Large, dark green vine leaves with a mild, fresh flavor. More nutritious than spinach per 100g: higher iron, comparable vitamin A and C, significant calcium and protein. Used in Nigerian cooking as the primary vegetable in soups (ugu soup, egusi soup, banga soup) and in vegetable omelets. The seeds contain 17% protein and 52% fat, including significant omega-3.
Fresh ugu leaf at Nigerian grocery stores in major US cities. Frozen ugu leaf increasingly available for diaspora communities. Seeds at specialty African food suppliers.
Ugu leaf is the traditional Nigerian anemia remedy — given to pregnant women, postpartum women, and those recovering from illness. Multiple Nigerian ethnopharmacology studies document significant iron and folate in ugu leaf, with a 2012 study showing ugu leaf juice combined with honey improved hemoglobin levels in anemic subjects. The folk practice of drinking ugu leaf juice (blended fresh with cucumber and honey) for anemia is running the same protocol as liquid iron supplementation — with the additional benefit of the co-occurring vitamin C enhancing iron absorption. For diabetes: ugu leaf extract showed significant hypoglycemic activity in multiple rodent studies, likely through inhibition of carbohydrate-digesting enzymes.
Shred fresh leaves for soups (add in the final 5 minutes). Juice raw leaves with cucumber + water for the anemia protocol. Add to omelets and egg dishes. Sauté with onion and tomato. Available fresh at Nigerian grocery stores and dried (less common) from West African food suppliers online.
Free, no account needed to ask.