An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Plant Allium cepa (Liliaceae)

Common Names
Onion; Shallot
How this plant is used
Food
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
CAFFEIC-ACID 102 Leaf not available not available not available Das, V. S. R., Rao, J. V. S. 1964. Phenolic Acids of Onion Plant. Curr. Sci., 33(15): 471-472.
CAFFEIC-ACID 102 Root not available not available not available Das, V. S. R., Rao, J. V. S. 1964. Phenolic Acids of Onion Plant. Curr. Sci., 33(15): 471-472.
CALCIUM 28 Bulb 200.0 3008.0 0.12 Duke, 1992 *
CALCIUM 28 Leaf 420.0 5385.0 -0.89 CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs and/or CRC Handbook of Proximate Analyses
CALCIUM-OXALATE 4 Bulb not available not available not available Walter-Levy, L., Strauss, R. 1954. Inorganic Deposits in Plants. C. R. Acad. Sci., 239: 897-.
CAMPESTEROL 2 Bulb 10.0 50.0 -1.00 Duke, 1992 *
CAMPESTEROL 2 Seed not available not available not available Kintia, P. K., Degtiaryova, L. P., Balashova, N. N., Shvets, S. A. 1987. Sterols and Steroidal Glycosides of Bulb Onion Seeds. Fecs. Int. Conf. Chem. Biotechol. Biol. Act. Nat. Prod., (Proc.) 3rd: 166-170.
CARBOHYDRATES 0 Bulb 73200.0 798000.0 -1.00 Duke, 1992 *
CARBOHYDRATES 0 Leaf 47000.0 603000.0 -0.07 CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs and/or CRC Handbook of Proximate Analyses
CAROTENE 0 Flower not available 28.0 not available Krylova, M. I. 1967. Carotenoids in the Reproductive Organs of Fertile and Sterile Onion Plants, Allium cepa. Bot. ZH., 52(9): 1340-1341.
CATECHOL 22 Bulb not available not available not available Link, K. P., Walker, J. C. 1933. The Isolation of Catechol from Pigmented Onion Scales and its Significance in Relation to Disease Resistance in Onions. J. Biol. Chem., 100: 379-383.
CEPAENE-1 0 Bulb not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
CEPAENE-2-A 0 Bulb not available not available not available Bayer, T., Wagner, H., Wray, V., Dorsch, W. 1988. Inhibitors of Cyclo-Oxygenase and Lipoxygenase in Onions. Lancet, 8616: 906.
CEPAENE-2-B 0 Bulb not available not available not available Bayer, T., Wagner, H., Wray, V., Dorsch, W. 1988. Inhibitors of Cyclo-Oxygenase and Lipoxygenase in Onions. Lancet, 8616: 906.
CEPAENE-3 0 Bulb not available not available not available Bayer, T., Wagner, H., Wray, V., Dorsch, W. 1988. Inhibitors of Cyclo-Oxygenase and Lipoxygenase in Onions. Lancet, 8616: 906.
CEPAENE-4-A 0 Bulb not available not available not available Bayer, T., Wagner, H., Wray, V., Dorsch, W. 1988. Inhibitors of Cyclo-Oxygenase and Lipoxygenase in Onions. Lancet, 8616: 906.
CEPAENE-4-B 0 Bulb not available not available not available Bayer, T., Wagner, H., Wray, V., Dorsch, W. 1988. Inhibitors of Cyclo-Oxygenase and Lipoxygenase in Onions. Lancet, 8616: 906.
CEPAENES 0 Bulb not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
CEPANONE 0 Bulb not available not available not available Wealth of India.
CEPOSIDE-D 0 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
Neuroprotective 3 Duke, 1992 *
Neurotoxic 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Neurotransmitter 1 Duke, 1992 *
NF-kB-Inhibitor 4 Duke, 1992 *
NO-Genic 1 Duke, 1992 *
NO-Inhibitor 3 Duke, 1992 *
NO-Scavenger 1 Duke, 1992 *
NO-Synthase-Inhibitor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Occuloirritant 2 Duke, 1992 *
Odontolytic 1 Zebovitz, T. C. Ed. 1989. Part VII. Flavor and Fragrance Substances, in Keith L. H. and Walters, D.B., eds. Compendium of Safety Data Sheets for Research and Industrial Chemicals. VCH Publishers, New York. 3560-4253.
Ophthalmic-Antialkali 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Ornithine-Decarboxylase-Inhibitor 4 Hagerman, A.E. Tannin-Protein Interactions. Phenolic Compounds in Food and Their Effects on Health, Ch.19.
Osmoregulator 1 Duke, 1992 *
Osteogenic 1 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Osteolytic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Oviposition-Stimulant 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Ovulant 1 Duke, 1992 *
Oxidant 2 Larson, R.A. 1987. Review Article Number 30. The Antioxidants of Higher Plants. Phytochemistry. 27: 969-978.
P450-Inducer 1 Father Nature's Farmacy: The aggregate of all these three-letter citations.
P450-Inhibitor 1 Father Nature's Farmacy: The aggregate of all these three-letter citations.