Alfalfa

Medicago sativa

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Cholesterol lowering¹ Semen quality² Blood glucose support¹	Pregnancy or breastfeeding³ Systemic lupus erythematosus³ Gout¹

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a legume whose leaves, sprouts, and seeds are taken as an herbal supplement, with fiber and saponins thought to bind cholesterol¹. Supplementation is used for lowering cholesterol and for blood glucose support¹. It is also used for lactation and menstrual support, which lack supporting studies¹. Traditional Persian medicine uses the seeds to support male semen quality².

Human research is limited to a few small trials, covering cholesterol and male infertility. Two small trials found lower cholesterol in people with high cholesterol, and larger controlled trials are still needed¹. No study has tested glucose effects in patients with diabetes¹. A 2024 double-blind randomized trial in men with idiopathic infertility found seed powder added to vitamin E improved sperm count, motility, and morphology over vitamin E alone, and its authors call for larger trials². Products listing alfalfa exceed three thousand, mostly tablets, capsules, and liquid extracts; see Form comparison.

The most consequential caution is systemic lupus erythematosus: the amino acid L-canavanine in seeds and sprouts induced lupus-like disease in monkeys, and patients in remission have relapsed after alfalfa tablets¹. Health Canada labels ask for a practitioner's advice before use with blood thinners³ or with hormone replacement therapy or birth control³.

Last updated October 17, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

11 sources, 8 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources