purslane is lowering my blood pressure

[nmchick]

Hi Ya'll,

 

So, I was following this herbalist around a month or so ago (looking at plants) and he mentioned, in passing, that purslane lowers blood pressure. I thought to myself, "Dang, that's worth a try". So I've been eating a little purslane daily. And guess what? My systolic is consistently down 10 points, making it well within normal. (I have borderline high blood pressure. I'm ok so long as I don't even look at a piece of bacon.) So I was visiting the herbalist dude yesterday (for another looking a plants kinda things) and asked him about "why" and "how to preserve it" because I want to keep taking purslane over the winter. He didn't really know the answer, though we did brain storm how to preserve for a while.

 

But, you know, I have this annoying about of wanting to know why! So, I thought I'd ask ya'll 'cause ya'll either know the answer to almost everything.

 

Here's some info that's from a site that's trying to sell you dried purslane capsules. I've started working my way through the claims:

 

Looks to me like drying might be a good way to preserve it and it's dry enough here that I don't need extra heat to be able to dry things. Could ya'll comment on what drying might do to the nutrients listed below? I know the minerals will stay, but how about the other stuff?

 

Oh yeah, there's also that pesky "What's lowering my blood pressure?" question too. I'd appreciate any ideas on that.

 

(Vender info, so possibly suspect.)

 

http://www.thepowermall.com/thecenterforhe...io/purslane.htm

 

Purslane was studied at POS Pilot Plant Laboratory located on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon (Dec. 2000 - Project #00-781A). The scientific results were that Purslane is high in fatty acids, including linoleic acid (omega 6), linolenic acid (omega 3), tocophenals (alpha, gamma, and delta), alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), beta-carotene, vitamin C, and riboflavin.

 

It is high in minerals, including phosphorous, zinc, silicon, manganese, copper, calcium, and magnesium. Other active ingredients found in other studies were.

 

*Protein and Carbohydrates - ref. [7]

*Ascorbic Acid - recorded ten times higher than in any other weeds - ref. [2]

*Essential Amino Acid - body needs these to make protein - ref. [8]

*Pectin - known to lower cholesterol - ref. [1]

*Glutathione - antioxidant and detoxifying agent - ref. [2]

*Noradrenaline - supports adrenal glands - ref. [4]

*Dopa and Dopamine - known for muscle relaxant properties - ref. [3]

*Co-enzyme Q-10 - found in every cell of the body, known to supply our bodies with energy, discovered by Dr. Karl Folkers - ref. [9]. Analysis also confirmed by Enviro-Test Lab. #L57257-1 that Purslane contains Co-enzyme Q-10

 

References:

[1] Wenzel et al 1979: Studies concluded that pectin lowers LDL cholesterol.

[2] Jones et al 1936 and Flagg et al 1948: In their studies, found glutathione in Purslane. This antioxidant and detoxifier synthesized rapidly in the liver, kidneys, and other tissue, including the gastrointestinal tract.

[3] Okwuasaba et al 1986: Studies found Purslane effective as a muscle relaxant.

[4] Hegnauer, R. 1969: Studies showed that Purslane contains high amounts of noradrenaline, which is known to stimulate the adrenal glands, and dopa, which has been widely used to combat Parkinson's disease.

[5] Simopoulos, A.P., Norman, H.A., Gillappy, J.B., and Duke, J.A. 1992: Studies showed that it is a source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants (j. of the Am. College of Nutr. 11(4):374).

[6] Rifici, V.A. and Khachadurian, A.K.: Dietary supplementation with vitamins C and E inhibits invitro oxidation of lipoprotiens (J. of the Am. College of Nutr. 1993).

[7] Kubular, D.T. and Tashbekow, I., Katafel, I., Ovoschi, 1979: Studies found Purslane rich in protein and carbohydrates.

[8] Miller, T.E., et al 1984: Studies found Purslane has the best balance and highest concentration of essential amino acids compared to his other studies.

[9] Folkers, K., Vadhanavikit, S., Mortenson, S., 1985: Biochemical rationale and myocardial tissue data on the effective therapy of cardiomyopathy with

Co-enzyme Q-10.

[vine]

How much are you eating daily? I have hanging baskets of it with various flowers. One has all fushia flowers. One called 'Fairytale Cinderella' that has flowers that are yellow on the outside and fushia inside. I overwintered it in my small greenhouse and divided it this spring. I now have two large baskets of it. I wouldn't know how much to pinch off and eat tho. Or how often it would be safe.

[nmchick]

Hi Vine,

 

I'm eating about two tablespoons, more or less. I chomp on it while I"m weeding. But, the purslane I"m eating is the traditional weed. It's discussed at this web site, for instance.

 

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Purslane.html

 

I'm not sure about the pretty cultivated stuff. It's a different species altogether, so please don't eat it! But the weed is eaten as a vegetable all over the world, so it's pretty safe.

 

NMChick

 

 

[Nytehunter]

Any links for pictures of this plant and or more info I am currently struggling with hypertension also and would like to investigate this plants properties perhaps dry it crush it and use it in my tea but need to identify it properly.

[sassenach]

Nyte, click on the link in nmchick's post, it goes to a website that has a picture. It does grow around where I live too. Good to know. I've gotten mine down to normal pretty much, but it took a while. I have not tried purslane however, and it would be good to dry some and keep it handy.

[vine]

There are many plants in the purslane family. So we really need to know which ones are edible before just picking the little leaves and eating them. I think I have about 3 varieties in hanging baskets. They are very heat tolerable and we are breaking heat records. I would be interested in trying this too but would need to know which specific plant.

[nmchick]

I'm eating Portulaca olearacea, which is the weed. If you search on "purslane recipes" or "purslane edible" you'll find lots of pictures of the weed.

 

But, it is hard to identify plants just from a picture. I figured it out because I planted purslane seeds from Seeds of Change, which they sell to plant as a salad green. When they came up, they were a larger leafed version of the weed I'd been pulling out of my garden for years. Duh. The weedy version grows better than the bigger salad version for me.

 

Nyte, don't suppose you have a local expert to ask? Maybe you could pull up some suspected purslane and take it to a plant nursery? Or take it in to an herb shop? It looks like no other weed in my garden. It's a succulent, i.e. it has the fleshy leaves and stems like a aloe plant, though it doesn't look anything like it. The stems are plump, not wirey. And for the most part, it's a creeper, but I do have one patch that got to be about 8 inches tall.

 

But, if you have medicine, please take it. Don't risk the kidney damage, etc.

 

The other thing that seems to take my blood pressure down a notch is the Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer tea. But it also slows down my digestive tract.

 

 

[cowgirl8]

I think its grows all around my house, i call it a weed..lol...It wants to grow on my gravel driveway and between the rocks by my koi pond. But i'm not 100% positive thats what it is. What does it taste like?

[nmchick]

Most of mine tastes a little lemony/tangy, but occasionally I get a piece that doesn't have much taste. It is also slightly mucilaginous.

 

But, don't just take a chomp! Some plants could kill you!

 

Ok, if you're gonna try it anyway, take a little piece, crush it, and smell. Does it smell like it might be good to eat or at least not bad to eat? if it stinks, that's not it. Now, if it smells like it might be food, rub a little bit of the crushed plant on a spot on your forearm (or somewhere else you can easily see). Then wait a day to see if you get a reaction. If not, the next day you could consider taking a taste, but spitting it out. Then wait another day to see if you die. If you don't die, then you could take a small bite the next day and see what happens.

 

I've just stupidly popped unknown plants into my mouth before and though I haven't died, I did have one plant remove my sense of taste for a week and another make my lips puff up. Don't do it!

 

But warnings aside, by your pond, etc., that sounds like the right habitat. It can be a prolific weed. Before I knew what it was, I used to pull it up in the garden and throw it over the fence. But, it will still make seeds after it's pulled up! That's why I have big ole patches of purslane everywhere. Now when I'm trying to weed something, I pull the purslane up, eat it, and just throw the roots over the fence.

 

 

 

[kappydell]

I have read that purslane is also a good plant source of omega fatty acids, but I cant recall whether 3s or 6s. I eat the weeds that grow in the garden, quite tasty. You can pickle it, some of those stems make nice crispy salad additions. I also use it in place of okra in gunbo, since it has a gelatinous texture. I love to eat the weeds round here, have learned them all. My poor landlord...I won't let him spray anything.