Tinkturenpresse

Portulaca oleracea L. - Portulacaceae - 马齿苋 ma chi xian (chin)., purslane, Portulak

Annual succulent herb, up to 40cm high; stems sometimes flushed red or purple; leaves alternate, short petioled, obovate; flower small, yellow.

„Danin et al. (Israel J. Bot. 27: 177–211. 1978) recognized a series of eight subspecies, but they are rather poorly correlated with geography and their status needs re-evaluation. The Chinese material seems to belong to the most common and weedy form placed in subsp. oleracea. There has been some selection of more robust forms for use as a vegetable; these are sometimes placed in subsp. sativa (Haworth). The plants, which are common weeds of cultivation, are eaten as a vegetable and used for medicinal purposes.“
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200007020

„It has an extensive natural distribution throughout the Old World extending from North Africa through the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent to Malesia and Australasia. The species status in the New World is uncertain… It is naturalised elsewhere and in some regions is considered an invasive weed… Although purslane is considered a weed in the United States, it may be eaten as a leaf vegetable. It has a slightly sour and salty taste and is eaten throughout much of Europe, the middle east, Asia, and Mexico. The stems, leaves and flower buds are all edible.“ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea

Portulak is rich in minerals (Calcium 65mg/100g), Magnesium 21mg/100g, Potassium 494mg/100g) and vitamins (ascorbic acid 21mg/100g).
http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3180?qlookup=11427&format=Full&max=25&man=&lfacet=&new=1

„An aqueous extract of the stems and leaves of Portulaca oleracea abolishes the twitch contraction of the directly stimulated rat hemidiaphragm preparation. The effects of the extract mimic qualitatively the action of potassium oxalate - a known constituent of Portulaca oleracea - on the diaphragm. Removal of K+ ions from the methanol extract by passing it through a cation exchange resin reduced the inhibitory effect of the extract. There was a positive correlation between the concentration of K+ ions in the extract and the effects of potassium chloride of similar molarity. It is concluded that the K+ ion content of Portulaca oleracea is at least partly responsible for the relaxant effect observed on the isolated rat diaphragm.“
[The skeletal muscle relaxant action of Portulaca oleracea: role of potassium ions., Parry, O., Marks, J. A., Okwuasaba, F. K., Journal of ethnopharmacology, Vol.40(3), 1993, 187-194]

„Portulaca oleracea accelerates the wound healing process by decreasing the surface area of the wound and increasing the tensile strength.“
[Simple evaluation of the wound healing activity of a crude extract of Portulaca oleracea L.(growing in Jordan) in Mus musculus JVI-1., Rashed, A. N., Afifi, F. U., Disi, A. M., Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol.88(2), 2003, 131-136]

„Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is a rich source of important nutrients such as minerals and antioxidants. In addition, its edible tissues contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids which are recommenced for a healthy diet. Raw leaves, stems and buds have been reported to contain high levels of oxalate and, therefore, they are not recommended for regular consumption for people who have a tendency to form kidney stones. In this study the fresh leaves, stems and buds contained respectively 23.45±0.45, 5.58±0.18 and 9.09±0.12 g total oxalates kg-1 fresh weight. The stems and buds contained a mean of 75.0% soluble oxalates while the leaves contained only 27.5% soluble oxalates. Boiling the leaves, stems and buds resulted in a loss of soluble oxalates from the tissue which resulted an overall 27% reduction in total oxalate in the tissues. Pickling the whole plant resulted in a loss of soluble oxalates from the tissue by leaching into the vinegar, resulting in a reduction of total oxalate content of the pickled tissue by 16%. Larger leaves contained 40% more total oxalates than the small leaves while the oxalate content of the stems ranged between 4.9 and 6.2 g total oxalates kg-1 fresh weight. The leaves contained 33% soluble oxalate while in contrast the stems contained a mean of 67% soluble oxalates.“
[Oxalate content of raw and cooked purslane., Poeydomenge, G. Y., Savage, G. P., Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment, Vol.5(1), 2007, 124] http://world-food.net/download/journals/2007-issue_1/f26.pdf

„Portulaca oleracea L. (POL) has been used as one of the traditional oriental medicines to treat bacteria, virus, antherasis, caducity, diabetes and for enhancing immunity. This study aims at revealing effects of POL on alloxan-induced diabetic rats and its mechanisms… The results indicate that POL would alleviate the blood glucose and lipid rising associated with diabetes, and improve the abnormal glucose metabolism and increase insulin secretion byrestoring the impaired pancrease β cells in alloxan-induced diabetic rats, which suggest that POL has the hypoglycemic potential and could be useful on the diabetes therapy.“
[Study on chemical constituents of Portulaca oleracea]., Yang, Z. J., Zheng, Y. N., Xiang, L., Zhong yao cai= Zhongyaocai= Journal of Chinese medicinal materials, Vol.30(10), 2007, 1248-1250]

Candolle, A.P. de, Redouté, P.J., Plantarum Historia Succulentarum (Plantes grasses), vol.3 t.123 (1799-1837)
http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=831709

Portulaca oleracea
© Rolf Marschner (2007), www.botanische-spaziergaenge.at