Toxicology
Purslane is accused of poisoning sheep and cattle 6
; it is found to contain up to 9% oxalic acid (dry weight) and prolonged ingestion of the plant
was stated to cause incoordination of gait and tetanic conditions in sheep. Further experiments, in which three sheep were fed purslane containing 6.1 and
3.5% oxalic acid dry weight failed to produce any disorders in calcium metabolism analyses but post mortem findings were described54. Oxalates and noradrenaline
have also been isolated from P. oleracea indicating a possible hazard in the taking of its teas