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Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.): a reservoir of nutrition and bioactive components with great functional potential

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Abstract

In recent years a lot of the scientific interest has been concentrated on the identification of factors among low cost herbs that can be helpful in improving the health of humans. A shocking feature of herbal analysis has been that rarely any rare, exotic and exquisite plant has proved more fascinating. Typically some common, less familiar, and disdained weed have been discovered to possess undreamt of virtues. Urtica dioica is a weed and its seeds, leaves and even roots are used for medicinal purpose. It is a sensible reservoir of micronutrients and nutritional elements which leads us to focus our study on this herb. Despite of being wholesome, leaves are easily digested and high in minerals (especially iron), vitamin C and pro-vitamin A. U.dioica is used as both medicine and food in many countries particularly in Mediterranean region because of being widespread and having conjointly exceptional biological activities. This comprehensive review is an effort to summarise the recent data on nutrition, pharmacological and clinical effects of U. dioica keeping in view the increased demand by patients to use natural products with antioxidant activity, anti diabetic activity and having potential for treatment of inflammatory diseases. The review of nutritional properties is also an important aspect as every person needs general nutritional support in order to stay well or become optimally healthy. This review provides an overview of U. dioica in relation to antioxidant activity, anti diabetic activity, antimutagenic activity, antimicrobial activity, analgesic effect and treatment of inflammatory diseases that promotes its use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Longowal, Sangrur, India

    Khan Nadiya Jan & Sukhcharn Singh

  2. Govt Medical College, Srinagar, India

    Khan zarafshan

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  1. Khan Nadiya Jan
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Jan, K.N., zarafshan, K. & Singh, S. Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.): a reservoir of nutrition and bioactive components with great functional potential. Food Measure 11, 423–433 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-016-9410-4

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