Maurice Godefridi

· 19 Sep 2020

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There's purlaine growing in my garden.

A weeds that are increasingly common in us and that at the same time also emerges as a useful and healthy plant. This Portulaca oleracea has traditionally been widely used as wild lettuce. In recent years it has been discovered that the leaves are a very rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Still curious, because fats are mainly found in seeds of plants and omega-3 fatty acids mainly in fish oil. Sometimes I also get the impression that he tastes a little like fish. Or is that pure imagination?

Portulaca oleracea L. - Purslane

A creeping, thick-leaved annual plant with small yellow flowers, growing among me among the pebbles of the driveway. A true cultural follower (roads, gardens, vineyards).
The name Portulaca probably comes from the Latin portula, small door, because the fruit opens like a door, to let the black, shiny seeds do their spreading work. The Purslane, together with the Winter Purslane and the Montia, belongs to the small family of the Portulacaceae.

Composition

• A remarkable amount of 15.9% fats, especially Omeegga-3 fatty acids (400 mg alpha-linolenic acid per 100gr fresh plant)

• Very many antioxidants vit. C 500 mg, vit. E 200 mg, beta-carotene 40 mg per 100 gr dry plant, glutathione and other vitamins (B1, B2, PP)
  
• Further nutritional value: calcium 100mg, potassium 580mg, magnesium 68mg
• Also tyramine, norepinephrine and dopamine (Rombi 1988), neurotransmitters that are important for our mental well-being

• Especially raw in salad with olive oil (regime crétois): tastier and better absorption
  
• Decoct, decoction of the fresh plant
• Ancient recipe of Dodonaeus;”They often eat mourning, either alone or with other herbs in salad with oil, vinegar and salt. That purlaine held in the mouth and chewed takes away the tanning, stiffness or vagueness of the teeth. The same does the juice or the distilled water when one drinks it or rinses the mouth with it.