Prosperity and Money. Keep in your home to help ward off poverty, or burn some and scatter the ashes around your property for the same effect.
Alfalfa has been extensively studied. Whole plant material contains many important substances, including several saponins, many sterols, coumarin, flavonoids, alkaloids, acids, vitamins, amino acids, sugars, proteins (25% by weight), minerals, trace elements, and other nutrients. Whole alfalfa also contains plenty of fibre with anticholesterolemic properties.
Alfalfa is one of the most nutritious foods known. Its calcium, carotene, chlorophyll, and vitamin K content make alfalfa an important nutritional supplement. Alfalfa root saponins can inhibit increases in blood cholesterol levels by 25% in experimental animals fed a high cholesterol diet. Offsetting this positive effect are findings that the root is hemolytic and may interfere with vitamin E metabolism.
High concentration of vitamin K found in whole alfalfa has beneficial effects on several forms of hemolytic disease. Alfalfa has antitumoral and antibacterial properties. In folk medicine, it has been used as a tonic and appetizer, and as a diuretic to relieve urinary and bowel problems. Perhaps the most common modern use of alfalfa is in the treatment of symptomatic arthritis, but although numerous clinical and anecdotal reports are available, no scientific research has been done on its effectiveness.
Antibiotic Properties - The saponins in alfalfa have been shown to be antifungal. This activity is concentrated mainly in the medicagenic acid fraction.
Alfalfa has shown some activity against tuberculosis bacteria, while aqueous and volatile extracts of alfalfa are antibacterial against gram negative bacteria.
Antitumor Action - Basic proteins (histones) displaying antitumor activity without undesired side effects occur in alfalfa. These substances contain high levels of l-lysine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid. Tumor stimulating fractions were also found, containing large amounts of l-arginine. This basic relationship requires further study.
Highly Nutritious - The nutrient content of alfalfa is one of the richest known, making it a useful livestock fodder and a highly recommended herb for the human diet as well.
Caution: - Alfalfa's hypoprothrombinemic effect may be increased by the antiarrhythmic agent, quinidine. In addition, allopurinol has been tentatively shown to increase the half-life of anticoagulants.
Alfalfa is high in iron, which may cause it to interfere with the absorption of tetracyclines. This is especially true if large quantities of the herb are ingested within two hours of taking tetracyclines. It should also be noted animal studies indicate iron plus allopurinol may lead to increased hepatic iron concentration.
Alfalfa may, because of the presence of eugenol in the herb, inhibit certain liver microsomal hydroxylating systems. This produces toxic effects from drugs normally metabolized by those systems.
It should be noted while the coumarin content of alfalfa is not high at normal usage levels, coumarins can effect the action of almost any drug.
The presence of tyramine and/or typtophan in alfalfa could produce hypertension if monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI's) are also being used. However, this is not a likely interaction.
Contact dermatitis has occurred in hypersensitive individuals. Alfalfa root saponins are hemolytic and may also interfere with the metabolism of vitamin E; however, above-ground parts have just the opposite effects.