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 Medicago sativa (Fabaceae)

Common Names
Alfalfa; Lucerne
How this plant is used
Generally Recognized as Safe
Subspecies
sativa
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
ANTHOCYANINS 30 Plant not available not available not available Leung, A. Y. and Foster, S. 1995. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients 2nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 649 pp.
APIGENIN 101 Shoot not available 70.0 1.00 Duke, 1992 *
APIGENIN-7-O-BETA-D-GLUCURONIDE 0 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
APS-SULFOTRANSFERASE 0 Leaf not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ARABINOSE 0 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ARGININE 14 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ASCORBIC-ACID 112 Leaf not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ASCORBIC-ACID 112 Plant 276.0 1470.0 -0.25 Duke, 1992 *
ASH 0 Plant 18800.0 100000.0 -0.38 Duke, 1992 *
ASH 0 Seed 44000.0 49830.0 0.06 ANON. 1948-1976. The Wealth of India raw materials. Publications and Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi. 11 volumes.
ASPARAGINE 2 Seed not available not available not available Leung, A. Y. and Foster, S. 1995. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients 2nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 649 pp.
AUROXANTHIN 0 Flower not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
AUROXANTHIN 0 Leaf not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
AZUKISAPONIN-II 0 Shoot not available 5.6 not available Duke, 1992 *
AZUKISAPONIN-V 0 Shoot not available 20.0 not available Duke, 1992 *
BAYOGENIN 3 Leaf not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
BENZOYL-(S),(-)-MALIC-ACID 0 Plant not available not available not available Leung, A. Y. and Foster, S. 1995. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients 2nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 649 pp.
BENZOYLMESOTARTARIC-ACID 0 Plant not available not available not available Leung, A. Y. and Foster, S. 1995. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients 2nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 649 pp.
BETA-AMYRIN 9 Fruit not available 15.0 not available Duke, 1992 *
BETA-AMYRIN 9 Plant 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
Collyrium 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Colorant 8 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Comedolytic 2 Martindale's 29th
COMP-Inhibitor 1 Dullo, A. G., et al. 1999. Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans. Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, 70: 1040-1045.
COMT-Inhibitor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Copper-Antagonist 1 Challem, J., Berkson, Burt, and Smith, Melissa Dianne. 2000.
Syndrome X - The complete nutritional program to prevent and reservse insulin resistance. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 272 pp. $24.95
Copper-Chelator 2 Duke, 1992 *
Coronary-Dilator 1 Duke, 1992 *
Cosmetic 4 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
COX-1-Inhibitor 4 Duke, 1992 *
COX-2-Inhibitor 8 Newmark, T. M. and Schulick, P. 2000. Herbal Cox-2 Inhibition - Nature's Challenge to Arthritis, Cancer & Alzheimer's Disease. Hohm Press, Prescott AZ.
Cyclooxygenase-Activator 1 Hansel, R., Keller, K., Rimpler, H., and Schneider, G. eds. 1992. Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Drogen (A-D), 1209 pp., 1993 (E-O), 970 pp., 1994 (P-Z), 1196 pp. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Cyclooxygenase-Inhibitor 5 Duke, 1992 *
Cytochrome-P450-1A1-Inhibitor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Cytochrome-P450-1A2-Inhibitor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Cytochrome-P450-Inducer 1 Duke, 1992 *
Cytoprotective 1 Newall, C. A., Anderson, L. A. and Phillipson, J. D. 1996. Herbal Medicine - A Guide for Health-care Professionals. The Pharmaceutical Press, London. 296pp.
Cytotoxic 11 Planta Medica, 57: A113, 1991.
Deiodinase-Inhibitor 2 Jim Duke's personal files.
Demulcent 2 Duke, 1992 *