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With the database online, one can ask for a list of all compounds reported from any of some 2,000 species inluding most of the more important foods, spices, herbs and medicinal plants.
Here for example, is what one would find on pomegranate, so far the richest
plant source of estrone.
Punica Granatum L.
"POMEGRANATE"
ALKALOIDS 1,000-7,000 RT BK HHB WOI
ARACHIDIC-ACID SD HHB
ASCORBIC-ACID 40-636 FR CRC USA
ASH 5,000-35,858 FR USA
ASIATIC-ACID FL HHB
BETULIC-ACID BK LF WOI
BORIC-ACID 50 FR HHB
BREVIFOLIN LF PC36:963
BREVIFOLIN-CARBOXYLIC-ACID LF PC36:963
CALCIUM 30-650 FR CRC USA
CALCIUM-OXALATE 40,000 RIND FR WOI
CARBOHYDRATES 162,000-927,000 FR CRC USA
CAROTENE 0-2 FR CRC WOI
CASUARIIN BK RAA
CASUARININ BK RAA
CHLORINE 20 FR WOI
CASUARIIN PL 411/
CASUARININ PL 411/
CEREBROSIDE SD RAA
CHLOROGENIC-ACID FR RAA
CITRIC-ACID 8,100-12,300 FR JU WOI
COPPER 2 FR WOI
CORILAGIN LF RAA
P-COUMARINIC-ACID FR RAA
CYANIDIN-3-GLUCOSIDE FR RAA
CYANIDIN-3,5-DIGLUCOSIDE FR RAA
DELPHINIDIN-3,5-DIGLUCOSIDE PC RAA
DELPHINIDIN-3-GLUCOSIDE FR RAA
ELAIDIC-ACID 5,500 PC RAA
ELLAGIC-ACID BK CCO
ELLAGIC-ACID LF PC36:963
ELLAGITANNIN BK 411/
ESTRA DIOL SD RAA
ESTRONE 17 SD JBH WOI
FAT 50,000-200,000 SD HHB
FAT 1,000-38,000 FR CRC USA WOI
FIBER 2,000-232,000 FR CRC USA WOI
FIBER 224,000 SD WOI
FLAVOGALLOL PC RAA
FRIEDELIN BK WOI
FRUCTOSE FR WOI
GALLIC-ACID 900-40,000 PC RAA WOI
2-O-GALLOYLPUNICALIN LF RAA
GLUCOSE FR WOI
GRANATIN-A PC RAA
GRANATIN-B PC RAA
GRANATINS 15,000 LF RAA
GUMS 32,000 RIND FR WOI
3,6-(R)-HEXAHYDROXYDIPHENOYL-(ALPHA,BETA)-1C-4-GLUCOPYRANOSE LF PC36:963
INULIN 10,000 RIND FR WOI
IRON 3-16 FR USA
ISOPELLETIERINE BK WOI
ISOQUERCETRIN PC RAA
LINOLEIC-ACID SD HHB
MAGNESIUM 120 FR WOI
MALIC-ACID FR WOI
MALVIDIN FR RAA
MALTOSE FR WOI
MALVIDIN-PENTOSE-GLYCOSIDE FR JU WOI
MANNITOL 18,000 PC WOI
D-MANNITOL SD LF ST RT BK
MASLINIC-ACID FL HHB
METHYL-ISOPELLETIERINE BK JBH
METHYL-PELLETIERINE BK WOI
MUCILAGE 6,000-340,000 RIND HHB WOI
NEOCHLOROGENIC-ACID FR RAA
NIACIN 3-50 FR CRC USA
OLEIC-ACID SD HHB
OXALIC-ACID 140 FR USA
PALMITIC-ACID SD HHB
PANTOTHENIC-ACID 6-31 FR USA
PECTIN 20,000-40,000 PC RAA
PECTIN 2,700 FR WOI
PELARGONIDIN-3,5-DIGLUCOSIDE FL WOI
PELARGONIDIN-3-GLUCOSIDE SD RAA
PELLETIERINE BK WOI
(-)-PELLETIERINE PL JBH
1,2,3,4,6-PENTA-O-GALLOYL-BETA-D-GLUCOSE LF RAA
3,4,8,9,10-PENTAHYDROXYDIBENZO(B,D)-PYRAN-6-ONE LF PC36:963
PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE SD RAA
PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL SD RAA
PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE SD RAA
PHOSPHORUS 80-3,182 FR CRC USA WOI
PHYTOSTEROLS 170-892 FR USA
POLYPHENOLS 2,200-10,500 FR RAA
POTASSIUM 1,330-18,950 FR CRC USA WOI
2-(2-PROPENYL)-DELTA'-PIPERIDEINE LF WOI
PROTEIN 7,700-73,000 FR CRC USA
PROTEIN 25,000 SD CRC
PROTOCATECHUIC-ACID FR RAA
PSEUDOPELLETIERINE BK WOI JBH
PUNICACORTEINS BK RAA
PUNICAFOLIN LF PC36:963
PUNICALAGIN PC CCO
PUNICALIN PC CCO
PUNICIC-ACID 35,000-140,000 SD JBH WOI
PUNIGLUCONIN BK RAA
RESINS 45,000 PC RAA WOI
RIBOFLAVIN 0-4 FR CRC USA
SALICYLATES 0.7-3.5 FR JAD85:9501
BETA-SITOSTEROL BK HHB
BETA-SITOSTEROL 16-800 FR GAS
SODIUM 9-350 FR CRC USA WOI
SORBITOL HHB
STARCH 0 SD HHB
STEARIC-ACID SD HHB
STRICTININ LF RAA
STYPTIC-ACID FL RAA
SULFUR 120 FR WOI
TANNIN 1,700 FR JU WOI
TANNIN 104,000-336,000 PC RAA WOI
TANNIN 100,000-250,000 ST BK WOI
TANNIN 280,000 RT BK WOI
TANNIN 110,000 LF WOI
1,2,4,6-TETRA-O-GALLOYL-BETA-D-GLUCOSE LF RAA
THIAMIN 0-4 FR CRC USA
CIS-9,TRANS-11,CIS-13-TRIENE-ACID SD HHB
1,2,6-TRI-O-GALLOYL-BETA-4C-1-GLUCOPYRANOSE LF PC36:963
1,4,6-TRI-O-GALLOYL-BETA-4C-1-GLUCOPYRANOSE LF PC36:963
URSOLIC-ACID LF FR WOI
VIT-B-6 1-5 FR USA
WATER 350,000 SD WOI
WATER 780,000-823,220 FR USA WOI
WAX 8,000 PC WOI
One can also ask in what phytochemicals a given herb exceeds the norm (as
defined by you, the user). In this so-called High Concentration
Chemicals Query, one can display a list of the chemicals in a
particular plant with concentrations greater than a selected number of standard
deviations above the mean for concentration among all plants in the database.
One can request also the biological activities of these high concentration
chemicals and the activitied will be listed subsequently. To enter the query, I
typed the generic name Punica, the species epithet, granatum,
and plant part, various. Then I clicked on the Submit button. Seeking
real super chemicals I first clicked on 2 Standard Deviations; nothing came out
for fruit or seed. Clicking on 1 Standard deviation I got only estrone for the
seed. Relaxing my standards, I clicked on 0.5 Standard deviations and got
interesting details for the fruit, confirming very well what Nagle and Yeykal
had suggested. Here's part of the printout.
High Concentration Chemicals in the Fruit of
Punica granatum L. (Punicaceae) - [Pomegranate]
(chemical concentrations 0.5 standard deviation(s) above the mean)
BORIC-ACID 50 ppm DUKE1992A
CARBOHYDRATES 162,000 - 927,000 ppm DUKE1992A
ESTRONE 17 ppm DUKE1992A
FIBER 2,000 - 232,000 ppm DUKE1992A
PANTOTHENIC-ACID 6 - 31 ppm DUKE1992A
PHOSPHORUS 80 - 3,182 ppm DUKE1992A
POTASSIUM 1,330 - 18,950 ppm DUKE1992A
WATER 780,000 - 823,220 ppm DUKE1992A
Phytochemeco Database - USDA - ARS - NGRL
Stephen M.
Beckstrom-Sternberg and James A. Duke
CAVEAT: The USDA does not recommend self diagnosis or self medication. Please
see the disclaimer for more information.
One can also query to see which botanicals are reportedly highest in any one
of more than 2000 phytochemicals. Depending how the query is structured, the
database will list out all quantified entries for a given chemical. The
following Nutritional Highs tabulations results from several such queries over
the last couple of years.
James A. Duke
My database is available on internet at: http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/
It is constantly being revised. At the University of Maryland site, we have
twenty computers available for medicinal workshops where tweny participants can
work interactively with the workshop. In such workshops we can walk users
through the various routines in the database, routines that could lead
practitioners to the IC-50s for biological activie compounds, LD-50s of
poisonous chemicals, the best sources of a newly emerging medicinal
phytochemical. Should your associates be attending symposia in the Greater
Washington, DC/Baltimore/College Park, Maryland, we could arrange for a 1-2 hour
hands-on workshop for up groups of 10 to 20 scientists or practitioners.
Remember that the database is constantly being updated as new data come in,
and revisions are made. Notably, some of our early folic acid entries were three
orders of magnitude high, because our sources for the data had used mg where
they intended ug. Those mistakes suggested erroneously that a few grams e.g. of
lentils could prevent spina bifida. The same error was made by one scientist who
meant grams when he said milligrams when discussing GABA. His error led us to
believe initially that an ounce or two of tomato juice might contain enough GABA
to alleviate or obviate hypertension. He said that clinical hypertension is
treated by oral administration of GABA, at a dose of "1.5-4.0 mg/day" for over a
week, and in most cases hypotensive and diuretic effects will ensue, together
with the disappearance of such symptoms as headache, tinnitus, stiff shoulders
and insomnia, which often accompany hypertension. He should have said 1.5-4
g/day, not 1.5-4.0 mg/day. A new health newletter recently talked of 3 g borons
being useful in osteoporosis, when the MD author of the newsletter would surely
have intended 3 mg. He ran a correction after I contacted his office and pointed
out the rather dangerous 3-magnitude error. I used to site hot pepper and
cayenne as our best food sources of salicylates. But recent new analyses lowered
the salicylate values two orders of magnitude. And I used to talk about
chocolate as a jungle source of antiasthmatic theophyline, citing my sources
accurately. A new source suggested that the theophylline in the literature was
in error, and that other xanthines were probably mistaken for theophyline.
I have not listed below the biological activities but these too are all
catalogued in the ever growing database.
ALANINE: Highs for alanine on a dry weight basis (ZMB) in
the Father Nature's Farmacy database include watercress (2.7%), followed by jute
and lambsquarter at 2.1%, bean sprouts, carob and soy at 1.9, chinese cabbage at
1.8, pigweed and spinach at 1.7, chives at 1.6, sesame and watermelon seed at
1.5%, butternut, cauliflower, chaya, lupine and swamp cabbage at 1.4%, adzuki
bean, broccoli, lentil, poppyseed, and purslane at 1.3%, rounded on a dry weight
basis.
ALUMINUM: Those convinced that aluminum might contribute to
Alzheimer's disease might be alarmed by the concentrations of aluminum published
in my CRC Handbook of Phytochemical Constitutents, based mostly on data from the
USGS. Highest (and near lowest, depending on where grown) was cucumber, at up to
21,000 ppms; then coneflower at 12,900, butter bean at 3,000, chickweed at
1,960, pennyroyal at 1,850, tomato at 1,700, butcher's broom at 1,300, bean,
carrot and grape at around 1,000, thyme around 900, cowpea ca 850, and cohosh
and sassafras at around 760 ppms, on a calculated dry weight basis.
ANTHOCYANINS: In a review of anthocyanins in fruits, Mazza
and Miati (1993) report 300-700 mg/100 g fresh fruit for bilberries, 80-325 for
blackberries, 725-1050 in black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) 160 in
boysenberries, 250 in black currants, 7-495 for blueberries, 350-450 in
cherries, 75-80 for cranberries, 50-400 in hawthorn 30-330 in lingonberry, 1,500
in mountain ash, 10-20 in red currants, 30 to 750 for red grapes 20-60 in red
raspberries, 25-180 in saskatoon berry (Amalanchier alnifolia), 140-380
in sea buckthorn 115-225 in whortleberries, (Mazza & Miniati, 1993). Boik
(1995) notes that some anthocyanins, as anticoagulants, might prevent blood
clots, even strokes. He reports also that they may protect collagen from
degradation by inducing cross-linking of collagen fibers, by promoting collagen
synthesis, and by preventing enzymatic cleavage of collagen. Anthocyanins
inhibit collagenase. By inhibiting collagenase activity, anthocyanins may
inhibit invasions by cancer cells. (However, like vitamin C, they may stimulate
collagen synthesis and angiogenesis; this latter conflicts with what we read
elsewhere, that they might prevent diabetic retinopathy, which at least in some
circumstances is caused by new blood vessels proliferation. Boik suggests for
arthritis and capillary permeability, doses of 20 to 40 mg pure anthocyanins
thrice daily, or 1 20 mg/day. Remeber that 100 g usually calculates to about
half a cup. Consult the list above to see where you can get your daily 120 mg
anthocyanins. (Boik, 1995; Mazza & Miniati, 1993)
ARGININE: Highs for arginine on a dry weight basis (ZMB) in
the Father Nature's Farmacy database include sunflower highest at 8.2%, followed
by carob at 5.5, butternut at 5.0, watermelon seed at 4.7, white lupine at 4.4,
peanut at 3.7, chaya and sesame at 3.5, soy at 3.1, watercress at 3.0,
fenugreek, mustard, and Indian fig at 2.7%, almond and velvetbean at 2.6, bean
sprouts, brazilnut and chives at 2.5%, and broad-beans and lentils at 2.4%, on a
zero-moisture basis.
ASCORBIC ACID: Citrus is by no means king of the vitamin C
mountain. On a zero-moisture basis, camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) is
reported to be nearly 50% ascorbic acid, so incredible that I obtained a new
sample to verify the analyses. (On the summer solstice of 1995, I got the great
news: camu-camu juice, preserved in 50:50 ethanol:juice, contained 2,110 ppms
ascorbic acid, fresh weight basis. That means pure juice would have had at least
4,220 ppms ascorbic acid, even when it left the jungle in a two-bit thermus.
Assuming that the fruit juice is 95% water, that calculates to 8% vitamin C on a
dry weight basis. Even if you take a more conservative estimate of 90% water,
camu-camu still tops 4% vitamin C on a day weight basis! Following camu-camu is
the antidiabetic anti-HIV bitter melon (to 3.6%), emblic (to 2.7), rosehip (to
2.5), bell pepper (to 2.1), cayenne (to 2.0), cashew apple (to 1.8), pokeweed
shoots (to 1.6) vine spinach (Basella) and Cherokee rose (Rosa
laevigata) (to 1.5), guava (to 1.4) and watercress (to 1.4%), all on
calculated dry weight bases. The highest citrus in my database is the calamansi
(Citrus mitis) at 1.1%, with even the lemon trailing far behind at
0.56%. I'm not ready to accept the 9.4% vitamin C suggested for red bush tea by
the Lawrence Review (Aug. 1990).
ASPARTIC-ACID: Highs for aspartic-acid on a dry weight basis (ZMB) in the Father Nature's Farmacy include swamp cabbage at 8.6%, bean sprouts at 5.9, soybean at 5.0, lentil sprouts at 4.8. asparagus and jute greens at 4.6, lupine at 4.3, carob, chaya and velvetbean at 4.2, winged bean at 4.1, peanut and watercress 3.7, yambean at 3.6, lentil at 3.5,, broad bean at 3.3, butternut, cowpea, chives and yardlong bean at 3.2% on a dry weight basis.
BIOTIN: Lamentably, when my database was published in 1992,
these were the only quantitative data I had for biotin which occurs in all
living plants. Soybean was highest at 750 ppm, followed by garlic at 22 ppm,
american ginseng 9, oats 1.4, coca 1, barley 0.9, chinese ginseng 0.9, avocado
0.4, cottonseed 0.3, alfalfa 0.2, sesame and corn 0.06, faba bean 0.03, and last
and lowest elderberry at 0.009 ppms, on a dry weight basis. I believe the low
numbers more than the high ones. But I hope the soybean figure is true; if so
there are strong food farmacy implications, for dandruff, dermatitis, and
seborrhea, if not baldness.
BORNEOL: Cardamom tops my data base at 8,000 ppm (ZMB),
followed by sage at 7,000, rosemary at 4,225, japanese fir at 3,775, reverchon's
pennyroyal at 2,525, muticous mountain mint at 1,350, douglas' savory at at 910,
ageratum at 500, wild oregano at 250, oswego tea at 75, and coriander at 50 ppms
(on a ZMB).
BORON: Corn salad tops my data base at 350 ppm (ZMB)(but new
materials checked were not nearly so high) followed by plum at 250, quince at
180, strawberry 160, peach 150, cabbage 145, dandelion 125, asparagus 104, fig
100, ginseng, poppyseed, and tomato 95, broccoli and lettuce at 85 ppm, beet,
cherry, currant and pear at 80, cauliflower 75, apricot 70, and black currants
and radishes at 65, on a rounded zero-moisture basis.
CALCIUM: On a dry weight basis, leaves are our best sources
of calcium, pigweed at 5.3%, lambsquarter at 3.4%, nettle at 3.3%, broadbeans at
3.1%, blackgram fruits at 2.7%, watercress, licorice, and marjoram at 2.4%,
savory at 2.3, red clover shoots and thyme at 2.3, chinese cabbage and basil,
and celery (seed), chaya, dandelion and purslane at 2.1%. Chicory and endive are
below 2.0% on a dry weight basis. In females over 12 years old in the US, mean
calcium intakes are below 88% of RDA. (Nickel et al, J. Nutr. 126{5}:1406.
1996).
CAMPHENE: Highs among edible plants for camphene in FNF are
sage (to 1.96% on a dry weight basis), ginger (to 0.63%) citronella (0.09),
caraway (0.09) nutmeg (0.06); fennel (0.05) and basil (0.04% on a calculated
ZMB).
CAMPHOR: The highs for camphor in my database include some
obscure plants like ho leaf (to 22%), douglas-savory (to 0.6%), montane mountain
mint (to 0.4%), spike lavender (to 0.3%), hyssop (to 0.3%), lavandin (to 0.16%),
and coriander (to 0.13%)}.
BETA-CAROTENE: Purslane was by far the best source of
beta-carotene in my database, at 4,700 ppms, followed by sorrel at 1,100, jujube
at 700, barley grass, carrot, jujube, nasturtium, spinach and water spinach at
700 ppm, gotu kola, pokeweed, roselle, and watercress at 600, bell peppers,
chives, chrysanthemum, jute, mustard greens, pigweed, swamp cabbage and sweet
potatoes at 500 ppm, on a rounded dry weight basis. Leung and Foster (1995)
report 6,300 ppms (0.63%) carotene in the roots of comfrey. I fear this value
has to be discounted. Otherwise the relatively colorless root would be higher
than anything else in my database for carotene. A recent paper Deli, Matus, Toth
(1996) showed that paprika pepper (Capsicum annuum) can contain almost
10,000 ppms total carotenoids when fully ripe and dry. This new paper moved
paprika up to third in my database for beta-carotene at 885 ppms.
Deli, J., Matus, Z., and Toth, G. 1996. Carotenoid composition in the fruits
of Capsicum annuum ca Szantesi Kosszarvu during ripening. J. Agric.
Food Chem. 44(3): 711-716.
CARVACROL: Highs for carvacrol in the published database
(Duke, 1992) include wild bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, (to 2.0%), thyme
(1.9), winter savory (1.7), horsebalm (1.3), mother of thyme (1.0), summer
savory (0.6%), ajwan (0.3) and betel leaf, (to 0.24% on a dry weight basis).
CARVONE: Caraway is highs for its namesake carvone (to
4.4%), dillseed (3.8), biblical mint (3.0), cornmint (2.6), spearmint (to 2.0%)
black cumin (1.0), applemint (to 0.5.% on a dry weight basis). Celeryseed and
other umbelliferous seeds may be rich in closely related compounds. Epazote
(Chenopodium ambrosioides) may contain uo to 1.1% pinocarvone.
CHOLINE: As for choline itself, fruits of the white-flowered
bottle-gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, were highest in choline ZMB,
sometimes exceeding a calculated 1.6% choline. Fenugreek leaves can exceed 1.3%,
shepherd's purse 1.0%. Horehound, ginseng, cowpea, english pea, mung bean,
sponge gourd, lentil, and dong-quai are other herbs reported to attain as much
as 0.2% choline ZMB (FNF, Duke, 1992). Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine
(Zeisel et al, 1995) advise that, in male rats, dietary choline deficiency
causes fatty infiltration of the liver, compromises renal function, and is
associated with bone abnormalities, decreased hematopoeisis, growth impairment,
hepatocarcinogenesis, hypertension and infertility. "Recommendations for dietary
choline are needed... Extra dietary choline may be advantageous during pregnancy
and lactation in rats." Prenatal choline may improve memory in offspring rats.
(Zeisel et al, 1995)
Zeisel, S. H., Mr, M. H., Zhou, Z. W. and Da Costa, K. A. 1995. Pregnancy and
lactation are associated with diminished concentrations of choline and its
metabolites in rat liver. J. Nutr. 125(12): 3049-3054.
CINEOLE: Plants containing more than 300 ppm's cineole (as
their maximum reported dry weight content) are basil (to 776), beebalm (to
2,735), cardamom (to 56,000), cinnamon (to 800), eucalypt (to 29,750), fennel
(to 300), ginger (to 5,000), hyssop (to 610), large cardamom (to 15,000),
lavender (to 3,435), lemon leaf (to 700), lemon verbena (to 450), nutmeg (to
3,520), peppermint (to 1,390), rosemary (to 8,125), spearmint (to 9,375), sweet
annie (to 6,600), tansy (to 1,300), tarragon (to 500), turmeric (to 720), and
yarrow (to 960).
CITRAL: Highs for citral in my published database include
ginger (to 1.35%), basil (to 0.7%), East Indian lemongrass (to 0.42%), West
Indian lemongrass (to 0.34%), bois-de-rose (to 0.15%), clary sage (to 0.09%),
lemon (to 0.03%0 and carrot seed (to 0.02%) on a dry weight basis.
CITRIC-ACID: Far exceeding anything else in FNF is the
calamansi (Citrus mitis) at 28.1% citric acid on a dry weight basis.
Then there's lemon at 6% and the Amazonian maracuya (Passiflora edulis)
4.6%, soy at 1.3, pomegranate and tangerine at , strawberry and cacao at 0.8%,
mamey at 0.6, and prickly pear and purslane at 0.5. American ginseng has 0.3,
with lime, potatoes, and citrus weighing in close to 0.1%, on a dry weight
basis.
COPPER: Food plants richest in copper in my database include
tomato at 100 ppms ZMB, cabbage at 85, filberts at 80, broccoli at 50,
blackbeans and collards at 45, cucumber at 40, cashew, coconut, pistachio, plum,
rosehip and winged bean at 35, bitter melon, black cherry, gobo, lettuce, peach,
pumpkin, sorrel at 30, and artichokes, asparagus, cacao, fennel, jicama oats,
and spinach at 25 ppm on a rounded calculated dry weight basis.
COUMARIN: Highs for coumarin in FNF (Duke, 1992b) are tonka
bean (to 3.5% ZMB), deer tongue (to 1.6%), woodruff, to 1.3%, peru balsam seeds
0.4%, jujube leaves 0.3% and sweet clover, to 0.2% coumarin, on a dry weight
basis (ZMB). Deer's Tongue, at 1.6% coumarin is second only to the tonka bean as
a cheap source of the controversial coumarin.
CYSTINE: Leading off in FNF for cystine is white mustard at
6,200 ppm, winged bean seed at 5,900, lambsquarter at 5,700, sesame seed at
5,500, mustard greens at 5,400, chaya and pistachio at 5,300, bean sprouts at
5,200, butternuts, oats and lupine at 5,000, poppyseed at 4,900 asparagus at
4,600 taro leaves at 4,500, purslane and spinach at 4,200, and fenugreek and
lentils at 4,100 ppms, on a rounded calculated dry weight basis. Zello et al
(1995) suggest a requirement of 13 mg/kg/day methinone plus cystine for adults,
based on nitrogen-balance studies, but they maintain that such estimates are too
low.
EUGENOL: Highs for eugenol in my database include cloves (to
18%), allspice (to 3.6%), bayrum leaf (to 1.9%), galangal (to 1.2%), clove leaf
(to 0.9%), carrot seed (to 0.7%), shrubby basil (to 0.5%), cinnamon (to 0.35%),
bayleaf (to 0.11%) and marjoram (to 0.11%) on a dry weight basis.
FLUORINE: Can I believe the De Smet (1993) entry of 0.09% (=900 ppms) for Lycopus europaeus when my highest entries were parsley and nettle at up to 8 ppm, ZMB, dill and bitter melon closer to 5 ppm, moringa leaves, pistacio nuts and rhubarb at 4, coconut and currant at 3 and brazilnut, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, cloudberry, ginger, apple, pecan and tomato at closer to 2 ppm (dry matter basis). FLUORIDE: Anticariogenic DAS; Antiosteoporotic DAS; Antiosteosclerotic DAS; PTD=4-20 mg/day. If bugle weed really is 900 ppms fluoride, that means 100 g fresh or 10 g dry bugle would contain up to 9 mg fluorine, a potentially toxic dose.
FOLACIN: Folacin (folic acid) is not
abundant in plants, my highest reliable entries being edible
jute (Corchorus olitorus) at 32 ppm (ZMB), spinach at 27, endive at 25,
asparagus at 18, parsley at 18, okra at 10, pigweed at 10, and cabbage at 9
ppm's, on a calculated zero moisture basis. Nine parts per million converts to
900 micrograms (ug) per 100 g (1/2 cup), but to convert to dry weight you need
to divide by 10 if the water content was 90%. Acc to CRH7:p. 63, 1995, on a
fresh weight basis, 1/2 cup blackeyed peas will provide 45% of the RDA of 400
micrograms of folic acid, or 180 micrograms (ug); 1/2 cup lentils 180, one
avocado 164 ug, 1/2 cup sunflower seed 160, 1/2 cup pinto beans 148, 1/2 cup
garbanzos 140, 1/2 cup lima beans 136, 1/2 cup spinach 132 ug, 1/2 cup lima
beans 128, 1/2 cup kidney beans 116, 1/2 cup asparagus 96, 1/2 cup peanuts 88, 1
cup orange juice 76, one cup lettuce 76, one cup escarole 72, 1/2 cup peas 52,
1/2 cup broccoli 48, and 1/2 cup brussels sprouts 48 micrograms on an as
purchased basis. I fear that Wang and Goldman (1995) may be off a magnitude or
three when they report folic acid content varying almost ten-fold in beets, from
1.54 mg to 11.13 mg per gram dry weight (That translates to a highly improbable
1,540-11,130 ppms.). If that were true, a bit of beet could prevent fetal
alcohol syndrome and spina bifida. I was also surprised to read in Leung and
Foster (1995) that stinging nettles inject folic acid into the skin. I had been
saying formic acid.
Wang, M. and Goldman, I. L. 1995. Genetic Variation in Folic Acid Content of
Red Beet Genotypes. Abstract. Internat. Symp. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, U.
Mass., Amherst. Aug. 27-30. 1995.
FRUCTOSE: On a dry weight basis, dates can have over 30%
fructose, chicory roots 22%, onion bulbs 16%, tamarind and turmeric 12%, orange
2.4%, hops 2.0%, and grapefruit 1.2%, on a calculated dry weight basis. There
are heriditary diseases like fructosuria and hereditary fructose intolerance.
The amount we can digest seems to be related to what other sugars, esp. glucose,
are in the GI tract. The fructose:glucose ratio is important. Fructose is
believe to cross the intestinal brush border only by facilitated diffusion with
the aid of a protein carrier molecule. Glucose crosses thu these cellular
membranes both fy facilitated diffusion and by energy-requiring active
transport. This may explain the greater incidence of fructose vs glucose
malabsoprtion. USDA figures suggest we are close to a 48:21 fructose:glucose
ratio. Sorbitol makes things worse requiring fructokinase for its metabolism.
Sorbose from which sorbitol is made is a stereoisomer of fructose. Look for more
fructose intolerance as technology alters our ratios in the future, taking us
farther from our paleolithic frugivorous ratios. (Levin, 1996).
Levin, B. 1996. Honey and fructose malabsorption. QRNM (Spr.):41-2.
GENISTEIN: I've been seeking reliable data for three years
now, but here's the best I can do for my Independence Day rundown, on a high-low
for food grade genistein sources (I'm stretching the point by including clover
flowers, rarely consumed by normal non-herbalists); sub-clover 473 ppms, tarhui
(Lupinus mutabilis) 111 ppms, peanut 54, groundnut (Apios
americana) 48, soybean 46, crimson-clover blossum 25, red clover blossum
19, fenugreek 18, montane clover 10, fababean 6, zigzag clover 6, strawberry
clover 5, mungbean 2. Note that subclover flowers have almost ten times as much
as soybean, enough that cattle grazing the sub-clover often have estrogenic
problems, even miscarriage. And I like my peanuts even better, now that I see
they have more genistein than soybean. Any day now the following table is due
for publication.
SEED SAMPLE Genistein (ppms) Daidzein (ppms)
Psoralea corylifolia 1528.0 539.7
(Kudzu Root 316.9 949.8)
Yellow split pea 45.8 0.4
Black turtle beans 45.1 0.4
Baby lima beans 40.1 0.4
Large lima beans 34.4 0.3
Anasazi beans 29.8 6.5
Red kidney beans 29.3 2.7
Red lentils 25.0 5.2
SOYBEANS 24.1 37.6
Black eyed peas 23.3 0.3
Pinto beans 22.3 23.2
Mung beans 21.8 0.3
Azuki beans 21.2 4.6
Faba beans 19.9 5.0
Great northern beans 17.7 7.2
Anthyllis vulneraria 3.7 1.8
GERANIOL: Highs for geraniol in my published database
include horsebalm (to 2.9%), carrot (to 0.8%), skhabar (to 0.7%), merrill
flowers (to 0.44%), mahapengiri (to 0.3%), mountain mint (to 0.28%), tea (to
0.25%) and east Indian lemongrass (to 0.25%) on a dry weight basis.
GLUTAMIC-ACID: Carob tops the heap at 13.2% on a dry weight
basis, followe by lupine at 9.7, chinese cabbage and soybean at 7.7, chives at
7.2, asparagus and peanut at 6.5, butternut and wheat at 6.3, almond at 6.2,
chaya at 5.9, pigeonpea at 5.6, bean sprouts at 5.5, tomato at 5.4, mustard and
watermelon seed at 5.3, pistachio at 5.1, and lentils and poppyseed at 4.9%, on
a rounded and calculated Zero Moisture Basis (ZMB).
GLYCINE: Carob tops the FNF heap at 2.5% on a dry weight
basis, followed by watercress at 2.2, sesame at 2.0, peanut and pumpkin seed at
1.9, soy at 1.8, chives, jute and lupine at 1.7, butternut, lambsquarter,
pigweed and spinach at 1.6, beansprouts, sunflower and velvetbean at 1.5,
fenugreek, Indian fig, and white mustard at 1.4, and almond, asparagus and swamp
cabbage at 1.3%, on a rounded and calculated Zero Moisture Basis (ZMB).
HISTIDINE: In the CRC Handbook of Phytochemical
Constituents, sunflower reigns supreme at 2.0% histidine, followed by bean
sprouts at 1.3, carob and lupine at 1.2, soy at 1.1, jute, lablab, lentils and
sprouts, lima beans, pigeon pea, winged bean at 0.9, with butternut, peanut,
taro leaves, watercress, white mustard, yardlong bean at 0.8%, on a rounded and
calculated Zero Moisture Basis (ZMB). Zello et al (1995) estimate a requirement
of 8-12 mg/kg/day histidine for nitrogen-balance adults, but they maintain that
suchestimates are too low.
IRON: In the CRC Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents,
echinacea runs a close second to dandelion as an iron source, followed by
cornsalad (0.41%), mugwort (to 0.39%), ramie (0.35%), devil's claw (0.29%), wild
gingers (0.28%), mullein (0.24), safflower (0.22), butterbur (0.21) pigweed
(0.15), thyme (0.15), tea (0.15), cassava leaves (0.15), gobo root (0.15), and
catnip (to 0.14% on a calculated dry weight basis. Many of the high mineral
values however trace back to a single source which often proved unreliable.
These high iron values need confirmation. If the tincture took the iron from the
echinacea roots, then that could be a good idea in anemia, and may even explain
some of the reported activities of echinacea. If so, I'd include dandelion,
mugwort, and coneflower in my bitters recipes with such things as bogbeans and
gentian.
ISOLEUCINE: In the CRC Handbook of Phytochemical
Constituents, sunflower tops the chart for isoleucine, at 4.6%, followed by
blackbean sprouts at 2.0, soy at 1.9, jute greens, lablab, lupine and taro
leaves at 1.8, spinach and wheat at 1.7, carob, lambsquarter, pea velvetbean and
wingedbean at 1.6, asparagus, butterbeans and chives at 1.5%, fenugreek,
greengram, lentil, lettuce, pigweed, pumpkinseed, sesame, swamp cabbage, and
tepary at 1.4% on a rounded and calculated Zero Moisture Basis (ZMB). Zello et
al (1995) suggest a requirement of 10 mg/kg/day isoleucine for adults, based on
nitrogen-balance studies, but they maintain that such estimates are too low.
LAURIC-ACID: In the CRC Handbook of Phytochemical
Constituents, coconut towers above the other entries for lauric acid, attaining
36.* lauric acid on a calculated dry weight basis, followed by uchuba
(Virola) at 11.5, betel nut at 9.0, datepalm at 5.4, calendula at 1.8,
macadam at 1.1, cantaloupe seed at 0.9, cashew at 0.8, ginger at 0.4, water
melon seed at 0.3, and mace and thyme at 0.2%, on a rounded and calculated Zero
Moisture Basis (ZMB)
LECITHIN: Soybeans may contain 15,000-25,000 ppm lecithin,
but brazilnuts may contain as much as 100,000 ppm (10%). Even dandelion flowers
contain nearly 3% on a dry weight basis, poppyseed 2.8 %, mungbean 1.6%.
According to the Chemical Marketing Reporter (August 12, 1991), lecithin has
been banned as a weight-control drug.
LEUCINE: In the CRC Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents,
sunflower tops the charts at 3.6% leucine, followed by watercress at 3.3,
blackbeans, jute and soy at 3.2, taro leaves and winged beans at 2.7, sheat and
spinach at 2.6, velvetbean at 2.5, tepary at 2.4, and butternut, fababeans,
lentil, pea, pigweed, and sesame, at 2.3, and lablab, lambsquarter, and pumpkin
seed at 2.2%, on a calculated dry weight basis, well rounded. Zello et al (1995)
suggest a requirement of 14 mg/kg/day leucine for adults, based on
nitrogen-balance studies, but they maintain that such estimates are too low, by
ca 1/2.
LIMONENE: Best sources of limonene, surprisingly, are not
citrus , but caraway, at 3% on a dry weight basis, celery seed at 2.5%, orange
at 1%, cardamom, fennel and tangerine at 0.9%, lime, spearmint, nutmeg, at 0.6%,
and star-anise and thyme at 0.5%, zero-moisture basis.
LINALOOL: Highs for linalool, at least in my published
database, include lignaloe (to 8.4%), mountain mint (to 3.9%), ho leaf (to
2.3%), coriander (to 1.7%), winter savory (to 1.4%), flexuose mountain mint (to
1.1%), oswego tea (to 0.96%) spearmint (to 0.93%) and cardamom (to 0.25%) on a
zero moisture basis.
ALPHA-LINOLENIC-ACID (ALA): Average daily intake in the US
figures at ca 1 g/day or 0.5% of energy intake (Cunnane, 1995). I think
Cunnane's table make reflect a pro-flax bias, but I list here his higher ALA
sources flax 45-60%, perilla 50-60 (see p.145, Cunnane did not cite the 60%)),
beans 30-57; pumpkins 24-45; lemons 13-42; lime 13-42; potato 10-28; orange
6-21; banana 14-20; peas 17; carrot 17; english walnut 17; lentils 16; butternut
16; canola 8-15; soybean 5-7; barley 4-7; peanuts 3; brazilnuts 1-3; cashewnuts
1-3; macadamianuts 1-3; pecans 1-3; pistachio nuts 1-3; brown rice 1-2; and oats
1-2%.
GAMMA-LINOLENIC-ACID (GLA)
LYCOPENE: Good sources of lycopene, according to NAPRALERT
(courtesy of N. R. Farnsworth) and my database include balsampear (to 231 ppm),
carrot (80-140), pot marigold (to 3,360 ppm), rosehips (43-111 ppm),. tomato
(16-663 ppms), watermelon (45-900 ppm). Confession is good for the soul. This is
all the quantitative data I found for lycopene (except for 260 ppms in seed of
Connarus macrocarpa and 0.6 ppm in Aronia melanocarpa) in both
databases as of Feb. 10, 1996, deriving about half from each database.)
LYSINE: In the CRC Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents,
watercress and soy lead for lysine, at 2.7%, followed by blackbean sprouts and
carob at 2.6, lentil sprouts at 2.4, lambsquarter and wingedbean seed at 2.3,
lentil and white lupine as 2.2, spinach and velvetbean at 2.1, pea and
pumpkinseed at 2.0, and asparagus, butterbean, chinese cabbage, fababean,
fenugreek, parsley, and tepary bean at 1.9%, on a calculated and rounded dry
weight basis. Zello et al (1995) suggest a requirement of 12 mg/kg/day lysine
for adults, based on nitrogen-balance studies, but they maintain that such
estimates are too low, by ca 1/3.
MAGNESIUM: Purslane {highest at nearly 2% on a dry weight
basis}, greenbean 1.8%, poppyseed 1.6%, cowpea 1.4%, spinach 1.1%, snakegourd
1.0%, licorice 1.0% with lettuce and nettle coming in at 0.9%, on a dry weight
basis, were the best dietary sources of magnesium in my database). On a
fresh-weight (as-purchased) basis licorice was outstanding at nearly 1%, with
poppyseed at 0.3%.
MANGANESE: USDA scientists report (Nielsen, 1993) that
unrefined cereals, nuts leafy vegetables, and tea are rich in Mn; refined
grains, meats and dairy products low. Tea and cloves were highest in my
database, at 1200 ppms, followed by fennelseed at 700 ppms, buchu at 675,
spinach at 485, red clover at 465, parsley and catnip at 375, bilberry at 370,
ginger at 350, cardamom at 280,cowberry at 250, lettuce at 240 and cowpea at 240
(on zero-mositure basis).
MELATONIN:
CROP MELATONIN MELATONIN
pg/g ppm (for FNF)
AVENA SATIVA 1,796.1 0.001796
ZEA MAYS 1,366.1 0.001366
ORYZA SATIVA 1,006.0 0.001006
RAPHANUS SATIVUS 657.2 0.000657
ANGELICA KEISKEI 623.9 0.000624
ZINGIBER OFFICINALE 583.7 0.000584
LYCOPERSICUM ESCULENTUM 32.0-506.0 0.000506
MUSA PARADISIACA 466.0 0.000466
CHRYSANTHEMUM CORONARIUM 416.8 0.000417
HORDEUM SATIVUM 378.1 0.000378
BRASSICA CAMPESTRIS 112.5 0.000112
LYCOPERSICUM PIMPINELLIFOLIUM 112.0 0.000112
BRASSICA OLERACEA 107.4 0.000107
The only foods I have seen reported to contain more than 100 picograms
melatonin per gram are oats (1,796), corn (1,366). rice (1,006), radish (657),
angelica (623), ginger (584) tomato (to 506), banana (466), chrysanthemum (417),
barley (378), mustardgreens (112) and cabbage (107). Think small. Those units
are in parts per trillion. Only the oats, rice, and corn attain the parts per
billion level, 1.7, 1.4 and 1.0 ppb respectively. Effective doses of melatonin
may start at 0.3 mg for a 100 kg person like me.To get 0.3 mg melatonin from
rice with only 0.001 mg per kilo, I'd have to eat 300 kg rice; three times my
body weight in rice. Think I'll go with the capsules!
METHIONINE: Best sources of methionine on a dry weight basis
in the published FNF database are sunflower to 2.0%, black cumin, l.7%,
brazilnut 1.0, sesame 0.9, butternut, evening primrose, pumpkinseed, spinach,
swamp cabbage, taro leaves and watermelon seed 0.6, and bean sprouts, jute,
mustard seed, poppyseed, and soy, at ca 0.5% ZMB. Zello et al (1995) suggest a
requirement of 13 mg/kg/day methinone plus cystine for adults, based on
nitrogen-balance studies, but they maintain that such estimates are too low.
MENTHOL: Cornmint topped the highs in the published FNF for
mentholat 2.4% (ZMB), cf 0.75% for muticous mountain mint, 0.67% for peppermint,
0.38% for european pennyroyal, 0.36% for watermint; 0.3% for virginia mountain
mint, and 0.18% for scented geraniums.
MENTHONE: Cornmint also topped the highs in the published
FNF for menthone, at 2.4% (ZMB), followed by typical mountain mint 2.0, pilose
and virginia mountain mint 1.5, european pennyroyal 0.6, whorld mountain mint
0.5, peppermint 0.3, white mountain mint, douglas savory, and biblical mint 0.2
with spearmint closer to 0.1%, on a calculated dry weight
basis.
MUFA: (now recommended for NIDDM). If FNF and its sources
are correct, avocado fruits can contain up to 69% MUFA's or oleic-acid,
macadamia nuts up to 59% MUFA, hazelnuts 57%, the much maligned oil palm fruit
43%, marula nuts 42%, pistachio 34%, olives 33, cashews 30, peanuts 26%,
brazilnuts 24%, chocolate 22; coriander seed 17, pumpkin 15%, fennelseed and
butternut 11%. My proposed MUFAmous MUFA-nut butter would embrace the better of
these, spiced up with a little coriander and fennel.
MYRCENE: This antinociceptive compound is highest (at least
in FNF) in leaves of the bayrum tree (up to 2.4% on a calculated dry weight
basis), nutmeg (0.59), rosemary (0.56), cardamom (0.3), cornmint (0.25), wild
bergamot (0.19), juniper (0.19), parsley seed (0.17), caraway seed (0.16),
spearmint (0.14), lime (0.1), tarragon ((0.1) and dill seed (0.09% on a dry
weight basis)
MYRISTIC-ACID: Mace is increadibly high in myristic acid,
upwards of 30% on a calculated dry weight basis, followed by coconut at 13.3,
filbert at 1.4, brazilnut at 1.3, karaya at 1.2, safflower as 0.9, cantaloupe at
0.9, cottonseed at 0.7, Indian almond and macadamia at 0.6, pawpaw at 0.5,
cashew at 0.4, almond at 0.3, emblic, ginger, okra seed, oregano, sesame and
thyme at 0.2, pumpkin flowers, spinach and sunflowerseeds at 0.1% on a
calculated ry weight basis.
NIACIN: Regrettably, FNF is almost useless for niacin. It's
the same old unreliable source that I find has fouled up many FNF entriesb6.
It's so bad, that I must caution anyone using FNF to disregard all numbers
followed by the citation PED. Somehow, I must teach my computer to back up and
remove all PED entries and redo them. Big job.
NICKEL: In general vegetarians are less likely than
omnivores to be nickel-deficient. Best source of nickle in Nielsen's table
(1993) was instant tea (15.5 ppm), cacao powder, 9.8 ppms, tea leaves 5.3,
cashew 5.1, soy protein, 4.3, walnut 3.6, filbert and peanut 1.6, almond 1.3,
wheat germ 1, pistacio 0.8, rice 0.4. These calculations are for fresh weight
basis, where reasonably dry nuts and grain always score well. Fruits amy be 95%
water, vegetables 90%. Peach was the best fruits source in Nielsen's Table at
0.16 ppms, apples the lowest at 0.03. String beans were the highest vegetable at
0.26 ppms, tomato lowest at 0.08 ppms. Roughly these fruit and vegetable figures
would be 10 times higher if you magically dried them somehow. Important mineral
component of urease which hydrolyses the antiseptic diuretic urea to ammonium
carbonate. The best source of urease is the sword- or jackbean, Canavalia
ensiformis.
OLEIC-ACID: If FNF and its sources are correct, avocado
fruits can contain up to 69% MUFA's or oleic-acid, macadamia nuts up to 59%
MUFA, hazelnuts 57%, the much maligned oil palm fruit 43%, marula nuts 42%,
pistachio 34%, olives 33, cashews 30, peanuts 26%, brazilnuts 24%, chocolate 22;
coriander seed 17, pumpkin 15%, fennelseed and butternut 11%. Some 'Naked
Seeded' pumpkins may have 30%. My proposed MUFAmous MUFA-nut butter would
embrace the better of these, spiced up with a little coriander and
fennel.
OPC's (Oligomeric Procyanadins): In an article by
Schwitters, himself, the author of OPC in Practice, we find a quoite that
supports what I have been saying for years "OPC is not only found together with
the red pigments. It is found in all plants, vegetables and fruits, such as
oranges and lemons." Since data on OPC's have rarely been tabulated, I cannot
quantify who's the best among them. Since they often co-occur with water-soluble
tannins (polymers) and catechins (monomers), one might search for good sources
of these and presume that, under certain circumstances, these same sources might
be good sources of OPC's. I currently prefer the peanuts hulls and the red wines
and grape juices to pine bark. A single flavan-3-ol molecule (monomer) is
catechin; the pairs and triples (dimers and trimers) are
OPC; quadruples (tetramers) and higher polymeric procyanidins
are tannin. The whole group is identified as
bioflavanols or flavanols. (Schwitters, B. 1995. "OPC in
Practice" Special Advertising Section. NFM NSN, October, 1995)
OXALATES: Highs for oxalic-acid in FNF are lambsquarter to
30% oxalic acid on a dry weight basis, buckwheat leaves,11; starfruit, 9.6%,
black-pepper 3.4%, purslane 1.7%, poppyseed 1.6%, rhubarb 1.3%, and tea, to 1.0%
oxalic acid on a dry weight basis. Oxalates, e.g. in black tea, may lead to
stone formation. Checking 14 kinds of national herb teas (including camomile,
orange-spice and peppermint), scientists at Memorial University of Newfoundland
(J. Amer. Diet. Assoc. Mar 1985), found that herb teas had 1/7th to 1/32th the
oxalate of regular tea (Prevention, Sept. 1995. p. 46).
PANTOTHENIC ACID: The Merck Index (11th ed.) says that this
vitamin occurs everywhere in plant and animal tissue. The richest common source
is liver but royal jelly (queen bee jelly) contains 6 times as much. Rice bran
and molasses are other good sources. If it occurs in all plant tissues, one
needs quantitative data to impact. In my database the richest sources, on a dry
weight basis, are endive (to 145 ppm), pea (to 74 ppm), broccoli (to 63),
cucumber (to 63), watercress (to 62), tomato (to 61), New Zealand spinach (to
50), broad bean (to 50), green gram (to 48), oats (to 45), strawberry (to 40)
and avocado (to 38 ppm).
PECTIN: Pectin in fruits might be indicated for anginal and diabetic patients, maybe even colon-cancer candidates like myself. and the fast sugars contraindicated. Fruits with pectin contents above 1% are expected to make good gels. Nwanekezi et al, (1994) checked several fruits for pectin contents, and reported the following from their studies: mango, 1.8-14.1%; papaya, 1.6-12.5%; orange, 1.35-14.1%; cashew apple 1.3-16.7%; guava, 1.3-7.9%; banana 1.1-9.5%; lime 1-8%; and others like avocado (0.7-4.3%, eggplant 0.9-4.5%, irvingia 0.7-3.8%, star apple 0.6- 2.4%, and tomato 0.5-2.5% . I assume that the low values are on a fresh weight basis and have converted them to dry weight basis. Since moisture varies so widely, I prefer to compare calculated dry weight values (ZMB=zero-mositure basis). The highest pectin figures in FNF ZMB are marshmallow root (to 35%), pumpkin seed (to 30%, Bisset, 1994), white-flowered gourd (to 21%), carrot (to 18%), wood-apple (to 16%), rosehip (to 11%), flaxseed (10%), ambarella (10%) with the revered apple weighing in at only 6.7% and fig at 5%.
Up to 30% (ZMB) of the albedo of the orange may be pectin and grapefruit peel
may be 3.5% pectin (fresh weight basis). Concentrations in juices are quite low
0.01-0.13% in orange juice, and the grapefruit juice sacs 0.3% (Fellers, 1991).
PHENYLALANINE: Highest in my database on a zero-moisture basis is sunflower seed (4.8%), watercress and bean sprouts at 2.3%, soybean at 2.2%, pigeonpea at 2.1%
chaya at 1.9%, breadnuts at 1.8%, jute greens, watermelon seed, and swamp
cabbage at 1.7%, lupine, pigween greens, green gram, peanuts, asparagus pea,
lentil, yardlong bean at 1.6%, and spinach, carob, and butternut, at 1.5%,
zero-moisture basis. Zello et al (1995) suggest a requirement of 14 mg/kg/day
phenylalanine plus tyrosine for adults, based on nitrogen-balance studies, but
they maintain that such estimates are too low, by about 1/2.
PHYLLOQUINONE: Highs in the FNF database, largely derived
from Shearer et al (1996) are kale (6.18 ppm), parsley 5.48, spinach (3.80),
cabbage (green) (3.39), watercress (3.15), broccoli (1.79), soybean oil (1.73),
brussels sprouts (1.47), lettuce (1.29), rapeseed oil ((1.29 ppm), and mustard
greens (0.88 ppms). The green outer leaves of cabbage can have 3-6 times more
than inner whitsh leaves. Red cabbage has only 0.190 ppms.Ironically, but as
expected, the bioavailability is lowest from the richest source, green leafy
vegetables, presumably because of the tight association of the vitamin with the
photosynthetic apparatus. Requirements (based on coagulation requirements, not
bone studies, are 1 ug/kg/day). In my case that translates to 110 ug/day, which
could be provided by a little more than a half cup of mustard greens, less than
a half cup of the other items listed above. (Shearer et al, 1996)
Shearer, M. J., Bach, A. and Kohlmeier, M. 1996. Chemistry, nutritional
sources, tissue distribution and metabolism of vitamin K with special reference
to bone health. J. Nutrition 126(4s): 1181S-1186S.
PHOSPHORUS: Highest for phosphorus in my database on a zero-moisture basis is beet, at 4.6%, foloowed by malanga leaves at 3.8%, lambsquarter at 3.7, tomatillo at 3.0, flaxseed at 2.0, cowpeas at 1.6, watermelon seed at 1.5, sesamelettuce and stringbeans at 1.4, cucumber and pumpkinseed at 1.3, swamp cabbage and watercress at 1.2, and asparagus, Indian almond, oats, peanut, pumpkin flowers, and radish, at 1.0%, on a calculated dry weight basis, well rounded.
PHYTOSTEROLS: Highest phytosterol foods in my database based
on dry weight values calculated from USDA Ag Handbook 8 et seq. are sesame at
8,100 ppm, lettuce as 6,330, sunflower seed at 5,640, black cumin at 5,100,
hazelnut at 5,000, cucumber at 3,540, asparagus at 3,095, okra at 2,400 (and
contains the male contraceptive gossypol), cauliflower at 2,325 ppm, buckwheat
at 2,270, oregano at 2,185, beet at 1,970, spinach at 1,800, crucifer leaves at
1,700, cashew nuts at 1,700, onions at 1,455, pumpkin or squash at 1,425,
radishes at 1,355, tomatoes at 1,155, celery at 1,120, basil at 1,060 at etc.
One could easily use such data to construct hypocholesterolemic salads and soups
to replace the hypercholesterolemic modern meat and potatoes. A high phytosterol
fruit salad would include figs (1,485 ppm), strawberries (1,425), apricots
(1,320) with a little hypercholesterolemic ginger (910). Since the phytosterols
hang with the oils, one might seek an inexpensive sesame or sunflower oil with
even more vinegar for the salad dressing. Examining Spiller's phytosterol table
(p.213 et seq.), one sees that sprouts are unusually rich in sterols.
Spiller, G. A. Ed. 1996. CRC Handbook of Lipids in Human Nutrition. CRC
Press. Boca Raton, FL. 233 pp.
PINENE(alpha-): Highest food sources of alpha-pinene from
FNF are parsley seed (to 31,080 ppm, ZMB; coriander seed 13,780, juniper berries
9,200,, sweet annie 3,760, cardamom 3,000, cubeb 2,200, sassafras 2,000,
horsemint 2,000, ginger 1,950, sage and angelica 1,500, and boldo, dill,
tarragon and yarrow at up to 1,000 ppm, on a calculated dry weight basis.
PINENE(beta-): Highest food sources of beta-pinene from FNF
are parsley seed (to 26,450 ppm, calculated ZMB), cumin 6,600; hyssop 4,580;
cornsilk 3,000; angelica 2,400; bayleaf 2,080; sage (greek) 1,590; cornmint
1,445; lime 1,190 biblical mint 1,160, and cardamom (to 1,095 ppm, on a
calculated ZMB).
POTASSIUM: If upping your potassium can prevent stroke as
Heinerman says (1994), you might want to up your intake of lettuce (up to 12%
potassium on a calculated dry weight basis), endive (9.5%), mungbean (9%),
lambsquarter leaves (8.7%), radish (8.9), chinese cabbage (8.2%), purslane
(8.1%), parsley (to 7.9%), chrysanthemum buds (7.7%), dandelion roots (7.5%), or
amaranth leaves (7.4%), cucumber (7.2%) or spinach (6.9%) potassium on a
calculated dry weight basis. (Duke, CRC Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents)
(See allergy).
PROLINE: What a surprise to find cabbage on top for proline,
at 3.2%, then chives and soy at 2.3, asparagus, white mustard and winged beans
at 2.1, jute, velvetbeans and wheat at 2.0, carob and watercress at at 1.9, bean
sprouts and fenugreek at 1.8, chickpea and pumpkin at 1.7, lupine at 1.6, amd
okra, peanut and pigweed at 1.5, and cowpea, lambsquarter and sesame at 1.4%, on
a calculated dry weight basis.
PUFA: The butternut, Juglans cinerea, is high for polyunsaturates, at 44.2%, sunflower coming in second at 34.6%, brazilnut third at 25.0%, pumpkinseed fourth at 22.5%, peanut fifth at 18.4%, foloowed by soybean at 12.3%, cashew at 8.4%, pistachio and avocado fruits at 7.6% and breadfruit seeds at 6.8%, on a zero-moisture basis.
QUERCETIN: Washinton State Scientists (Patil and Pike, 1995)
studied the distribution of quercetin in different rings of various coloured
onion (Allium cepa L.) cultivars. The skins were extracted with alcohol to
obtain bound quercetin glycosides that were then hydrolyzed to free quercetin.
Unfortunately for food "farmacists", quercetin decreased from the outer dry skin
to the inner more palatable rings. The highest concentration was in the outer
dry skin of 'Red Bone" onion (30,600 ppms; including 20,640 ppms free quercetin)
while 'Contessa' had only 94 ppm. The outer rings (not the dry skin) of
'Kadavan' were highest at 345 ppms fresh weight. That means you'd have to eat a
kilo of these Kadavan outer rings to get 345 mg quercetin. Onion skins are still
my best source of quercetin. French fried onion skins, anyone? "An onion a day
may bea better prescription than an apple a day." (Brown, 1996). A recent Dutch
study concluded that food quercetin was better absorbed than "silver bullet"
quercetin. From onions, the ileostomy volunteers absorbed 52% of quercetin, cf.
17% for quercetin rutinosides and 24% for quercetin agylcone. Brown (1996)
counters that after oral administration of 4 grams quercetin ("silver bullet"),
serum levels never exceed 1 ug/ml.
Hollman, P.C.H. et al. 1995. Absorption of dietary quercetin glycosides and
quercetin in healthy ileostomy volunteers. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 62: 1276-82.
Patil, B.S. and Pike, L.M. 1995. Distribution of quercetin content in
different rings of various coloured onion (Allium cepa L.) cultivars. J. Hort.
Sci. 70(4): 643-50.
Reichert, R. 1996. Quercetin Absorption. QRNM(Spring): 15-6.
RIBOFLAVIN: It would take more than 10 pounds of dry
lambsquarter (100 pounds of fresh lambsquarter containing 90% water), richest
source in my database to provide the 400 mg a day shown to reduce severity of
migraine 70%. Lambsquarter leaves contain 76 mg/kg or 76 ppm, ZMB; thyme has 53;
jutegreens 44; poke shoots 39; peppermint 39; asparagus 36; taro leaves 35,
mallow leaves 35; celery stalks 34 and roselle 31 mg/kg or part per million, on
a zero moisture basis.
ROSMARINIC-ACID: One could get physiologically significant
doses of the antioxidant antithyrotrpic rosmarinic acid by consuming teas
composed of some of the following, mostly pleasant tea-making herbs, shall we
call it Rosmarinade:
basil 1,000-19,000 ppm rosmarinic-acid
beebalm 18,000
bugle 37,000
lemonbalm 37,000
oregano 1,000-55,000
peppermint 1,000-30,000
rosemary 3,000-39,000
sage 2,000-30,000
savory 12,000-26,000
selfheal 61,000
spearmint 6,000-43,000
thyme 5,000-26,000 ppm
RUTIN rutin (%)
Pagoda Tree Flowers 13-30% (LAF)
EUCALYPTUS RHYNCHOPHYLLA 10-24% (LAF)
Violet Flowers 10-23% (FNF)
Eucalyptus Leaf 7-10% (FNF)
Mulberry Leaves 2-6 (FNF)
Buckwheat(but not seed) 1-6.4(LAF)
Pagoda Tree Leaves 0-4
Rue (POISON) 2
Citrus Leaf 0.6
Rhubarb 0.6
Sheep Sorrel 0.5
Coca 0.5
SAPONINS: Highs in my database (URL =
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/) for saponins include the inedible horse chestnut
(to 26%), licorice (to 14%), unedible seneca snakeroot and soapbark (to 10%),
rose leaves (to 8.5%), gotu kola (to 8%), ginseng (to 7%), inedible blackbean
and edible desert date (to 7%), beets and chickpea (to 6%) air potato (to 5.7%),
soybean and mungbean( to 5.5%) spinach (at 5%), cornsilk (to 3%), epazote and
violet (to 2.5%), and alfalfa, sarsaparilla and velvetbean (to 2%). Alfalfa
sprouts may attain 8%. The saponins, e.g. in licorice, are such that they can
emulsify active ingredients in other herbs, increasing their availability an
order of magnitude or two.
SERINE: Beansprouts lead off for serine at 2.4%, followed by
carob and soy at 2.3, lupine at 2.1, buitternut at 1.7, butterbean, chives,
swamp cabbage and velvetbean at 1.5, asparagus, jute, lablab, lentil, peanut, at
1.4, pistachio and sesame and watermelon seed at 1.4, and black bean,
cauliflower, faba bean,fenugreek, green gram, and pigweed at 1.3%, on a
calculated dry weight basis.
SEROTONIN: Mix to taste ground seeds of the following
(serotonin levels in ppms): butternut (398 ppm); black walnut (304), shagbark
hickory (143) english walnut (87), mockernut (67), pecan (29), pignut (25). LRNP
(Sep. 1993) mentions that kiwi fruits have twice the serotonin of tomatoes and
1/3 that of bananas, enough to interfere with urinalysis for serotonin
metabolites.
SILICA: Lanning has reported 6.5% in seeds of rarely eaten
weed, Fimbristylis: 3.2 % in rice, 2.6% in johnson grass; 1.4% in oats; 0.8% in
wild rice, 0.7% in barley, 0.05% in millet, 0.03% in sorghum, 0.01% in rye;
0.01% in wheat (though the bran is 14 times higher), and 0.01% in triticale.
Walker (1970) produced data that I have yet to computerize with only five food
plants attaining more than 0.1% SiO2: horseradish 0.22%, spinach 0.18%, parsnips
0.17%, dandelion 0.13%, and savoy cabbage 0.10%. My database had shown before
these documents: barley, to 0.90%; hempseed 0.84%; nettle 0.65%; chickweed
0.48%; brazilnut 0.18%; butternut 0.14%; walnut 0.14%; pistachio 0.14%; parsley
0.14%; cashew 0.13%; stringbean 0.12%; turnip 0.12% and cucumber, to 0.10%, on a
zero-moisture basis.
STEARIC-ACID: Of edible seeds, cashew tops my stearic-acid
list, at 10.2%, followed by java olive at 7.5, brazilnut at 7.3, cucumber seeds
7.0, watermelon seeds 6.6, Indian almond at 4.1, cantaloupe seed at 3.5, sesame
at 3.3, pumpkin-seed at 3.0,, sunflower and macadamia at 2.8, walnut at 2.1, and
cardamom qt 1.8% on a calculated dry weight basis. Strangely I have no
quantitative data for chocolate, basis for an industry which keeps bragging
about chocolate being useful in weight reduction, rather than fattening. But
there may be bad news breaking. Under the title Unusual Fats Lose Heart-friendly
Image, Science News (Raloff, 1996) reports a British Study from the August
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggestiung that lamb and dairy products
correlated most closely with worsening atherosclerosis. Stearic acid, found in
meat and cocoa butter, is unique among saturated fatty acids in failing to
elevate blood cholesterol. And not so surprisingly, trans-fatty acids, common in
margarines, shortening and animal products, were fingered. Thomas A. Pearson,
Mary Imogene Bassett Research Institute, Cooperstown NY, and editor of a
monograph on stearic acid, had concluded that it lacked the deleterious effects
of other saturated fats. He did admit that animal tests suggested it might
induce blood clots - elevating risk for heart attack or stroke- thought there
was as yet no evidence for this in humans. He reiterates that the new study
doesn't yet "support a conclusion that stearic acid causes heart disease."
Taking the other side, W. E. Connor, Oregon Health Sciences University in
Portlant, a blood clot researcher, says "I was always inclined to view stearic
acid as not benign. This study now confirms that."(Raloff, J. 1996. Unusual fats
lose heart-friendly image. Sci. News 150: p. 87)
TANNIN:
HERB % TANNIN
Rhatany >20% (VET)
Black tea 11.5-33%
Bearberry 16.7-22.0 (to 40%, acc to LRNP)
Persimmon 20.0 (Crellin & Philpott)
Woodavens 12-28 (Bisset)
Betony (Stachys offic.) 15 (Honest Herbal)
Hamamelis Capsules 11.0
Eucalyptus Capsules 11.0
Redroot 10.0 (Crellin & Philpott)
St. John's-wort 10.0 (LRNP Aug 1989)
Sage Capsules 8.6
Sage Tea 3-7 (VET)
Maté 8.4-8.5
Maté 7-14 (LRNP Apr 1988)
Hawthorn 5.9
Raspberry Leaf 5.6
Peppermint 5.0-5.5 (6-12%, BIS)
Rooibus 4.4-5.4
Bilberry Capsules 5.3
Artichoke Capsules 4.3
Nettle 3.2
Lemon Verbena 2.3
Camomile 1.8-2.3
Comfrey 2.3
Fennel 0.6
Honeysuckle contains at least two antiviral compounds over and beyond the
antiviral tannin. You can imagine my surprise when I asked the computer what was
the best source of tannin. The computer said honeysuckle plants, at 800,000 ppms
(that's 80%). Garbage in. Garbage out. In the CRC Handbook of Phytochemicals,
the number for the honeysuckle entry, before computerization, had an extra 0,
reading 80,0000 where it should have read 80,000 or 8%. Users on the internet
next month will find the right number 80,000 there, putting honeysuckle way back
on page two of also rans in the tannin hit parade on the NetScape. Embarassing;
privet the number two entry had the same mistake, 70,0000 instead of 70,000. (My
computer sometimes adds an extra digit due to my southern drawl at the
keyboard.) That's why I always have to verify exceptional highs in our database.
But we get closer to the truth, eliminating typos as we verify exciting results.
Cainagre was a valid entry at a high of 35%, fruits of Acacia came in second and
third at 32-34%; pomegranate rind at 33.6%, guava bark at 30%, emblic fruit and
geranium root at 28%; tea leaves at 27%; sumach leaves at at 27%, rose flowers
and Mexican bamboo at 24%, peruvian pepperbark at 23%, sorrel root at 22.6%,
bearberry at 20. Yes honeysuckle at her true 8% and privet at 7%. Even St.
John's-wort flowers have 16%.
Polyphenols seem to exert three major medical influences (1)complexation
("chelation") with metals, like aluminum, calcium, copper, iron, manganese,
vanadium etc.(2) complexation with other molecules like proteins and
polysaccharides, and (3) antioxidant and radical scavenging activities. (Haslam,
1996) . Reactive oxidant species have been implicated in aging, arthritis,
atherosclerosis, autoimmune diseases, cancer, inflammation (technicaly and
strictly theoretically making them useful in any ...-itis), multiple
sclerosis, parkinson's disease and senile dementia; tannins and polyphenols,
wide ranging in plants, are less consumed by meatarians than vegetarians. Haslam
(1996) tabulates some radical scavenger's IC50s.
COMPOUND HYDROXYL SINGLET SUPERPEROXIDE
HO O2-
Ascorbic Acid 18.8 120.4 23.3
Gallic Acid 78.0 69.8 1.01
Hamamelitannin 5.46 45.5 1.31
Propyl Gallate 86.5 66.7 1.41
Haslam, E. 1996. Natural polyphenols (vegetable tannins) as drugs: Possible
modes of action. J. Nat. Prod. 59(2):205-215.
*TANNIN: Anthelminthic JNP59:205; Anticariogenic JNP59:205;
Antidiarrheic; Antidysenteric; Antihepatotoxic JNP59:205; AntiHIV JNP59:205;
Antihypertensive JNP59:205; Antilipolytic JNP59:205; Antimutagenic; Antiophidic
EMP5:363; Antioxidant IC50=1.44 ug/ml CPB38:1051; Antiradicular 500
mg/kg/day orl mus CPB38:1049; Antirenitic CPB38:1049; Antitumor JNP59:205;
Antiulcer JNP59:205; Antiviral JNP59:205; Bactericide JE26:74; Cancer-Preventive
HG22:14; Chelator JNP59:205; Cyclooxygenase-Inhibitor JNP59:205;
Glucosyl-Transferase-Inhibitor JNP59:205; Hepatoprotective; Immunosuppressant
RWG29; Lipoxygenase-Inhibitor JNP59:205; MAO-Inhibitor JNP59:205;
Ornithine-Decarboxylase-Inhibitor JNP59:205; Psychotropic CPB38:1049; Viricide
JE26:74; Xanthine-Oxidase-Inhibitor JNP59:205
THIAMIN: My high value for thiamin traces back to the
reference coded PED which I no longer trust in all cases. Gentian root was there
reported at 48 ppms. The 1.8% (18,000 ppms) reported for wood of Picrasmia
excelsa (Leung and Foster, 1995) is more than 100 times higher than the
incredible figure given for gentian. (Interesting that both the incredibly high
thiamin herbs are also incredibly bitter. Following these incredible inedibles,
various bean sprouts look credibly good, with blackbean highest at 40 ppm, then
asparagus at 26, sunflower seed at 24, shepherd's purse at 21, okra and other
mallows at 20, buchu and sowthistle at 19, watercress at 18, peanut, soy sprouts
and taro leaves at 17, coriander leaves at 16, bell pepper, chaya and snowpeas
at 15, beet greens, chicory, chrystanthemum, endive, fenugreek, peas, and water
lotus at 14 ppms, on a calculated dry weight basis.
THREONINE:Highs for threonine, at least in my published
database, include watercress (to 2.66%), blackbean sprouts (to 1.89%), swamp
canbbage (Ipomoea aquatica) (to 1.86%), soybeans (to 1.73%), watermelon
seed (to 1.53%), white lupine (to 1.49%), spinach (to 1.45%), chives (to 1.39%)
, jew's mallowchives (to 1.34%), winged bean (to 1.29%) and sesame (to 1.24%) on
a ZMB. Zello et al (1995) suggest a requirement of 7 mg/kg/day threonine for
adults, based on nitrogen-balance studies, but they maintain that such estimates
are too low, by about 1/2.
THYMOL: Highs for thymol, at least in my published database,
include ajwan (to 3.3%), horsemint (to 2.8%), thyme (to 2.4%), nude mountain
mint (to 2.3%), wild bergamot (to 2.1%), winter savory (to 1.4%), mountain
dittany (to 1.1%), lemon mint (to 0.83%), basil (to 0.14%), and california bay
(to 0.13%), on a calculated zero moisture basis. (Under Altitude Sickness)
TOCOPHEROL: Highs for tocopherol, at least in my published
database, include purslane (to 0.23%, ZMB), wheat grains (0.19), corn (0.10),
swamp cabbage (Ipomoea) (0.12), cottonseed oil (0.09), rose seed
(0.07), chickweed (0.04) pansy flowers (0.03), asparagus (0.03), sesame (0.02)
and poppyseed (0.02% on a calculated dry weight basis). Oil palm oil is said to
be the best source of tocotrienol. Liu and Huang (1995) showed that tissue
alpha-tocopherol retention in male rats is compromised by feeding diets
containing oxidized frying oil. (This could be reversed by tocopherol
supplementation.) Liu, J. F. and Huang, C. J. 1995. Tissue alpha-tocopherol
retention in male rats is compromised by feeding diets containing oxidized
frying oil. J. Nutr. 125(12): 3071-9. On an as-purchased basis, "nuts contain
more vitamin E than any other source except vegetable oils". Almonds and
hazlenuts are rich in alpha-tocopherol (240 ppms) while pecans and walnuts are
rich in gamma-tocopherol (180 ppms) (Sabate et al, 1996). Sabate, J. Bell, H. E.
T. and Fraser, G.E. 1996. Nut Consumption and Coronary Heart Disease. pp.
145-151 in Spiller, G. A. Ed. 1996. CRC Handbook of Lipids in Human
Nutrition. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. 233 pp.
TRYPTOPHAN: Mix to taste ground seeds of the following
(highest reported tryptophan levels in rounded ppms): evening primrose (9,000
ppm), winged bean (8,000), white mustard (5,000), pumpkin (4,500), sunflower
(4,000), lablab (4,000), sesame (3,500), chickpea (3,500). The best green source
is watercress (6,000), beansprouts and spinach (4,500), asparagus, chives, jute,
mustard green, mungbean and vine spinach (Basella) sprouts at 4,000,
cauliflower, chicory, cornsalad, pigweed, purslane, and taro leaves at 3,500
ppms on a calculated dry weight basis. Zello et al (1995)
suggest a requirement of 3.5 mg/kg/day tryptophan for adults, based on
nitrogen-balance studies, but they maintain that such estimates are too low.
TYROSINE: My old red neck mustard greens tyranically top the
tyrosine charts at 1.9% on a ZMB, followed by velvetbean seeds at 1.7, carob and
winged bean at 1.6, bean sprouts, lupine and soy at 1.5, oats at 1.4, lablab,
peanut, spinach and watercress at 1.3, and jute greens, sesame, taro leaves and
tepary beans at 1.2, and butternut, chaya, chives, fababean, lambsquarter,
pigweed, pumpkinseed, snowpea, swamp cabbage, and watermelon seeds at closer to
1.0% on a dry weight basis.
URSOLIC ACID:
ACINOS THYMOIDES 14,000 SH NAP
BURSERA DELPECHIANA 33,333 RE NAP
CALAMINTHA ASHEI 52,000 LF NAP
CLINOPODIUM VULGARE 14,000 SH NAP
CLINOPODIUM VULGARE 16,000 LF NAP
EUCALYPTUS ALBA 15,000 LF NAP
EUCALYPTUS MICROTHECA 25,000 LF NAP
EUCALYPTUS TERETICORNIS 12,000 LF NAP
EUCALYPTUS TESSELLARIS 13,000 LF NAP
FORSYTHIA SUSPENSA 13,000 LF NAP
FRAXINUS ORNUS 11,000 LF FNF
HELICHRYSUM DIOSMAEFOLIUM 16,000 LF NAP
HELICHRYSUM STOECHAS 29,475 SH NAP
HYPTIS CAPITATA 51,460 SH NAP
ILEX AQUIFOLIUM 22,500-33,400 LF NAP
LAVANDULA LATIFOLIA 10,000-19,000 LF FNF
LEPECHINIA MEYENI 13,635 SH NAP
NEPETA CATARIA 10,300 SH NAP
NERIUM OLEANDER 43,000 PL FNF
PRUNUS AFRICANA 28,900 BK NAP
ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS 28,000-48,000 FNF (-192,000) LF NAP (Ref K1505)
SALVIA TRILOBA 74,500 PL FNF
SATUREJA MONTANA 16,000 LF NAP "FNF"
SHOREA ROBUSTA 350,000 RE NAP
THYMUS KARAMARIANICUS 25,100 SH NAP T14283
THYMUS KOTSCHYANUS 11,700 SH NAP
THYMUS VULGARIS 15,000-18,800 SH FNF
VACCINIUM OXYCOCCOS 8,000-11,000 FR NAP
VINCA MINOR 1,400-37,000 LF FNF
Strange how FNF and NAPRALERT databases (the latter courtesy of Norman
Farnsworth) complement each other.There's a synergy in these databases just like
there is in the chemicals. Re ursolic acid, NAPRALERT had 24 entries over 10,000
ppm, two shared with FNF; FNF had 7, making NAPRALERT nearly 3.5 times better
than FNF. But there's synergy between the databases, bringing the total to 29
species with more than 1% ursolic acid. Mints were outstanding for ursolic and
maslinic acid, from Coleus and Salvia, as well as drops of EO of cloves. After
compiling all this, I'd mix up a pleasing tea, if I had HIV, and indulge the
potential synergies of the natural protease inhibitors, ursolic acid from
Acinos, Hyptis, Rosmarinus and Thymus; maslinic acid. The only quantitative data
I had for maslinic acid was for Salvia officinalis. Coversely, Napralert didn't
have my high value for the chicoric acid in Echinacea, while FNF didn't have the
rather smaller number for chicory.
VALINE: Sunflowers smile at the summit of the valine charts,
with 5.0%, followed by snowpeas and watercress at 2.7%, beansprouts at 2.3,
carob and pumpkinseed at 2.1, jute gren (mulakiya) and soy at 2.0, spinach at
1.9, swamp cabbage, taro and velvetbean at 1.8, lupine, tepary and winged bean
at 1.7, butternut, chives, lentil, pigweed and sesame at 1.6, and asparagus,
chaya, fababean, and pistachio at 1.5. Zello et al (1995) suggest a requirement
of 10 mg/kg/day valine for adults, based on nitrogen-balance studies, but they
maintain that such estimates are too low.
VIT-B6: Higher entries for B6 (RDA=2 mg/day) in FNF include
edible jute (Corchorus olitorus) at 50 ppm (ZMB), cauliflower at 30,
watercress at 26, spinach at 24, garden cress at 23, banana at 23, okra at 22,
onion, broccoli and squash at 18, kale and kohlrabi at 17, brussels sprouts and
peas at 16, and radish at 15 ppm's, on a calculated zero moisture basis. Acc to
CRH7:p. 63, 1995, on a fresh weight basis, one avocado will provide 43% of the
RDA of 2,000 micrograms of vit B6, or 860 micrograms (ug); one baked potato with
skin 700, one slice watermelon 700, one banana 660, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 280,
1/2 cup wheat bran, one sweet potato 280, 6 dried figs 260, one tablespoon rice
bran 220, 1/2 cup spinach 220, and 1/2 cup peanuts 10% of the RDA or 200 ug, on
an as purchased basis.
ZINC:If my database is correct, good sources of zinc
include: spinach (to 185 ppms, dry weight basis), parsley (to 165), collards (to
155), brussel sprouts (to 155), cucumbers (to 155), stringbeans (to 150) endive
(to 145) cowpea (to 145) prunes (to 130) and asparagus (to 125 ppms, dry weight
basis). Maybe that's why popeye and olive and spinach got along so well. "Zinc
plays an essential role in the synthesis and secretion of luteinizing hormone
(LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), gonadal differentiation, action of
the Mullerian inhibiting factor, testicular growth and development of
seminiferous tubules, spermatogenesis, testicular steroidogenesis, androgen
metabolism and interaction with steroid receptors...In zinc deficiency,
testicular cells are able to take up cholesterol and neutral lipids which are
precursors of sex steroids, but are incapable of converting them into sex
steroids, leading to the arrest of spermatogenesis and the impairment of
fertilization." Following the prostate and kidney, liver has highest amounts of
zinc. Liver, kidney, neuroendocrine structures and male accessory reproductive
organs metabolize testosterone into 5 alpha-androstan-17-beta-ol-3alpha-one of
DHT (dihydrotestosterone) with the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase. Testosterone is
also converted to estradiol by aromatase in the liver, testis, skin, adipose and
neural tisues. (Hepatic aromatization of androgens to estrogens is enhanced by
castration, alcohol ingestion, and cocaine administration.) (Om and Chung,
1996.). Zinc deficiency lowered the hepatic conversion of testosterone to DHT
but increased conversion of testosterone to estradiol. Increased maternal need
for zinc must be met thru increased dietary intake or homeostatic mechanisms
which could compensate for the secretion of zinc into milk. Such mechanisms may
involve (1) increased absorption (2) reduced excretion (urine and faecal
endogenous losses) and (3) use of maternal pools of zinc, like bone (ca 30% of
total body zinc, or 660 mg zinc associated with bone in a 60 kg woman). All
three homeostatic mechanisms have been postulated and demonstrated.
(Moser-Veillon, 1995). Matter of fact, the homeostatic mechanisms are so strong
as that pharmacological intakes of zinc did not alter milk zinc contents. I'm
rather inclined to believe that evolution would favor conservational mechanisms
like this for most, if not all, essential vitamins and minerals, if not
nutraceuticals yet to be proved essential. {Moser-Veillon, P.B. 1995. Zinc needs
and homeostasis during lactation. Analyst 120 (Mar. 1995): 895-7.}
GENERAL REFERENCES: CRC Handbook of Proximate Analysis Tables of Higher
Plants (1986) CRC Handbook (and database) of Phytochemical Constituents
of GRAS Herbs and Other Economic Plants, 654 pp., 1992; CRC Handbook
(and Database) of Biological Activities of Phytochemicals (1992), CRC
Handbook of Medicinal Mints (Aromathematics) (1996).
SPECIFIC REFERENCES:
Nielsen, F.H. 1993. Ultratrace Minerals. Chap. 15. pp. 269-286. in Shils, et
al, eds. Modern Nutrition in health and Disease, 8th Ed. Lea & Febiger,
Philadelphia.
Moser-Veillon, P.B. 1995. Zinc needs and homeostasis during lactation.
Analyst 120 (Mar. 1995): 895-7.
Om, A.S. and Chung, K.W. 1996. Dietary zinc deficiency alters
5-alpha-reduction and aromatization of testosterone and androgen and estrogen
receptors in rat liver. J. Nutr. 126(4):842-8.
Zello, G.A., Wykes, L.J., Ball, R.O. and Pencharz, P.B. 1995. Recent advances
in methods of assessing dietary amino acid requirements for adult humans. J.
Nutr. 125(12): 2907-2915.