119 Introduction Stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica, L. Urticaceae ) is a ubiquitous herb which is available in large part of the world. Urtica dioica is a moderately shade- tolerant species, which occurs on most moist or damp, weakly acid or weakly basic, richly fertile soils. Its stems and leaves are densely covered with Stinging hairs, which release potentially pain- inducing toxins, is rarely eaten by castles and rabbits (Taylor, 2009). This species is known as tenacious weeds, able to live in the toughest conditions, and notoriously known for inflicting pain. From ancient times, the fresh Stinging nettle is used for flailing arthritic or paralytic limbs with fresh Stinging nettle to stimulate circulation and bring warmth to joints and extremities in a treatment known as “urtication” (Green, 1820). Ancient Egyptians also re - portedly used the infusion for the relief of arthritis and lumbago (Harrison 1966). Above mentioned practice of urtication or rubefaction became a standard in folk medi - cine as a remedy for arthritis, rheumatism, and muscular paralysis and is perhaps the most ancient medicinal use of Stinging nettle (Upton 2013). Nettle can be used to foster health and vitality of the people. Due to the nu - tritional and functional qualities of nettle, it has been utilized to alleviate symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis and improve oxidative stability in brine anchovies. It is also rich in fatty acids, carotenoid, and phenolic compounds, while its extracts have been reported to im - prove oxidative stability in brined vegetables (Rutto et al. 2013). A comprehensive proximate analysis showed the shoots harvested from Stinging nettle (Shoot) showed close to 90% moisture and rests are proteins (3.7%), fat (0.6%), ash (2.1%), dietary fiber (6.4%), total carbohydrate (7.1%), ORIGINAL RESEARCH Comparison of nutritional properties of Stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica ) flour with wheat and barley flours Bhaskar Mani Adhikari 1 , Alina Bajracharya 1 & Ashok K. Shrestha 2 1 Department of Food Technology, National College of Food Science and Technology, Kathmandu, Nepal 2 Nutrition and Food Science, School of Science and Health, Hawkesbury Campus, University of Western Sydney, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia © 2015 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Keywords Antioxidant activity, barley flour, nettle powder, polyphenol Correspondence Bhaskar Mani Adhikari, Department of Food Technology, National College of Food Science and Technology, Kathmandu, Nepal. Tel: +977 9841413448; Fax: +977 1 4428724; E-mails: vaskarmani@gmail.com; bm.adhikari@nist.edu.np Funding Information No funding information provided.
