Oxalate Contents of Raw, Boiled, Wok-Fried and Pesto and Juice Made from Fat Hen (Chenopodium album) Leaves.

Geoffrey Savage,Leo Vanhanen

doi:10.3390/foods8010002

Abstract

The total, soluble, and insoluble oxalate contents of fresh and wok-fried fat hen (Chenopodium album) leaves were extracted and measured using High pressure liquid chromatography. The total oxalate content of the raw leaves was 1112.4 mg/100 g dry matter (DM), and the levels were significantly reduced by boiling (682.8 mg/100 g DM) or cooking the leaves in a wok (883.6 mg/100 g DM). The percentages of soluble oxalate contents in the total oxalates of the raw and boiled leaves were similar (mean 75%), while the proportion of soluble oxalate content in the wok-fried leaves was reduced to 53.4% of the total, giving a significant increase in the insoluble oxalate content of the wok-fried leaves. The percentage of insoluble calcium in the total calcium was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) when the leaves were boiled, but the insoluble oxalate content significantly increased (67.2%) in the wok-fried leaves when compared to the content of the original raw leaves. Processing the cooked leaves into pesto or extracting the juice gave final products that contained significantly reduced total and soluble oxalate contents. The addition of calcium chloride to the juice caused a very small reduction in the soluble oxalate content in the juice.

Highlights

Fat hen (Chenopodium album L.) is a fast-growing, weedy annual plant found in many parts of the world
The soluble calcium content of the wok-fried leaves was 20.78%, which corresponds to a marked increase in the proportion of insoluble oxalates in this fried food, which made up 46.6% of the total oxalate fraction (Table 3)
The amount of soluble calcium calculated in this study is in contrast to those calculated for raw and cooked fat hen leaves prepared in

Summary

Introduction

Fat hen (Chenopodium album L.) is a fast-growing, weedy annual plant found in many parts of the world. Its common names include goosefoot and lamb’s quarters. It is extensively cultivated and consumed in Northern India as a food crop where its Hindi name is bathua. The leaves and young shoots of this plant are used in dishes—such as soups, curries, and paratha-stuffed breads—and are especially popular in the Punjab. The plant is considered to be a weed and is rarely eaten. The leaves and young shoots may be eaten as a vegetable, either steamed or cooked like spinach. Evidence that the plant has been used as a food plant for centuries was confirmed by the occurrence of carbonized plant remains in storage pits and ovens at Iron Age, Viking Age, and

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