaw, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies, 2000, 203.
[14] QG Ma, et al., Tropolone derivatives with hepatoprotective and antiproliferative activities from the aerial parts of Chenopodium album Linn, Fitoterapia, October 2020, 146, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32979464/ (accessed 15 September 2022).
[15] QG Ma, et al., Tropolone derivatives with hepatoprotective and antiproliferative activities from the aerial parts of Chenopodium album Linn, Fitoterapia, October 2020, 146, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32979464/ (accessed 15 September 2022).
[16] Linda Kershaw, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies, 2000, 203.
[17] Linda Kershaw, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies, 2000, 203.
[18] Linda Kershaw, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies, 2000, 203.
[19] QG Ma, et al., Tropolone derivatives with hepatoprotective and antiproliferative activities from the aerial parts of Chenopodium album Linn, Fitoterapia, October 2020, 146, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32979464/ (accessed 15 September 2022).
[20] Linda Kershaw, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies, 2000, 203.
19 september 2022
Thank you Jennifer for this information. I had no idea of the medical uses.
ReplyDeleteSince I began studying herbs, this particular plant came to my attention, but as food, not as medicine. It IS interesting to note the medicinal properties, but I think I will use other herbs instead. Ironically, I have a huge plant of lambs quarter growing in my chicken yard and it's gotten so big because the chickens totally ignore it!
ReplyDeleteIt probably doesn't taste as good, since it's not forbidden fruit to them!
Delete