Buckwheat

Authors: Prof. Dr. med. Peter Altmeyer, Prof. Dr. med. Martina Bacharach-Buhles

Last updated on: 14.01.2025

Synonym(s)

Buckwheat; common buckwheat; Fagopyrum esculentum; real; Saracen corn; Turkish wheat

Definition
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An annual, herbaceous, cold-sensitive crop from the knotweed family (Polygonmaceae, pseudocereals; not a cereal), reaching a height of 20-60 cm. There are three types of buckwheat: wild buckwheat (Fagopyrum cymosum), true or common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), and Tatar buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum).

The white to pink-colored, small flowers are united in spikes. Due to its nectar content, buckwheat is very important for bees. It flowers from July to October. Buckwheat produces a triangular, 0.3-0.6 cm large, reddish-brown fruit with a rough husk, reminiscent of beechnuts. Buckwheat flour is made from the dried seeds and used to prepare porridge, soups, pasta or grits. Buckwheat has gained importance because it is gluten-free. The seeds have a high lysine and argenine content, are gliadin-free and are therefore also suitable for people with coeliac disease.

The herb of buckwheat (buckwheat herb Fagopyriherba) is used phytotherapeutically.

General information
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Probably first cultivated in China. Spread to Central Europe during the late Middle Ages. In recent decades increasingly used again as a niche product due to changes in food habits. The largest cultivating countries are Russia (about 1 million tons), China (0.3 million tons) and Ukraine (0.2 million tons). In Germany it is cultivated (in insignificant quantities) in the Lüneburg Heath, in Schleswig-Holstein, Westphalia, the Lower Rhine, the Eifel and in some Alpine valleys. Especially the Russian and Polish cuisine knows buckwheat porridge (buckwheat groats). In Italian cuisine buckwheat flour is used as "grano saraceno" for pizzoccheri and polenta. In French cuisine buckwheat flour is used in buckwheat pancakes (galettes).

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Internal therapy
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Phytotherapeutic: see under buckwheat herb - For an infusion of buckwheat herb, administered as a tea over a period of 3 months, a greater reduction in lower leg oedema was observed in a randomised placebo-controlled double-blind study of 67 patients with chronic venous insufficiency compared to a placebo arm.

Naturopathy
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Due to the lack of gluten, pure buckwheat is suitable for baking bread. This makes it suitable for people who do not tolerate gluten. Today it is mainly sold in health food stores as whole, hulled grain, in the form of groats, flakes or flour.

Note(s)
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Buckwheat is generally regarded as a valuable food with lots of protein and starch. Buckwheat is gluten-free and can be used as a dietary food for dermatitis herpetiformis and coeliac disease. The red pigment in the husk, fagopyrin, leads to photosensitization when consumed (buckwheat disease; see fagopyrism below).

Literature
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Ihme N et al (1996) Led oedema protection from buckwheat herb tea in patients with chronic venous insufficiency: a single center, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 50: 443-447
Schoenlechner R, Drausinger J, Ottenschlaeger V, Jurackova K, Berghofer E (2010) Functional properties of gluten-free pasta produced from amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 65: 339-349
https://pflanzen.fnr.de/industrialplants/medicinalplants/plant-database
https://medicinalplantslexicon.info/buckwheat.php
https://plants.fnr.de/industrialplants/medicinalplants/plants-database