Common nettle – properties, effects and uses

The common nettle, formally known as Urtica dioica, also known by its regional names such as koprywa, kropiewa or parzawica, is a species of the Urticaceae family. Its modern species name, Urtica, commonly used by ancient Roman writers, comes from the Latin verb uro – I burn, I scorch, I scald.

1. Always close to people
2. In the kitchen and on the table
3. Nutritious food
4. In ancient and folk medicine
5. What does nettle treat?
6. How does nettle heal?
7. What does nettle treat?
8. Prostate in the crosshairs of nettles
9. Something for bodybuilders

Always close to people

In the wild, nettles grow in the damp forests and thickets of Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America. However, as a result of European colonisation, nettles can now be found in almost every inhabited corner of the world. Nettles have proven to be a synanthropic species, or in other words, ruderal, meaning they are extremely adaptable to living in environments that have been heavily transformed by humans, directly related to human habitation and activity.

As a species that has invariably accompanied humans and their activities, nettles have been used by humans as a useful plant for thousands of years. Although rarely cultivated, they were commonly used in their wild state. They were used in four main ways: as a fodder plant, a spinning plant, a food plant and a medicinal plant. However, in the context of this publication, we will focus only on two areas – consumption and medicine.

In the kitchen and on the table

Nettles were eaten in ancient times and are still eaten today in many regions of the world. They were and still are a popular dish, especially in areas with poor vegetation, such as the Himalayas. Today, they are said to be a culinary attraction in five-star Nepalese restaurants.

In other parts of the world, nettles were most often treated as so-called famine food. In Poland, they were commonly consumed, but mainly during the pre-harvest period and in times of war, and locally, traditionally, also as a Lenten dish. It was most often eaten either as a vegetable, prepared like spinach, or in various soups and broths. However, Polish regional cuisine also includes dishes such as nettle pancakes and dumplings with nettle filling.

Nutritious food

Young nettles (old ones are inedible and can be harmful) are actually very nutritious, mainly due to their abundance and variety of vitamins and minerals, as well as their relatively high protein content with relatively high biological value for plant-based foods. 100 g of fresh nettle leaves provide approx. 2.5 g of protein, but in their dried form – stored by our ancestors as a winter food reserve – the protein content reaches 30%.

Particularly noteworthy is the extremely high content of three very important vitamins – K, C and A; in 100 g of fresh leaves, approximately 500 mcg, up to 600 mg and over 2000 IU in terms of beta-carotene, respectively. Also important is the high content of key minerals in fresh nettles, such as calcium (481 mg/100 g), potassium (334 mg/100 g), magnesium (57 mg/100 g) and iron (1.6 mg/100 g).

Although nettles were once considered food for the poor and, as a result, their consumption has almost completely disappeared in modern times of prosperity, we are now seeing a trend towards restoring their culinary uses as a food considered healthy or even a so-called superfood. Nettle dishes and drinks are particularly popular among women, as the silica they contain helps to maintain attractive skin, hair and nails.

In ancient and folk medicine

The medicinal uses of nettle have a long tradition, and its healing properties have been described over the millennia by Hippocrates, Scribonius Largus, Pedanius Dioscorides, Pliny the Elder, Paracelsus, Avicenna, Hildegard of Bingen, Nicolaus Copernicus and Krzysztof Kluk.

Ancient, medieval and folk healers traditionally recommended it as an effective therapeutic agent for haemorrhages, haematuria, male sexual impotence, rheumatism, poisoning, burns, jaundice, asthma, cough, tuberculosis, cholera, renal colic, limb oedema, diarrhoea, worm infestation, skin rashes and dandruff.

What does nettle treat?

Verifying traditional reports of the extremely broad therapeutic effectiveness of nettle, modern scientists began by determining the chemical composition of two basic herbal raw materials obtained from this plant – nettle leaves and nettle roots.

The following pharmacologically active ingredients were identified in nettle leaves: flavonoids, phenolic acids, silicic acids, organic acids, scopoletin, chlorophylls, carotenoids, protoporphyrins, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), phylloquinone (vitamin K1), triterpenoids, steroids, oxylipins, tannins, glycokinin, acetylcholine, histamine and serotonin. The roots contain lectins, agglutinins, polysaccharides, steroids, flavonoids, organic acids, lecithin, scopoletin, silica, lignans, monoterpenes, triterpenoids, phenols, tannins and coumarins.

How does nettle heal?

According to the results of recent scientific research, extracts from nettle leaves and roots have anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, analgesic, anti-rheumatic, anti-cancer, antiviral and neuroprotective properties, targeting neurodegenerative diseases.

What does nettle treat?

Thanks to these scientifically proven pharmacological properties, nettle is now included in the arsenal of official medicinal products in the phytotherapy group. For example, in our country, it is included in the herbal mixtures Immunofort, Urofort, Diabetosan, Reumosan and Vagosan, as well as in the pharmacopoeial mixtures Species antirheumaticae and Species metabolicae.

The effectiveness of nettle extracts as relatively effective medicines has so far been well documented only in the case of a few diseases. Therefore, modern phytotherapy recommends nettle as an adjunctive medicine primarily in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, anaemia and various lower urinary tract disorders, and as a first-line medicine in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Prostate in the crosshairs of nettles

The primary indication for the therapeutic use of nettles in modern medicine is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) – a male health problem commonly referred to as prostate enlargement. The therapeutic effectiveness of nettle in the treatment of prostate enlargement can be considered very well documented, as it has been confirmed in over 40,000 men participating in a total of 34 clinical trials.

Dry extracts from nettle root are used in the treatment of BPH, administered in daily doses of 300-800 mg, whose therapeutic activity results in an increase in the volume of urine excreted, improved urethral flow and a reduction in the volume of urine remaining in the bladder.

Many studies have shown that the active ingredients of nettle root interfere with several metabolic and signalling pathways involved in the development of prostate hypertrophy, thereby inhibiting the growth of prostate tissue and slowing down the increase in gland mass. These components also inhibit the proliferation of prostate cancer cells and limit and delay their spread to neighbouring tissues.

Something for bodybuilders

Nettle root extracts have also gained popularity as a supplement to support exercise in bodybuilding.

As research has shown, the active ingredients in nettles have the ability to inhibit the activity of aromatase, an enzyme that converts the male sex hormone testosterone into the female sex hormone oestradiol. Aromatase activity is problematic for bodybuilders because excess oestradiol in the male body promotes water retention in the subcutaneous tissue and fat accumulation around the mammary glands, which significantly hinders the development of competitive form.

Furthermore, other studies have shown that the active ingredients of nettle root limit the binding of testosterone to its transport proteins (SHGB), promoting an increase in free testosterone, which in its free form is a powerful anabolic hormone that stimulates muscle mass and strength development.

Sources:

• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9253158/
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0944711307000542
• https://lostempireherbs.com/nettle-root-extract-for-bodybuilding/?srsltid=AfmBOop1vVM01Bt76NZVmelpIzE16skrC7J0LriJCNbFnby-8RIvN8s5