NETTLE
COMMON NETTLE
SMALL NETTLE

URTICA DIOICA
URTICA URENS

URTICACEAE


Nettles are common plants in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. They are remarkable plants because they are stinging !!

The stems and leaves indeed have very fine, sharp and brittle hairs filled with substances causing on skin contact a reaction similar to an allergic urticaria.

The two species of nettles are often confused and have very similar properties.
The common nettle is dioecious, the plants are male or female, it reaches more than one meter and is perennial thanks to a large network of rhizomatous runners and roots.
The small nettle is smaller, annual, and has male and female flowers on the same plant.


Nettles are widespread but prefer slightly moist soils rich in nitrogen and phosphorus found near homes, in abandoned gardens, near farms, on the edges of ditches or in the shade of fruit trees. They do not develop well in a marine atmosphere.

These unloved plants, because they sting on contact, are nevertheless useful: they are consumed by many non-harmful insects and pollinators, they can be eaten, they are medicinal and are used in agriculture and to feed small livestock (especially poultry).
The leaves and especially the roots are medicinal.
Nettles are textile plants and contains naturals dyes (roots and leaves)

NETTLE STINGING NETTLE LEAVES AS FOOD ROOTS TO CURE PROSTATIC ADENOMA TEXTILE STEM DYE HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IRON PROTEIN

NETTLE LEAVES

They contain substances common in many plants:

- Flavonoids (in particular anti-inflammatory derivatives of quercetol and kaempferol).
- Acids-phenol also anti-inflammatory by their anti-oxidant action: caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid and their derivatives.
- Abundant chlorophyll but few carotenoid pigments.
- Mineral salts (calcium, potassium, silicon) and iron; the mature leaves contain insoluble calcium crystals (cystoliths) present especially after flowering.
- Vitamin C.
- Sterols (beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol).
- Traces of alkaloids.
- Proteins in interesting quantities.

The leaves are slightly anti-inflammatory and diuretic, they are a source of vegetable proteins and assimilable iron.

STINGING HAIRS

There are two types of hair, some are soft and harmless, others are longer, stiff, pointed and brittle. These contain several substances, in small quantities but very active, which very quickly induce an inflammatory reaction when they penetrate through the skin.

It is mainly a mixture of histamine and serotonin; some sources also cite formalin, acetylcholine and leukotrienes (very inflammatory).

The skin reaction is similar to an allergic urticaria: burning sensation then reddening of the skin in an irregular patch that resolves spontaneously within a few hours or minutes depending on the intensity of contact with the plant and the thickness of the skin.

Nettles are not as formidable plants as other stinging plants like the North American "poison ivy" or the "Brazilian wood" of the Antilles

RHIZOMATOUS ROOTS AND STOLONS

Nettle root extracts are mainly used in cases of benign prostatic hypertrophy (or prostatic adenoma)
Pharmacologists have in fact identified several compounds that have the capacity to interfere in the metabolism of sex hormones at the level of the prostate and limit the development of prostate cells.

Reminder:

Sexual hormones are linked to a transport protein in the blood, this protein recognizes certain sites on the surface of cells for which it has affinity and clings to them which allows the transfer of hormones into cells through the cell membrane.

Nettle root extracts limit, in vitro, the adhesion of this protein (Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)) to prostate cells, thus modifying its metabolism.
In addition, an isolated compound (an agglutinin specific to nettle) binds to prostate cells and limits their proliferation.

Many clinical studies have recently been done to verify the ability of nettle extracts to improve the symptoms of an enlarged prostate. They are on the whole rather positive; there is mainly a slight decrease of the prostate size after several months of treatment.

 

NETTLE ROOT and BENIGN PROSTATE HYPERTROPHY
(prostatic adenoma)

Nettle root extracts are useful when the prostate is not too big and the urinary disorders are moderate, ie at the beginning of the development of the adenoma.
It is advisable to combine these extracts with those of the florida dwarf palm (Serenoa repens) or African plum (Pygeum africanum = Prunus africanum), or with other plant extracts effective in this condition (pumpkin seeds and grass pollen ).

To be effective the treatment must be prolonged and the effects are not felt until after several weeks.

Examples of dosage:

Dried nettle
root infusion: 2g of root powder, 1/4 liter of water, short boiling (less than a minute), infusion 10 to 15 minutes, to drink during the day.

Ethanolic tincture of the whole plant (Urtica dioica):
50 drops 3 times a day.

Standardized preparations of nettle root extracts or based on root powder are found in commerce (internet) and in drugstores, sometimes in combination with other plants useful in benign prostate disorders.
Comply with the dosages indicated because the composition of these preparations are variable.
Nettle root extracts exhibit low toxicity.

CAUTION:
In the event of urinary disorders linked to an increase in the volume of the prostate, it is imperative to consult a doctor to ensure that the prostatic hypertrophy is benign.

USES OF THE NETTLE LEAVES:

Nettle root extracts are useful when the prostate is not too big and the urinary disorders are moderate, ie at the beginning of the development of the adenoma.
It is advisable to combine these extracts with those of the florida dwarf palm (Serenoa repens) or African plum (Pygeum africanum = Prunus africanum), or with other plant extracts effective in this condition (pumpkin seeds and grass pollen ).

To be effective the treatment must be prolonged and the effects are not felt until after several weeks.

Examples of dosage:

Dried nettle
root infusion: 2g of root powder, 1/4 liter of water, short boiling (less than a minute), infusion 10 to 15 minutes, to drink during the day.

Ethanolic tincture of the whole plant (Urtica dioica):
50 drops 3 times a day.

Standardized preparations of nettle root extracts or based on root powder are found in commerce (internet) and in drugstores, sometimes in combination with other plants useful in benign prostate disorders.
Comply with the dosages indicated because the composition of these preparations are variable.
Nettle root extracts exhibit low toxicity.

CAUTION:
In the event of urinary disorders linked to an increase in the volume of the prostate, it is imperative to consult a doctor to ensure that the prostatic hypertrophy is benign.

USES OF THE NETTLE LEAVES:
To harvest the leaves and young stems, protect your hand with a glove and the forearm with a thick cloth.

Leaves are eaten like spinach (especially in soup), cooking destroys stinging hairs, iron and protein intake is interesting. Use the leaves before flowering or the regrowth after mowing as older leaves contain cystoliths which can cause temporary inflammation of the urinary tract.
Regular consumption of nettle leaves provides silicon, an important element for connective tissue and necessary for the synthesis of collagen.
Silicon intake slows down the development of joint osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and perhaps atherosclerosis.

Nettle leaf tea (fresh or dry) is slightly diuretic and anti-inflammatory.

The fresh stinging leaves applied to painful joints (fingers, knee) slightly reduce joint pain of inflammatory origin by their rubefacient effect or by the indirect anti-inflammatory effect of the injected stinging substances.

The shampoo with nettle leaf extracts can limit hair loss (but traditionally nettles were applied directly to the scalp to obtain a reddening effect !!)

- Some studies show the interest of nettle leaf extracts freeze-dried to reduce allergic rhinitis (hay fever).

Nettle manure:

Macerate 1 to 2 kg of fresh nettle in 5 to 10 liters of water for 2 to 3 weeks.
The liquid obtained, very foul-smelling, can be used diluted in 1/10 water as a spray on the leaves to repel insects, especially aphids.
Diluted to 1/5 (1 liter of liquid manure for 4 liters of water) it is sprayed on the soil against pathogenic fungi or as a natural fertilizer.
To activate the maturation of a compost heap, it can be used pure or diluted.

NETTLE CULTIVATION

It may be necessary to cultivate nettles to ensure a regular supply of roots or leaves.
Sow seeds, then plant the young plants; stinging nettle develops underground runners in all directions which ensure the sustainability of the plantation.
Nettle stems contain a bast fibre that has been traditionally used for the same purposes as linen and is produced by a similar retting process.