Are Rhubarb Leaves Poisonous: Taste, Benefits and Side Effects

Are Rhubarb Leaves Poisonous

Do you know what rhubarb is? Maybe not everyone knows about this plant. Rhubarb is a kind of taro, which is found in many mountainous and temperate regions, such as East Asia, Europe, and North America. Find out more about Are Rhubarb Leaves Poisonous: Taste, Benefits, and Side Effects.

Rhubarb can be consumed because it contains many benefits for the body. However, you should be more careful if you want to consume it because there are parts that contain toxins.

 

What is rhubarb?

Rhubarb is a type of vegetable fruit with an acidic taste and has celery-like stems. The stalk is reddish and becomes a rhubarb part that can be consumed. Rhubarb has a leaf part. However, rhubarb leaves contain high calcium oxalate so are often avoided.

Rhubarb requires a cold to grow. Therefore, it is found in cold areas of the world, such as northeastern Asia.

 

Characteristics of Rhubarb

• Rhubarb is a plant belonging to the family Polygonaceae with the Latin name Rheum rhabarbarum. Rhubarb is a vermicelli plant similar to taro and textured like stem lettuce.
• Rhubarb plants have parts of the leaves that can not be consumed, but on the stem can be consumed. The rhubarb stem has a red skin color while the flesh of the stem is pale green.
• Rhubarb has leaves up to 15 cm wide, and up to 30 cm long. In addition, rhubarb stems can also grow upright and have a length of more than 30 cm for adult rhubarb.
• Rhubarb is widely used as a vegetable or as a medicine around the world.

 

How does Rhubarb taste?

Rhubarb is the vegetable fruit that tastes the sourest. The sour taste comes from two types of acids contained in it, namely malic acid and oxalic acid. Malic acid itself is the most common acid found in plants.

The sour taste makes rhubarb rarely consumed raw. This vegetable fruit can be cooked first and even added sugar to neutralize its sour taste. Rhubarb is also widely processed into a variety of dishes, including jams and pies. Unsurprisingly, in northern America and the UK, rhubarb pies are a distinctive dessert.

 

What are the nutrients contained in rhubarb?

Here is the nutritional content of 100 grams of raw rhubarb:

Calories: 21

Calories From Fat: 1.7

Total Fat: 0.2 g

Saturated Fat: 0.1 g

Trans Fats: 0

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 4 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 4.5 g

Fiber: 1.8 g

Sugar: 1.1 g

Protein: 0.9 g

Vitamin A: 2.04 %

Vitamin C: 13.34 %

Calcium: 8.6 %

Iron: 1.22 %

 

Top 10 Nutrition for serving 100 gr

Vitamin K: 29.3 mcg

Vitamin C: 8 mg

Manganese: 0.2 mg

Potassium: 288 mg

Calcium: 86 mg

Dietary fiber: 1.8 g

Magnesium: 12 mg

Vitamin A: 102 IU

Iron: 0.2 mg

Phosphorus: 14 mg

 

Rhubarb has a very high content of vitamin K. Vitamin K in the body plays a role in the process of blood clotting when one part is injured. In addition, rhubarb is also high in calcium content which is beneficial for muscle function and maintaining bone health.