Quinoa Sadovaya

Chenopodiaceae - Chenopodiaceae. Common names: flour grass, wild spinach. Parts used: grass. Pharmacy name: quinoa herb - Atriplicis herba (formerly: Herba Atriplicis).

Botanical description. This annual plant reaches 1 m in height. When young, the entire plant is bluish-green, when mature it is light green. The lower leaves are triangular, the upper ones are elongated, spear-shaped, notched or jagged, with a powdery coating. Very inconspicuous flowers are collected in loose paniculate false spikes. Blooms in July-August. It grows mainly as a weed in gardens, fallow lands, along roadsides, and wastelands.

Active ingredients. The main active ingredient is saponin. In addition to it, there is an alkaloid and another unknown substance, apparently poisonous. Quite a lot of minerals.

Healing action and application. The exact chemical composition and basis of the healing effects of quinoa are poorly known, for this reason scientific medicine does not risk using it. But still, more attention should be paid to this plant, since it enjoys good fame in folk medicine. Saponin acts against metabolic disorders and mucus. Use in folk medicine: In Peter Schaffer's work "The Garden of Health" (1485), the first herbal book printed in German, you can read that quinoa is good to use for hypothermia, to soften swelling and especially for inflammation of the nail bed. This medicinal plant is also successfully used to treat diseases of the liver, bladder, and lungs. The author of this book refers to Galen, Dioscorides and Serapion. Nowadays, in folk medicine, quinoa is used mainly in the form of a decoction (tea) to cleanse the blood, as well as to enhance the activity of the glands, for diseases of the lungs, liver and bladder, often with unclean skin.

Side effects. Quinoa tea does not have any side effects. But you should still be careful, since heavy consumption of quinoa (cooked like spinach) sometimes leads to skin rashes.