Basella Nutrition facts
Basella
Basella or vine spinach is a popular tropical leafy-green vegetable, commonly grown as a backyard herb in the home gardens.
Vine-spinach belongs to the Basellaceae family and has two chief cultivars, Basella alba, which features green- stems and deep-green leaves, and Basella rubra with purplish stems and dark green leaves with pink veins.
It is native to South Asia, probably originated in the monsoon fed tropical regions of Malabar Coast of India and Sri Lanka. In Asia, basella is identified with different names. Some of the common names for this herb are Ceylon spinach, Malabar spinach, saan choy (Chinese), mong toi (Vietnamese), alugbati (Philippines), Pui saag (Bengali), remayong (Malay), etc.
It is different from English spinach (Spinacea oleracea) in that the vine spinach is a creeper with bright, broad, dark green, thick, and mucilaginous leaves. Although commonly featuring in many backyards across South Asian families, it is slowly gaining popularity in some of the tropical and temperate climates of America, Australia, and Europe for its lush, nutritious greens and tender stems.
| Nutrition Principle | Nutrition Value | Percentage of RDA |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | ||
| Energy | 19 Kcal | 1% |
| Carbohydrates | 3.40 g | 2.5% |
| Protein | 1.80 g | 3% |
| Total Fat | 0.30 g | 1.5% |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% |
| Vitamins | ||
| Folates | 140 µg | 35% |
| Niacin | 0.500 mg | 3% |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.053 mg | 1% |
| Pyridoxine | 0.240 mg | 18% |
| Riboflavin | 0.155 mg | 13% |
| Thiamin | 0.050 mg | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 8,000 IU | 267% |
| Vitamin C | 102 mg | 170% |
| Electrolytes | ||
| Sodium | 24 mg | 1.5% |
| Potassium | 510 mg | 11% |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium | 109 mg | 11% |
| Copper | 0.107 mg | 12% |
| Iron | 1.20 mg | 15% |
| Magnesium | 65 mg | 16% |
| Manganese | 0.735 mg | 32% |
| Selenium | 0.8 µg | 1.5% |
| Zinc | 0.43 mg | 4% |