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Arugula

Eruca vesicaria

Also known as Rocket, Roquette, Salad rocket

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A peppery salad leaf in the mustard family, eaten raw or briefly wilted. Its sharpness comes from isothiocyanates released when the leaves are chewed or torn.

CirculationMuscle & Physical PerformanceHeart Health

Potential health benefits

Best supported: Limited

Ordered by how well the human research supports them — strongest first. A rating describes the state of the evidence, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Endothelial function

Circulation
Limited evidence

Some trials of high-nitrate vegetables report improved flow-mediated dilation within hours. The number of trials using arugula rather than beetroot is very small.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Exercise performance

Muscle & Physical Performance
Insufficient evidence

Arugula is sometimes suggested as a whole-food substitute for beetroot juice in sport. Trials testing arugula for performance endpoints are too few to support that, whatever its nitrate content on paper.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Healthy blood pressure

Heart Health
Insufficient evidence

Nitrate-rich leaves including arugula have been used in a small number of trials reporting short-term reductions in blood pressure. The literature is dominated by beetroot juice, and arugula-specific evidence is thin.

What may be going on: Dietary nitrate is reduced to nitrite by bacteria on the tongue and then to nitric oxide, which relaxes vascular smooth muscle.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Arugula

Ask about Arugula

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories25 kcal1%
Protein2.58 g5%
Total fat0.66 g1%
Carbohydrate3.65 g1%
Fibre1.6 g6%
Total sugars2.05 g—
Water91.7 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.086 g0%
Monounsaturated fat0.049 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0.319 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.13 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A119 µg13%
Vitamin C15 mg17%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Vitamin E0.43 mg3%
Vitamin K109 µg90%
Thiamin (B1)0.044 mg4%
Riboflavin (B2)0.086 mg7%
Niacin (B3)0.305 mg2%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.437 mg9%
Vitamin B60.073 mg4%
Folate97 µg24%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Choline15.3 mg3%
Minerals
Calcium160 mg12%
Iron1.46 mg8%
Magnesium47 mg11%
Phosphorus52 mg4%
Potassium369 mg8%
Sodium27 mg1%
Zinc0.47 mg4%
Copper0.076 mg8%
Manganese0.321 mg14%
Selenium0.3 µg1%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene1424 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin3555 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash1.4 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Arugula, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 169387).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

Nothing dependable is recorded about how preparation changes this food’s nutritional properties. Rather than guess, this section stays empty.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Interaction

    Vitamin K and warfarin

    Arugula contributes vitamin K1, and although portions are usually small, large salads eaten regularly can affect warfarin control. Consistent intake is what matters.

  • Interaction

    Nitrate load alongside blood-pressure medication

    High-nitrate greens can add a small blood-pressure-lowering effect on top of antihypertensive medication. That is rarely a problem, but it is worth knowing about if you already run low or experience light-headedness on standing.

  • Worth knowing

    Raw leafy greens and foodborne illness

    Pre-washed salad leaves have been implicated in outbreaks of E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella because they are eaten raw and their surfaces are hard to sanitise. Risk is small but not zero, and it is higher in pregnancy and immunosuppression.