Chenopodium Album

Written by Ben Bunting: BA, PGCert. (Sport & Exercise Nutrition) // British Army Physical Training Instructor // S&C Coach.

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Quick Bite:

Chenopodium Album is a valuable food crop known for its nutritional and medicinal benefits, but there is currently no evidence to support its ability to boost testosterone levels.

Are you constantly feeling tired, moody, and lacking motivation? Low testosterone levels could be the culprit.

Chenopodium, also known as lamb's quarters, is an ancient herb that has been used for centuries to treat various ailments.

But recent scientific research has discovered its potential to naturally increase fertility levels in animals. As such, its benefits may cross over into humans.

In this article, we'll explore the science behind it and uncover if this natural remedy can improve your energy levels, libido, and muscle strength.

Read on to discover whether Chenopodium can revolutionize your testosterone levels and transform your life. 

What is Chenopodium Album?

A very diverse cosmopolitan polyploid weedy compound, with landraces from the Himalayan region being cultivated for pseudocereal seeds.

Landraces that are grown for seed tend to be taller (upto 4m) than their weedy counterparts. Inflorescences can also be larger, more compact, leafless and often drooping.

Hermaphrodites and female flowers form in seed heads that are not easily broken. The seeds produced by these plants are larger than those of wild plants. As a leafy veggie, it is also grown in the Himalayas as well as northern India.

In Africa, Asia, and South America, young leaves and stems can be collected in the wild or grown in gardens.

It is highly valued for its high content of protein and amino acids, with a high concentration of lysine. C. Album contains antinutritional substances such as phytates, saponins and oxalic acids, but they are mostly broken down during cooking.

In traditional medicine, leaves and seeds have been used to treat many disorders. They are used as anthelmintic agents, diuretics, laxatives, digestives, and cardiotonics.

C. Album has been used for rheumatism and liver disorders as well as burns.

Chenopodium Album Family

It is also known as the Amaranth Family, after its type genus Amaranthus.

The lineage includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae, and has about 165 genera with 2,040 species.

This is the most species-rich branch within the Caryophyllales order.

Chenopodium Album Seed 

Chenopodium album seeds are usually disc-shaped and have a diameter of approximately 1.5 mm. The surface is smooth, shiny and black.

C. album is a self-pollinating plant, but C. murale can be outcrossed by wind up to 3% at a distance of 2 m.

This species produces a high number of seeds:  C. album can produce over 150,000 seeds.

C. album has seed heteromorphism, which results in a variable number of non-dormant brown seeds. These seeds are larger than typical black dormant seeds.

When the plant is stressed out, it may produce more brown seeds, which can help to accelerate germination in less favorable conditions, such as saline soils.

Under ideal conditions, C. album black seeds can be viable for over 30 years. This species is a key component in the soil seed bank.

Chenopodium Album Leaf

Chenopodium Album is a erect, annual herb that has the distinctive goosefoot-shaped foliage for which Chenopodium was named.

Chenopodium can reach a height of 2 meters, and has a taproot that is strong. The stems are ridged with red stripes.

Chenopodium Album Scientific Name

There are a number of names given to chenopodium, let's take a look:

Commmon Name: mealweed, fat hen, lambsquarters, goosefoot.

Scientific Name: Chenopodium L. Chenopodiaceae.

Nutritional Value

The health benefits of green leafy vegetables are well known around the world. Vegetables are the most affordable and readily available source of vitamins, minerals and fibres, as well as essential amino acids.

In many developing countries, where starchy foods are the main staples of daily meals, vegetables are the most affordable and readily available source of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

There are many local and wild vegetables that are not fully exploited because there is insufficient scientific knowledge about their nutritional value.

Its leaves are rich in nutrients and have been eaten raw or cooked in different cultures in America.

They still form part of the diets in Mexico and many other developing countries. The leaves contain a significant amount of proteins (4.2 %), including essential amino acids like lysine and leucine.

They also contain significant amounts of calcium, vitamins A and C, as well as significant amounts of calcium.

It is also reported that there are high levels of carotenoids (12.5%) and vitamin C (155mg/100g) in C. album leaves.

This plant also has a high iron content, and fibre amounts (4-6 g/100g) compared to spinach and cabbage. 

Chenopodium Uses

Traditional uses of the plant include bloodpurifiers, diuretics, sedatives, hepatoprotectives, antiscorbutics, and as an antihelmentic for round and hookworms.

The plant has been shown to have anthelmentic properties, as well as sperm-immobilizing and contraceptive ones. 

Also, it is claimed that Chenopodium has antipruritic as well as antinociceptive properties.

Chenopodium is therefore a good candidate for a thorough biological evaluation. This potentially useful plant has never been the subject of significant research on processing parameters.

This review has discussed the future potential of Chenopodium for public and dietary education about its nutritional status. 

Does Chenopodium Affect Testosterone?

Since ancient times, the leaves of Chinopodium has been used to treat male sexual disorders in Ayurvedic medicines. 

However, is there any evidence that would support its use for improving sexual function or sex hormones such as testosterone in humans?

Let's take a look at what research has been published.

Study 1

The results of a 2019 study show that Chinopodium has a defensive mechanism against Mercury-induced oxidative stress, and indicate its use for improving fertility and sperm production in rats.

This stuidy suggests that Chinopodium may provide functional nutrients to protect against heavy metal-induced oxidative stresses and reproductive toxicity in humans, but there aren't any human trials demonstrating this yet.

Study 2

In this study, the administration of 200 mg/kg of ethanolic extract was found to have a marked anabolic effect on rats.

The treatment resulted in an anabolic effect as shown by the weight gain of reproductive organs and body.

Sexual performance and behavior were markedly improved, as evidenced by a reduction in mounts, intromissions and post-ejaculatory latencies.

The treatment also improved the heterosexual attraction score as well as the frequency of mounts. The extract can also be used to preserve and increase in vitro sperm counts.

Study 3

This study aimed to compare the effects on male adult rats of extracts of food plants Mondia Whitei, Chenopodium Album, Cucurbita Pepo, and Sclerocarya Birrea at a dose of 200mg/kg of body weight.

These plants are also used in South Africa and Zimbabwe as aphrodisiacs. 

All treatments increased sperm mobility despite the fact that there was no difference in ejaculation count or number. And there wasn't a rise in testosterone from Chenopodium.

Conclusion

Chenopodium Album is an important food crop with high nutritional and believed medicinal values, used as both dietary supplements and functional food sources.

Rich in phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity, this plant also makes an excellent protein source that could potentially enhance protein profiles in cereals and legumes to both improve quality food as well as strengthen immune responses.

This fast-growing annual is part of the Amaranthaceae family and widely cultivated in some regions while considered a weed elsewhere.

It can thrive under various temperature conditions and its flexible phenology allows it to interfere with cropping systems as well as other weeds.

Leaves of this plant contain many vital vitamins and minerals, such as A and C as well as calcium, iron, potassium and zinc.

Furthermore, its leaves boast significant amounts of dietary fibre - an integral part of Asia cuisine, particularly India and China where its leaves are consumed as salad ingredients as well as being added to soups, stews, dals chutneys and stir fries.

Other that a nutritional source of food, I looked in to whether it could improve endocrinological parameters such as testosterone levels.

However, there aren't any human studies available, and those on rats do not show an increase of testosterone levels, but may improve fertility.