Scientific name: Fagopyrum esculentum

Common names:

Ayurvedic names:

Chinese names: qiao mai

Bangladesh names: Titaphapur 

Arabic names:    الحنطة السوداء (al hintah assawdaa’e)

Rain Forest names:

Family: Fabaceae

Approximate number of species known:

Common parts used: Whole herb, sprouts

Collection:

Annual/Perennial: Annual

Height: 2 to 5 feet

Actions: Buckwheat is harvested green for rutin extraction. Rutin, a flavonol glycoside compound, is used in medicine to check blood vessels for haemorrhagic diseases and to treat high blood pressure

Known Constituents: >4% of rutin (C27, H30, O16)

Constituents Explained:

Description: 

The stem is shaped like a cylinder and hollow., it is roughly 2-6mm in shape.  The leaves are dark green and paler on the underneath surface. The leaf is normally 7cm wide to 11cm long.

Traditional Use:

Known as a nutritious plant, it contains Vitamins A, B vitamins, C, E, K and a varitey of minerals and trace minerals.  A green plant famed for its high chlorophyll content. When in bloom it contains beautiful purple flowers.

Clinical Studies:

Buckwheat food is a good source of antioxidants, e.g. rutin, and other beneficial substances. A study investigated the effects of the intake of common buckwheat (low rutin content) and tartary buckwheat cookies (high rutin content) on selected clinical markers. 

A double blind crossover study was performed among female day-care centre staffs from five day-care centres. Participants were randomly divided into two groups. The first group initially consumed four common buckwheat cookies per day (16.5 mg rutin equivalents/day) for two weeks, while the second group consumed four tartary buckwheat cookies per day (359.7 mg rutin equivalents/day).

Then the groups switched their type of cookies and consumed them for another two weeks. Selected clinical markers related to cardiovascular disease and lower airway inflammation, lung function, and subjective breathing difficulties in the staffs were monitored.

Intake of tartary buckwheat cookies reduced the serum level of myeloperoxidase (MPO). When grouping the two types of buckwheat cookies together, there was a reduction of total serum cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol during the study period, with improved lung vital capacity.

The degree of reduction in total and HDL cholesterol levels was similar in staffs with low and high body mass index. In conclusion, intake of tartary buckwheat cookies with high level of the antioxidant rutin may reduce levels of MPO, an indicator of inflammation. Moreover, intake of both types of buckwheat cookies may lower cholesterol levels.

References:

Wieslander G, Fabjan N, Vogrincic M, Kreft I, JansonC, Spetz-Nystrom U, Vombergar B, Tagesson C, Leanderson P, Norback D. “Eating Buckwheat Cookies Is Associated With The reduction In Serum Levels Of Myeloperoxidase And Cholesterol: A Double-Blind Crossover Study In Day-Care Centre Staffs.” 2011 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21931228