• • • • Reduce inflammation in the heart and lungs [2,5]
      • Improve brain and immune system’s functioning [4,5]
      • Increase bone density [3]
      • Reduce inflammation [5]

Urtica dioica is a weed that belongs to the Urticaceae family. It is widely used as an edible and medicinal wild herb in China, as an anti-asthmatic and astringent in Spain, and as a diuretic in other places (Greece). Furthermore, it is used as a steamed vegetable or as a regular ingredient in a variety of dishes, such as pasta and omelets (Basque Country).

The stinging nettle works as an alternate vegetable coagulant "rennet" in this article. It inoculates milk with lactic acid bacteria from fresh nettle leaves, which are then used to make fresh cheese. Nettle leaves are widely eaten raw or blanched, gently steamed, or fried in a variety of dishes such as quiches, pesto, soups, purées, sauces, biscuits, gelatines, and jams, among others.

Nettle has been used as a staple food, medicinal, fibre, dye, and nutritional addition to the diet since the Bronze Age, the Roman civilization, and the Middle Ages.

Furthermore, nettle fibre was used to make 85 percent of German uniforms during World War I. Anti-asthmatic, astringent, depurative, diuretic, homeostatic, hypoglycaemic, blood purifier, and stimulating tonic are all properties of the plant.

The plant is best picked for medicinal reasons in Europe during the spring when it is beginning to flower and then dried for later use [1].