The dietary potential of the common nettle

Abstract

Abstract A leaf protein concentrate prepared from the young leaves of the common nettle ( Urtica dioica ) failed to support normal growth in young rats; supplementation with methionine produced a protein efficiency ratio greater than that of casein. A nettle leaf wholemeal, providing 66% of the dietary protein, supported normal growth in young guinea‐pigs, mice and rats. Chicks receiving the whole nettle meal as their sole dietary protein grew at only half the rate of chicks given a standard commercial diet. A nettle meal‐induced hypercholesterolaemia in mature guinea‐pigs and kidney hypertrophy in mice and guinea‐pigs should perhaps be interpreted as a caution against the indiscriminate introduction of nettles into the human diet.