Paterson’s Curse reveals health benefits

Researchers have discovered health benefits in one of the country’s most notorious weeds.

The University of Sydney has been investigating the medicinal properties of Paterson’s Curse (Echium plantagineum), and have found Omega 3 and Omega 6 acids in the plant’s seed oil.

Albury-Wodonga farmer Harry Chisholm has gone from trying to wipe out the weed to harvesting it commercially. “Most people that we’ve worked with or talked to about it are quite excited about it because if they think we can find a market for this stuff, it would be fantastic,” he said.

“We’ve averaged about a 100 kilos per hectare of clean seed over the few years we’ve been doing it… we think we’ll be actually growing it as a crop in a few years.”

Source: ABC News Online vom 2004-02-17.