Lemon verbena has a fresh, lemony flavor. The raw leaves are used in salads and to add flavor to desserts. The herb is also used to prepare a wide range of drinks. A tea infusion with lemon verbena is calming, stimulates the appetite, and promotes digestion. Today, lemon verbena is still found in the wild in Chili and Uruguay.
General information:
From Wikipedia: “Aloysia citrodora is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native to western South America. Common names include lemon verbena and lemon beebrush. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish and the Portuguese in the 17th century and cultivated for its oil.”
Origin:
“Lemon verbena originates from the subtropical regions of South America (Uruguay, Argentina (Catamarca, Jujuy, La Rioja, Salta, and Tucumán), Chili, and Peru) and was brought to Europe around the end of the eighteenth century.*”
Description:
“Lemon verbena is a perennial shrub or subshrub growing to 2–3 m high. The 8-cm-long, glossy, pointed leaves are slightly rough to the touch and emit a powerful scent reminiscent of lemon when bruised (hence the Latin specific epithet citrodora—lemon-scented).
Sprays of tiny purple or white flowers appear in late spring or early summer. It is sensitive to cold, losing leaves at temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F), although the wood is hardy to −10 °C (14 °F). Due to its many culinary uses, it is widely listed and marketed as a plant for the herb garden.”
Culinary uses:
“Lemon verbena leaves are used to add a lemon flavor to fish and poultry dishes, vegetable marinades, salad dressings, jams, puddings, Greek yogurt and beverages. It also is used to make herbal teas, or added to standard tea in place of actual lemon (as is common with Moroccan tea). It can also be used to make a sorbet. In addition, it has anti-Candida albicans activity. In the European Union, Verbena essential oils (Lippia citriodora Kunth.) and derivatives other than absolute are prohibited when used as a fragrance ingredient (Commission Directive 2009/164/EU of 22 December 2009). ...
When making teas, it is said to help with muscle spasms, stomach pain, menstrual cramping, anxiety, and a fever reducer.”
Antioxidants:
“Lemon verbena extract containing 25% verbascoside showed strong antioxidant capacity, especially in a lipophilic environment, which was higher than expected as concluded from the antioxidant capacity of pure verbascoside, probably due to synergistic effects. The capacity of verbascoside to act as an effective radical scavenger in lipophilic environments was also shown. Verbascoside-enriched extracts might have interesting applications in cosmetic, nutraceuticals or functional food.”
Interesting facts:
“Small sacks or bunches of lemon verbena bring a fresh fragrance into your home or refrigerator.*”
Note (italics): * = Translation from a German Wikipedia entry
Nutrient tables
The complete nutritional information, coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients can be found in the following nutrient tables.
Nutritional Information
|
per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Energy | 235 kcal 982 kJ | 11.7% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2000kcal |
Fat/Lipids | 1.3 g | 1.9% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 70g |
Saturated Fats | 0.60 g | 3.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 20g |
Carbohydrates (inc.dietary fiber) | 20 g | 7.5% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 270g |
Sugars | 5.9 g | 6.6% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 90g |
Fiber | 44 g | 177.2% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 25g |
Protein/Albumin | 13 g | 26.8% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 50g |
Cooking Salt (Na:16.0 mg) | 41 mg | 1.7% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2.4g |
Essential micronutrients with the highest proportions | per 100g | 2000 kcal | |
---|---|---|---|
Vit | Vitamin A, as RAE | 4'300 µg | 538.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 µg |
Vit | Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 176 mg | 220.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 80 mg |
Min | Manganese, Mn | 3.2 mg | 160.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2.0 mg |
Elem | Potassium, K | 2'420 mg | 121.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2'000 mg |
Elem | Calcium, Ca | 958 mg | 120.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Vit | Folate, as the active form of folic acid (née vitamin B9 and | 213 µg | 107.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 200 µg |
Min | Iron, Fe | 12 mg | 86.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 14 mg |
Min | Copper, Cu | 0.80 mg | 80.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.0 mg |
Min | Zinc, Zn | 7.7 mg | 77.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 10 mg |
Vit | Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 1.0 mg | 71.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Detailed micronutrients and daily requirement coverage per 100g
Explanations of nutrient tables in general
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Essential fatty acids | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Alpha-Linolenic acid; ALA; 18:3 omega-3 | 0.21 g | 10.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 2.0 g |
Linoleic acid; LA; 18:2 omega-6 | 0.28 g | 3.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 10 g |
Essential amino acids | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Tryptophan (Trp, W) | 0.18 g | 71.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 0.25 g |
Threonine (Thr, T) | 0.62 g | 67.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 0.93 g |
Isoleucine (Ile, I) | 0.71 g | 57.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 1.2 g |
Lysine (Lys, K) | 0.88 g | 47.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 1.9 g |
Leucine (Leu, L) | 1.1 g | 44.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 2.4 g |
Valine (Val, V) | 0.71 g | 44.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 1.6 g |
Phenylalanine (Phe, F) | 0.53 g | 34.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 1.6 g |
Methionine (Met, M) | 0.21 g | 23.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the WHO-Protein-2002: 0.93 g |
Vitamins | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Vitamin A, as RAE | 4'300 µg | 538.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 µg |
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 176 mg | 220.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 80 mg |
Folate, as the active form of folic acid (née vitamin B9 and | 213 µg | 107.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 200 µg |
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 1.0 mg | 71.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Niacin (née vitamin B3) | 10 mg | 65.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 16 mg |
Vitamin E, as a-TEs | 6.4 mg | 53.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 12 mg |
Thiamine (vitamin B1) | 0.50 mg | 45.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.1 mg |
Biotin (ex vitamin B7, H) | 11 µg | 22.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 50 µg |
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | 0.30 mg | 21.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) | 1.2 mg | 20.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 6.0 mg |
Vitamin D | 0 µg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 5.0 µg |
Essential macroelements (macronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Potassium, K | 2'420 mg | 121.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2'000 mg |
Calcium, Ca | 958 mg | 120.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Magnesium, Mg | 192 mg | 51.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 375 mg |
Phosphorus, P | 319 mg | 46.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 700 mg |
Sodium, Na | 16 mg | 2.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Essential trace elements (micronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Manganese, Mn | 3.2 mg | 160.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2.0 mg |
Iron, Fe | 12 mg | 86.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 14 mg |
Copper, Cu | 0.80 mg | 80.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.0 mg |
Zinc, Zn | 7.7 mg | 77.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 10 mg |
Iod, I (Jod, J) | 26 µg | 17.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 150 µg |
Fluorine, F | 300 µg | 9.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 3'500 µg |
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