Omnia SanaCommon names in 19 European languages →
The complete database record: 6 documented constituents, 11 pharmacological actions, with 8 cited sources.
Botanical Description
A small, sour-tasting herbaceous annual to short-lived perennial of the woodsorrel family, 10-40 cm tall. Its bright green leaves are clover-like, palmately divided into three heart-shaped (notched) leaflets that fold down at night and in strong sun. The small five-petalled flowers are bright yellow, borne in little clusters on axillary stalks. The whole plant tastes sharply sour from its oxalic-acid content. It is very similar to the creeping yellow woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata) but has more upright stems that do not root at the nodes, and generally green (not purplish) foliage.[4]
Habitat & Distribution
A common weed of disturbed, open and cultivated ground: gardens, lawns, arable fields, roadsides, footpaths, waste places and greenhouses. It favours moist, fertile, well-lit soils and is excluded by dense established vegetation. Native to North America but now naturalised almost worldwide across temperate and warm regions.[4]
Harvesting
The sour leaves and aerial parts are gathered when actively growing and flowering, used fresh or dried. Because the plant accumulates oxalic acid, harvesting for food or medicine should favour young growth in modest quantities. As a low weed it is easily hand-gathered.[4]
Key Constituents
Flavonoid glycosides (e.g. isovitexin, vitexin, quercetin and apigenin derivatives), the main antioxidant constituents.
Caffeic, ferulic and related phenolic acids (antioxidant).
The defining sour constituent - oxalic acid with potassium and calcium oxalates - biosynthesised in part from vitamin C. Responsible for the sour taste and for the kidney-stone/oxalate caution.
High ascorbate content (basis of the traditional antiscorbutic use); also a metabolic precursor of the plant's oxalic acid.
Pharmacological Actions
Antibacterial and antiparasitic (amoebicidal/giardicidal) activity of woodsorrel extracts/constituents.
Protective against paracetamol-induced liver injury (congener O. corniculata).
Protective against experimental gastric ulceration (congener O. corniculata).
Woodsorrel phytoconstituents (and a green-synthesised nanoparticle made with O. stricta extract) induced apoptosis in breast, colon and Hep2 cancer cells (preclinical).
Alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase inhibition by woodsorrel extract (congener O. corniculata).
Anti-Alzheimer's activity of woodsorrel extract in rats (congener O. corniculata).
Promotes wound and fracture healing; traditional topical use for wounds and skin (congener O. corniculata).
Sour, tannin-containing herb; the basis of traditional antidiarrhoeal use.
Traditional astringent remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery (congener O. corniculata).
Traditional Use & History
Yellow woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta and its near-identical relative O. corniculata) has a long folk-medicine history, deepest in South and East Asian traditions. The cooling, sour whole plant has been used as a refrigerant and thirst-quencher, as a sour leafy vegetable/condiment, and as a source of vitamin C against scurvy. Traditional medicinal uses (chiefly documented for O. corniculata) include dysentery and diarrhoea and other digestive complaints, fever, liver complaints, and topical application of the crushed leaves or juice to wounds, insect bites, warts, corns, mouth sores and inflamed skin, as well as use as a mild diuretic. O. stricta shares these uses where the two woodsorrels are not distinguished.[4, 6]
Preparations
Crushed fresh leaves or expressed juice applied topically to wounds, insect bites, warts and inflamed skin, or taken in small amounts for its cooling sour effect.
A whole-plant or leaf infusion/decoction used traditionally for fevers, diarrhoea and as a mild diuretic.
Young leaves eaten raw in small quantities as a tart salad green or to add sourness to food (edible 'sourgrass').
Safety, Cautions & Contraindications
Yellow woodsorrel is RICH IN OXALIC ACID and soluble oxalates (the source of its sour taste). Avoid large or frequent quantities, and especially avoid it if you are prone to calcium-oxalate kidney stones, have gout, or have kidney disease. Oxalates also bind calcium and iron, reducing their absorption. Use only modest amounts, and cooking reduces soluble oxalate.
Safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding has not been established; avoid medicinal doses during pregnancy and lactation.
Herb-Drug Interactions
Botanical Synonyms
Oxalis fontana, Xanthoxalis stricta
Harvest Readiness
[5]
[5]
[5]
External Identifiers
References & Sources
- Yang, J.C. and Loewus, F.A (1975) 'Metabolic Conversion of L-Ascorbic Acid to Oxalic Acid in Oxalate-accumulating Plants', Plant Physiology, 56(2), pp. 283-285. doi:10.1104/pp.56.2.283 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.56.2.283 - Chandramohan, S. and Nair, A.S. and Das, R. and Bhat, S.A. and Krishna, G.S. and Yadav, N. and Archana, V.K. and Rajagopalan, R (2025) 'Biogenic synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using leaf extract of Oxalis stricta and its effect on colon cancer: an in vitro and in silico approach', Biometals, 38(4), pp. 1355-1380. doi:10.1007/s10534-025-00710-9 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-025-00710-9 - Gao, T. and Hu, W. and Zhang, Z. and Tang, Z. and Chen, Y. and Zhang, Z. and Yuan, S. and Chen, T. and Huang, Y. and Feng, S. and Zhou, L. and Ding, C. and Yuan, M (2022) 'An acidic polysaccharide from Oxalis corniculata L. and the preliminary study on its antioxidant activity', Journal of Food Biochemistry, 46(9), pp. e14235. doi:10.1111/jfbc.14235 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1111/jfbc.14235 - Majumdar, A. and Kumar Saraf, S. and Baghel, M. and Rao, S.P (2025) 'Chemical Diversity and Biomedical Relevance of Oxalis corniculata L.: A Review of Nutritional and Pharmacological Aspects', Chemistry and Biodiversity, 23(1), pp. e02154. doi:10.1002/cbdv.202502154 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1002/cbdv.202502154 - Plants For A Future 'Oxalis stricta (Yellow Wood Sorrel, Upright Yellow-sorrel)'. Available at: https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Oxalis+stricta Traditional / reference
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Oxalis+stricta - Sarfraz, I. and Rasul, A. and Hussain, G. and Shah, M.A. and Nageen, B. and Jabeen, F. and Selamoglu, Z. and Ucak, I. and Asrar, M. and Adem, S (2022) 'A Review on Phyto-pharmacology of Oxalis corniculata', Combinatorial Chemistry and High Throughput Screening, 25(7), pp. 1181-1186. doi:10.2174/1386207324666210813121431 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.2174/1386207324666210813121431 - Ullah, I. and Shad Bibi, N. and Sadiq, A. and Niazy, B. and Hesam, A.M (2026) 'In vitro studies of phytochemical, antioxidant, antibacterial and enzymatic inhibition of Oxalis corniculata whole plant from South Waziristan, Pakistan', PLoS One, 21(5), pp. e0335026. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0335026 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0335026 - Nguyen, T. and Quy, D.Q. and Tung, N.T. and Huyen, N.T. and Minh, P.L. and Huyen, N.T.M. and Ho, T. and Ha, N.T.T. and Casanola-Martin, G.M. and Rasulev, B. and Pham-The, H (2026) 'Integrated In Vitro and In Silico Insights into the Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Mechanisms of Oxalis corniculata L. Aerial Parts', Molecules, 31(4), pp. 630. doi:10.3390/molecules31040630 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31040630
Selected studies & references
All 7 studies in the Knowledge Finder →
This profile is assembled automatically from the Omnia Sana plant database, which we curate by hand. How this site is built.