Omnia Sana · Plant Monograph
Common yellow woodsorrel
Oxalis stricta
This monograph compiles 6 documented constituents, 11 pharmacological actions, 9 traditional / indicated uses, supported by 15 cited sources, drawn directly from the Omnia Sana plant database.
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 & Indicated Uses
inferred from anticancer action
Hepatoprotective in animal models (congener).
Traditional astringent remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery.
inferred from antimicrobial/antiparasitic action
Promotes wound/fracture healing; traditional topical use.
Alpha-glucosidase/amylase inhibition (congener).
inferred from gastroprotective action
inferred from anti-Alzheimer's / neuroprotective action (congener)
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.
Common Slug
yellow-woodsorrelExternal Ids
Synonyms
Oxalis fontana, Xanthoxalis strictaBotanical 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.[3]
Habitat
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.[3]
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.[3]
Traditional Uses
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.[3, 4]
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').
Dosage
No standardised medicinal dose is established. Traditionally used as small quantities of the fresh sour herb or as leaf infusions. Because of the high oxalate content, keep amounts modest. Educational reference only.
References
REF-2778, REF-2779, REF-2780, REF-2781, REF-2782, REF-2783, REF-2784, REF-2785, REF-2786, REF-2787, REF-2788, REF-2789, REF-2790, REF-2791, REF-2792Drug Class Interactions
Lookalikes Review
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 - 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 - 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 - Sreejith, G. and Jayasree, M. and Latha, P.G. and Suja, S.R. and Shyamal, S. and Shine, V.J. and Anuja, G.I. and Sini, S. and Shikha, P. and Krishnakumar, N.M. and Vilash, V. and Shoumya, S. and Rajasekharan, S (2014) 'Hepatoprotective activity of Oxalis corniculata L. ethanolic extract against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar rats and its in vitro antioxidant effects', Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, 52(2), pp. 147-152. Preclinical
Find this source - Sakat, S.S. and Tupe, P. and Juvekar, A (2012) 'Gastroprotective Effect of Oxalis corniculata (Whole Plant) on Experimentally Induced Gastric Ulceration in Wistar Rats', Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 74(1), pp. 48-53. doi:10.4103/0250-474X.102543 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.4103/0250-474X.102543 - Gholipour, A.R. and Jafari, L. and Ramezanpour, M. and Evazalipour, M. and Chavoshi, M. and Yousefbeyk, F. and Kargar Moghaddam, S.J. and Yekta Kooshali, M.H. and Ramezanpour, N. and Daei, P. and Ghasemi, S. and Hamidi, M (2022) 'Apoptosis Effects of Oxalis corniculata L. Extract on Human MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Line', Galen Medical Journal, 11, pp. e2484. doi:10.31661/gmj.v11i.2484 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.31661/gmj.v11i.2484 - Zhang, J. and Zhao, X. and Long, X. and Zhang, Y. and Luo, X. and Shen, W (2026) 'Oxalis corniculata L. Ethanol Extract Promotes Fracture Healing: Integrated Omics and Experimental Validation', Food Science and Nutrition, 14, pp. e71896. doi:10.1002/fsn3.71896 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.71896 - 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 - 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 - Golbarg, H. and Mehdipour Moghaddam, M.J (2021) 'Antibacterial Potency of Medicinal Plants Including Oxalis corniculata against Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria', BioMed Research International, 2021, pp. 9981915. doi:10.1155/2021/9981915 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9981915 - Manna, D. and Dutta, P.K. and Achari, B. and Lohia, A (2010) 'A novel galacto-glycerolipid from Oxalis corniculata kills Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia', Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 54(11), pp. 4825-4832. doi:10.1128/AAC.00546-10 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.00546-10 - Abu-Elfotuh, K. and Hamdan, A.M.E. and Mohamed, S.A. and Bakr, R.O. and Ahmed, A.H. and Atwa, A.M. and Hamdan, A.M. and Alanzai, A.G. and Alnahhas, R.K. and Gowifel, A.M.H. and Salem, M.A (2024) 'The potential anti-Alzheimer's activity of Oxalis corniculata Linn. methanolic extract in experimental rats', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 324, pp. 117731. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2024.117731 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2024.117731 - 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 - Salahuddin, H. and Mansoor, Q. and Batool, R. and Farooqi, A.A. and Mahmood, T. and Ismail, M (2016) 'Anticancer activity of Cynodon dactylon and Oxalis corniculata on Hep2 cell line', Cellular and Molecular Biology, 62(5), pp. 60-63. Preclinical
Find this source
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