Stellaria media, common chickweed, is a cool-season annual plant native to Europe, which is often eaten by chickens. It is commonly also called Chickenwort, Craches, Maruns, Winterweed. The plant germinates in fall or late winter, then forms large mats of foliage. Flowers are small and white, followed quickly by the seed pods. This plant flowers and sets seed at the same time.

Ecology

The larvae of the European moth yellow shell (Camptogramma bilineata), of North American moths pale-banded dart (Agnorisma badinodis) or dusky cutworm (Agrotis venerabilis) or North American butterfly dainty sulphur (Nathalis iole) all feed on chickweed.

Growth

Whole plant

In both Europe and North America this plant is common in gardens,^[1] fields, and disturbed grounds. Control is difficult due to the heavy seed sets. Common Chickweed is very competitive with small grains, and can produce up to 80% yield losses among barley.^[2]

Uses

As food

Stellaria media is delicious, edible and nutritious, and is used as a leaf vegetable, often raw in salads.^[3] It is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku.

Saponins presence

S. media contains saponins – compounds that taste like soap – which in large enough quanitities are toxic. Indeed chickweed has been known to cause saponin poisoning in cattle. But it is rare and this is when the animal has eaten many kilos of the plant.

In folk medicine

The plant has medicinal purposes and is used in folk medicine. It has been used as a remedy to treat itchy skin conditions and pulmonary diseases.^[4] 17th century herbalist John Gerard recommended it as a remedy for mange. Modern herbalists mainly prescribe it for skin diseases, and also for bronchitis, rheumatic pains, arthritis and period pain.^{[citation needed]} A poultice of chickweed can be applied to cuts, burns and bruises.^{[citation needed]} Not all of these uses are supported by scientific evidence.^[5]

Modern medicine investigations

S. media is currently under investigation as a cure of a number of conditions. It is used as a treatment for obesity. Researches have been carried out on mice submitted to drug induced obesity^[6] or on rats on cafeteria diet.^[7] The mechanism of action is by inhibiting the intestinal absorption of dietary fat and carbohydrates through inhibition of digestive enzymes.^[8]

Chemistry

The anthraquinones emodin, parietin (physcion) and questin, the flavonoid kaempferol-3,7-O-α-L-dirhamnoside, the phytosterols β-sitosterol and daucosterol, and the fatty alcohol 1-hexacosanol can be found in S. media.^[9] Other flavonoid constituents are apigenin 6-C-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-8-C-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside, apigenin 6-C-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-8-C-beta-D-galactopyranoside, apigenin 6-C-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-8-C-beta-L-arabinopyranoside, apigenin 6-C-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-8-C-beta-D-galactopyranoside, apigenin 6, 8-di-C-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside.^[10] The plant also contains triterpenoid saponins^[11][12] of the hydroxylated oleanolic acid type^[13] and tannins (including phlobatannins).^[14] Proanthocyanidins are present in the testa of seeds.^[15]

Distribution and Identification

Stellaria media is widespread in North America from the Brooks Range in Alaska to all points south within North America. There are several closely related plants referred to as chickweed, but which lack the culinary and medicinal properties of plants in the genus Stellaria. Plants in the genus Cerastium are very similar in appearance to Stellaria and are in the same family (Carophyllaceae). Stellaria media can be easily distinguished from all other members of this family by examining the stems. Stellaria has fine hairs on only one side of the stem in a single band. Other members of the family Carophyllaceae which resemble Stellaria have hairs uniformly covering the entire stem.

See also

• Nanakusa-no-sekku

References

Notes

1. ^ Neltje, Blanchan (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. 
2. ^ A. Davis, K. Renner, C. Sprague, L. Dyer, D. Mutch (2005). Integrated Weed Management. MSU.
3. ^ Stellaria media at Plants for a Future
4. ^ Hensel, Wolfgang (2008). Medicinal plants of Britain and Europe. London: A&C Black. ISBN 9781408101544. 
5. ^ Howard, Michael (1987). Traditional folk remedies : a comprehensive herbal. London: Century. p. 119. ISBN 0-7126-1731-0. 
6. ^ Chidrawar, VR; Patel, KN; Sheth, NR; Shiromwar, SS; Trivedi, P (2011). "Antiobesity effect of Stellaria media against drug induced obesity in Swiss albino mice". Ayu 32 (4): 576–584. doi:10.4103/0974-8520.96137. PMC 3361939. PMID 22661858. 
7. ^ Anti-obesity effect of Stellaria media methanolic extract in the murine model of cafeteria diet induced obesity. Chidrawar VR, Patel KN, Bothra SB, Shiromwar SS, Koli AR, Kalyankar GG, Int J Nutr Pharmacol Neurol Dis, 2012, 2, pagess 121-131 (article on line)
8. ^ Rani, Neerja; Vasudeva, Neeru; Sharma, Surendra (2012). "Quality assessment and anti-obesity activity of Stellaria media (Linn.) Vill". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 12: 145. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-12-145. PMC 3468403. PMID 22943464. 
9. ^ Studies on the Chemical Constituents From Stellaria media (II). Huang Yuan, Dong Qi, Qiao Shan-Yi, Pharmaceutical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army, 2007-03 (abstract) (Article in Chinese)
10. ^ Dong, Q; Huang, Y; Qiao, SY (2007). "Studies on chemical constituents from stellaria media. I". Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica (in Chinese) 32 (11): 1048–51. PMID 17672340. 
11. ^ Hu, Y.M.; Wang, H.; Ye, W.C.; Qian, L. (2009). "New triterpenoid fromStellaria media(L.) Cyr". Natural Product Research 23 (14): 1274–8. doi:10.1080/14786410701642532. PMID 19735039. 
12. ^ Weng, A; Thakur, M; Beceren-Braun, F; Gilabert-Oriol, R; Boettger, S; Melzig, MF; Fuchs, H (2012). "Synergistic interaction of triterpenoid saponins and plant protein toxins". Planta Medica 78 (11). doi:10.1055/s-0032-1320271. 
13. ^ Böttger, Stefan; Melzig, Matthias F. (2011). "Triterpenoid saponins of the Caryophyllaceae and Illecebraceae family". Phytochemistry Letters 4 (2): 59. doi:10.1016/j.phytol.2010.08.003. 
14. ^ Oyebanji (2011). "Phytochemistry and in vitro anti-oxidant activities of Stellaria media, Cajanus cajan and Tetracera potatoria methanolic extracts". Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 5 (30). doi:10.5897/JMPR11.246. 
15. ^ Bittrich, V.; Amaral, Maria Do Carmo E. (1991). "Proanthocyanidins in the testa of centrospermous seeds". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 19 (4): 319. doi:10.1016/0305-1978(91)90020-Z. 

General references

• Gregory L. Tilford, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, ISBN 0-87842-359-1

Further reading

• Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L., Little, C.R. (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press.  ISBN 0-89672-614-2