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
HEDERAGENIN 9 Leaf not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
HEDERAGENIN 9 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
HEDERAGENIN 9 Shoot not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
HENTRIACONTANE 0 Plant not available not available not available ANON. 1948-1976. The Wealth of India raw materials. Publications and Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi. 11 volumes.
HISTIDINE 7 Plant not available not available not available Newall, C. A., Anderson, L. A. and Phillipson, J. D. 1996. Herbal Medicine - A Guide for Health-care Professionals. The Pharmaceutical Press, London. 296pp.
HYDROGEN-CYANIDE 0 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
HYDROXY-PROLINE-BETAINE 0 Leaf not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
HYDROXYFORMONONETIN 0 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
HYPEROSIDE 30 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
HYPOXANTHINE 0 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
INOSINE 8 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
INOSITOL 8 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
INVERTASE 0 Plant not available not available not available ANON. 1948-1976. The Wealth of India raw materials. Publications and Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi. 11 volumes.
IRON 6 Plant 4.9 26.0 -0.71 Duke, 1992 *
ISO-PALMITIC-ACID 0 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ISO-PENTADECANOIC-ACID 0 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ISOCYTOSINE 0 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ISOLEUCINE 3 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.
KAEMPFEROL 75 Flower not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
KAEMPFEROL-7-O-ALPHA-L-RHAMNOSIDE 0 Leaf 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
Proliferant 1 Duke, 1992 *
Prooxidant 4 Duke, 1992 *
Propecic 5 Duke, 1992 *
Prostaglandigenic 3 Duke, 1992 *
Prostaglandin-Sparer 1 Fujita, T., Nakatani, E., Funaishi, N., Sakuma, S., Fujimoto, Y. Potent inhibition of prostaglandin inactivation in rabbit gastric antral mucosal slices by selenium ions in-vitro. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 42: 655-657, 1990.
Prostaglandin-Synthesis-Inhibitor 4 Duke, 1992 *
Protein-Kinase-C-Inhibitor 4 Naim, M., Zehavi, U., Nagy, S., and Rouseff, R.L. Hydroxycinnamic Acids as Off-Flavor Precursors in Citrus Fruits and Their Products. Phenolic Compounds in Food and Their Effects on Health, Ch.14.
Protisticide 1 Meckes, M., Calzada, F., Tapia-Contreras, A., Cedillo-Rivera, R. 1999. Antiprotozoal Properties of Helianthemum glomeratum. Phytotherapy Research, 13(2): 102-105.
Psychotropic 1 Uchida, U., Ohta, H., Niwa, M., Mori, A., Nonaka, G-i., Nishioka, I., and Zaki, M. 1989. Prolongation of Life Span of Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHRSP) Ingesting Persimmon Tannin. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 38(4): 1049-1052, 1990.
PTK-Inhibitor 3 Duke, 1992 *
Pyrogenic 1 Conradson, T. B. G., Dixon, C. M. S., Clarke, B., Barnes, P. J. 1987. Cardiovascular Effects of Infused Adenosine in Man: Potentiation by Dipyridamole. Acta Physiol Scand, 129(3): 387-391.
Quinone-Reductase-Inducer 9 Duke, 1992 *
Radioprotective 1 Duke, 1992 *
Refrigerant 1 Martindale's 28th
Renotoxic 1 Merck 11th Edition
Respirastimulant 1 Martindale's 29th
Retinoprotectant Optometry 1 Duke, 1992 *
Secretomotor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Sedative 9 Wagner & Wolff, eds. 1977. New Natural Products (RS164. I56. 176)
Serotoninergic 2 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).