What is the Nutrient Content of Alfalfa?
It has become common for people to consume alfalfa as an herbal supplement or in the form of alfalfa sprouts.
However, there is no available standard nutrition information, this is because the leaves and seeds are sold as herbal supplements. But they are typically a fair source of vitamin K and also contain many other nutrients, including copper, vitamin C [1], manganese [2] and folate [3].
Alfalfa sprouts contain the same nutrients and are also very low in calories.
For example, 1 cup (33 grams) of alfalfa sprouts contain a mere 8 calories. It also contains the following;
- Vitamin K: 8% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C: 3% of the DV
- Folate: 3% of the DV
- Thiamine: 2% of the DV
- Riboflavin: 3% of the DV
- Magnesium: 2% of the DV
- Iron: 2% of the DV
- Copper: 6% of the DV
A cup also contains 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of carbs, which comes from fiber. Alfalfa also contains a high amount of bioactive plant compounds, including coumarins, saponins, flavonoids [4], phytosterols [5], phytoestrogens [6], and alkaloids [7].