Buckwheat
fagopyrum esculentum
Medicinal Actions
Antiatherosclerotic, Anticapillary Fragility, Anti-CVI, Antiedemic, Colic
Primary Conditions Treated
General Dosage
Taken orally in teas, as an extract, or eaten as food. I view it as food farmacy. But as with peanuts, some people can be fatally allergic to the plant.
Safety & Contraindications
Not covered. None reported when properly administered. Not covered by AHP or Commission E. Rutin underlies much of the activity. Not covered in most of my books, more food than medicine. But it is clearly a safe food pharmaceutical for most people. Intake of large quantities can cause phototoxic doses in grazing animals. I know one chemist’s wife was almost killed eating noodles in Japan made of buckwheat flour. So some people can have fatally anaphylactic reactions to buckwheat. There are some similarities between the globulins in buckwheat and those in pea and soy. Phototoxic fagopyrine may cause fagopyrism in sheep and swine, inducing cramps, dermatosis, and nausea.