Arugula, rocket, rucola and roquette are all names for one plant, Eruca sativa. It is a relative of broccoli, kale and mustard, and the Latin word eruca means caterpillar. Wild rocket, Diplotaxis tenuifolia, is a different plant that is sometimes mixed up with it. So some rocket research does not apply to arugula.
Arugula is a nitrate collector. In a survey of 11 Mediterranean salad vegetables, rocket had the most nitrate. It held about 3,800 to 4,000 mg per kg of fresh leaves in summer and winter.
In a trial of 18 adults, a rocket salad drink raised blood nitrate as high as a beetroot juice drink with the same dose did. Levels peaked at about 584 for rocket and 597 µmol/L (micromoles per liter) for beetroot. Raw arugula also has only 25 calories per 100 g. That much holds 109 µg (micrograms) of vitamin K, 90% of the Daily Value (the amount on US food labels).
Arugula is rich in glucosinolates, sulfur compounds that form isothiocyanates such as erucin when the leaf is damaged. In a UK taste study, hotness, not bitterness, mainly decided whether people liked rocket. The bitter-taste gene TAS2R38 did not clearly change their liking.
The main glucosinolate breakdown product in rocket, sativin, was long mistaken for another compound. It turned out to have a seven-membered ring.
Health benefits of arugula
The top findings from 21 studies, strongest evidence first
What the stars mean
- Strong. Several randomized trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, point the same way, or regulators (FDA or EFSA) have approved the claim.
- Moderate. Good randomized trials support it, but there are fewer of them, or their results vary.
- Limited. Small, short or single trials, or mixed results. Promising, but it needs confirmation.
Population and lab studies get no stars: they show a link or a mechanism, not proof.
How we rate evidence →- ★★Mixed effects on blood pressureIn 243 people with raised pressure, 5 weeks of leafy greens did not lower 24-hour blood pressure (down 0.5 mm Hg, against 0.6 on placebo). A single rocket salad drink lowered the top number from 122 to 116 mm Hg in 18 healthy adults.
- ★Lower bone-protein marker with leafy greensIn 30 adults, about 200 g of vitamin K-rich greens a day for 4 weeks lowered a bone-protein marker (undercarboxylated osteocalcin) by 31%. It measured blood markers, not bone strength or fractures.
- ★More dressing oil, more carotenoids absorbedIn 7 adults, a fat-free dressing gave almost no carotenoid (plant pigment) absorption, and more canola oil (6 or 28 g) meant more absorbed. The salads held no arugula.
- Population studyLinked to lower cardiovascular disease riskPeople who ate the most leafy greens had 11% lower cardiovascular disease risk in cohort studies. Results differed widely between studies.
- Population studyLinked to lower type 2 diabetes riskPeople who ate more green leafy vegetables had 14% lower type 2 diabetes risk in pooled cohort studies. Other vegetables and fruit showed no clear link.
All 21 studies, strongest evidence first
Nitrate-rich leafy greens did not lower 24-hour blood pressure
This randomized trial (where chance decides who gets what) gave leafy greens with 300 mg of nitrate a day for 5 weeks. It enrolled 243 people aged 50 to 70 with raised pressure, a systolic pressure of 130 to 159 mm Hg, and 231 finished. Ambulatory systolic pressure fell by 0.5 mm Hg on leafy greens, 0.6 on placebo (dummy pills) and 1.2 on nitrate pills. These differences could be chance, and the trial tested leafy greens as a group, not arugula alone.
Dietary nitrate lowered systolic pressure 2.4 mm Hg in healthy people only
This meta-analysis (a study that pools the results of many trials) covered randomized trials in 19 articles. In healthy people, systolic pressure fell 2.42 mm Hg, while diastolic and mean pressure did not clearly change. In people with hypertension, systolic pressure changed by only 0.82 mm Hg, which could be chance. It covers dietary nitrate in general, not arugula alone, and the authors ask for more research.
Rocket salad drink lowered systolic pressure from 122 to 116 mm Hg
In this crossover trial, 18 healthy adults (average age 28) drank rocket salad, spinach, beetroot juice or sodium nitrate in turn. Each drink held the same dose, 800 mg of nitrate. Systolic pressure fell within 2.5 hours (150 minutes) after rocket and beetroot and 300 minutes after spinach, but not after sodium nitrate. It was a single dose of a drink, and the paper does not name the rocket species.
About 200 g of greens daily lowered a bone-protein marker by 31%
This randomized crossover trial gave 30 middle-aged and older adults (average age 62) vitamin K-rich greens for 4 weeks, against a control diet. The greens gave about 164 µg of vitamin K1 a day, and the marker was undercarboxylated osteocalcin. Total osteocalcin was 14% lower than on the control diet, which the authors read as more of the protein entering bone. But the trial measured blood markers, not bone strength or fractures, and tested leafy greens as a group.
A week of nitrate-rich greens raised blood nitrate but not blood pressure
This randomized crossover trial included 38 men and women aged 30 to 70 with high-normal blood pressure. They ate a 7-day high-nitrate diet, with at least 300 mg more nitrate a day from leafy greens, and a low-nitrate diet. Blood nitrate and nitrite rose at least fourfold, yet ambulatory, home and office blood pressure and arterial stiffness were the same on both diets. It tested leafy greens as a group and lasted only a week.
Fat-free dressing gave almost no carotenoid absorption; more oil, more absorbed
In this crossover trial, 7 adults ate salads of spinach, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes and carrots. The dressings held 0, 6 or 28 g of canola oil. The carotenoids (plant pigments) alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene barely reached the blood with no fat and rose with each step up in oil. It did not measure lutein, and the salads held no arugula.
In cohorts, top leafy-green eaters had 11% lower cardiovascular disease risk
This meta-analysis pooled observational studies (cohorts that follow large groups over time) and randomized trials. Cardiovascular deaths were 21% lower (0.79 times the risk), though results differed widely between studies. Seven randomized trials found no clear gain in vascular function. Blood pressure and the risk of hypertension did not clearly change either.
More leafy greens went with 14% lower type 2 diabetes risk
This meta-analysis pooled prospective cohort studies, which follow people forward in time. Four of the six studies reported on green leafy vegetables (0.86 times the risk). Other vegetables and fruit showed no clear link. The authors say the finding should be investigated further.
About 1.3 daily servings of greens went with slower thinking decline
This cohort followed 960 older adults aged 58 to 99 for 4.7 years on average. The top fifth of intake declined more slowly, like being 11 years younger, after adjustment for age, education, activity, smoking and other habits. Vitamin K, lutein, folate, nitrate and kaempferol were each linked to slower decline, but beta-carotene was not. Food questionnaires are imperfect.
High nitrate intake, mostly from greens, linked to 21% lower glaucoma risk
Two US cohorts (63,893 women and 41,094 men) had 1,483 cases of open-angle glaucoma over 1.7 million person-years. The lower risk was for people in the top fifth of nitrate intake. Green leafy vegetables explained 56.7% of the differences in nitrate intake. Eating 1.45 or more servings a day, against 0.31, went with an 18% lower risk, but this is a link, not proof of cause.
Vegetable nitrate linked to 37 to 49% lower cardiovascular death risk
This cohort followed 2,229 older Australians, aged 49 or older, for 14 years, with 188 cardiovascular deaths. People with a middle or high intake, the top three quarters, had lower risk than the lowest group (under 69.5 mg a day). Risk was not lowest in the top group. It covers nitrate from all vegetables, from food questionnaires.
Enough vitamin K went with 30% lower hip fracture risk in women
The Nurses’ Health Study followed 72,327 women aged 38 to 63, with 270 hip fractures in 10 years. Risk was lower in women who got at least 109 µg of vitamin K a day, with no further fall above the lowest fifth. One or more servings of lettuce a day, the biggest vitamin K source, went with a 45% lower risk than one or fewer a week. For scale, 100 g of raw arugula has 109 µg.
Cruciferous vegetables: suggestive lower risk only for gastric, lung, endometrial cancer, death
This umbrella review (a review of reviews) covered 41 meta-analyses of 303 observational studies and about 13.4 million people. The death link was for all-cause mortality, and sixteen more links were supported by weak evidence. The authors say substantial uncertainty remains. It covers cruciferous vegetables (the cabbage family) as a group; arugula belongs to it, but the abstract does not single it out.
A rocket extract cut stomach acid and protected against ulcers in rats
This was a study in rats, not people. An ethanol extract at 250 and 500 mg/kg lowered acid secretion, more at the higher dose. It reduced ulcers caused by alcohol, alkali, salt, indomethacin and stress. It also restored protective mucus in the stomach wall.
Rocket extract blocked human platelet clumping in dishes, slowed mouse clotting
Platelets (the blood cells that start clots) from people were tested in dishes with a watery extract at 0.1 to 1 mg/mL. There it also cut the release of inflammatory messengers. Mice given 200 mg/kg had less clotting, with only a slight effect on bleeding time. We found no test of this in people who ate rocket.
Erucin from arugula stopped breast cancer cells dividing in a dish
This lab study used MCF7 breast cancer cells and erucin, the main isothiocyanate in arugula. Erucin cut growth by half at 28 µM and halted half of the cells in mitosis (cell division) at 13 µM. It did this by disturbing the cell’s internal scaffolding, as cancer drugs do, though they are much more potent. A dish does not show what eating arugula does in the body.
Rocket juice reduced carcinogen DNA damage in human liver cells
This lab study used HepG2 liver cancer cells exposed to benzo(a)pyrene, a known carcinogen. The protection did not rise steadily with dose. The extract did not damage DNA on its own and raised glutathione S-transferase, an enzyme that helps clear foreign chemicals. The plant held the isothiocyanates erucin, sulforaphane, erysolin and phenylethyl isothiocyanate.
Arugula and beetroot extracts limited weight gain in mice on high-fat diets
This was a study in mice, not people. After 8 weeks on a high-fat diet, mice given the extracts had lower body weight, less fat tissue, smaller fat cells and less fatty liver. Glucose tolerance and blood pressure did not improve. These were extracts picked in cell tests, not whole leaves.
Two weeks of rocket juice cut chemotherapy DNA damage in mice
Mice drank juice of fresh Eruca vesicaria leaves at 1.0, 1.4 or 2.0 g/kg. DNA damage from cyclophosphamide, a chemotherapy drug, fell more at higher doses. The liver drug-pump proteins P-glycoprotein and MRP2 rose at the higher doses. The authors say this could change how drugs move through the body; whether it does in people is not known.
Arugula juice raised nitrate-using mouth bacteria, slowed gum-disease bacteria in lab biofilms
Lab biofilms (bacterial films) from smokers and non-smokers were exposed to nitrate-rich arugula juice with 3.25 or 6.25 µM of nitrate. The higher dose increased nitrate reductase gene activity. No one ate or drank anything.
In UK-grown rocket, glucosinolates and isothiocyanates rose after processing and storage
This lab work measured five Eruca sativa cultivars and one wild rocket through harvest, processing and storage. Bacteria on the leaves also increased and peaked in storage. The authors only suggest that processing may add nutritional value. No people were tested.
Who should be careful with arugula
Most people can eat arugula freely. Take a little care if one of these applies:
- Warfarin. Arugula contains vitamin K, 109 µg per 100 g, which can change how this blood thinner works. You do not need to avoid it: the NHS (the UK health service) advises a steady amount from week to week. A review of 11 studies did not support restricting vitamin K. Check with your clinic before big changes.
- Bagged, pre-washed leaves. Rocket has caused Salmonella outbreaks, including 109 cases in Sweden in 2022 traced to pre-washed, pre-packed rocket. The risk for any one bag is small. The FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration) notes that cooking produce thoroughly kills harmful bacteria.
How to choose, store and eat arugula
- Raw with oil: in 7 adults, salads with a fat-free dressing gave almost no carotenoid absorption, and more oil in the dressing gave more.
- Wilted: in hot water at 100°C in a lab test, erucin took 132 minutes to lose half its amount.
- Young leaves: growers prefer them for flavor, and the plant is ready to harvest 40 to 50 days after planting.
Choose leaves that are not bruised or damaged. For bagged salad, pick packs that are refrigerated or on ice, and keep them at 40°F (4°C) or below. The FDA says leaves marked pre-washed or ready-to-eat can be used without more washing. Loose leaves should be rinsed under running water.
Sources
- Dietary advice for patients taking warfarin. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
- Anticoagulant medicines: considerations. NHS.
- Violi F, Lip GY, Pignatelli P, Pastori D. Interaction between dietary vitamin K intake and anticoagulation by vitamin K antagonists: is it really true? A systematic review. Medicine (Baltimore). 2016.
- Fischerström K, Dryselius R, Lindblad M, et al. Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium linked to Swedish pre-washed rocket salad, Sweden, September to November 2022. Euro Surveill. 2024.
- Selecting and serving produce safely. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- Brown MJ, Ferruzzi MG, Nguyen ML, et al. Carotenoid bioavailability is higher from salads ingested with full-fat than with fat-reduced salad dressings as measured with electrochemical detection. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004.
- Fechner J, Kaufmann M, Herz C, et al. The major glucosinolate hydrolysis product in rocket (Eruca sativa L.), sativin, is 1,3-thiazepane-2-thione: elucidation of structure, bioactivity, and stability compared to other rocket isothiocyanates. Food Chem. 2018.
- Eruca sativa. Wikipedia.
History of arugula
Arugula grows wild across the Mediterranean and parts of Asia, from southern Europe and North Africa to the Middle East. For centuries it was gathered in the wild or grown in home gardens beside herbs such as parsley and basil.
People have known it since ancient times, and it appears in the Greek herbal known as Materia Medica. Raw arugula has been added to salads in Italy since Roman times. Since then it has also had a reputation as an aphrodisiac, which is folklore, not a tested effect.
The names tell the story of its travels. Eruca is Latin for caterpillar, which became the Italian ruchetta. That turned into the French roquette, and finally the English rocket.
“Arugula” came into American English from a nonstandard Italian dialect. The Oxford English Dictionary dates its first known appearance to a 1960 article by New York Times food editor Craig Claiborne.
Italian cooks still use it in many ways. It tops pizza after baking, and it goes into the Apulian pasta dish cavatiéddi with tomato sauce and pecorino. In Rome it is served raw over thin slices of beef with Parmesan.
In Turkey it is eaten with fish. In West Asia, Pakistan and northern India its seeds are pressed into taramira oil.
Today rocket, both Eruca and Diplotaxis, is an increasingly important salad crop around the world. Arugula also grows well on its own outside farms: it has settled wild in temperate regions. In the Sonoran desert of Arizona and California it is a prolific and noxious invasive plant.
Sources
- Eruca sativa. Wikipedia.
- Eruca vesicaria. Wikipedia.
- Grami D, Selmi S, Rtibi K, Sebai H, De Toni L. Emerging role of Eruca sativa Mill. in male reproductive health. Nutrients. 2024.
- Bell L, Wagstaff C. Rocket science: a review of phytochemical and health-related research in Eruca and Diplotaxis species. Food Chem X. 2019.
- Kyriacou MC, Soteriou GA, Colla G, Rouphael Y. The occurrence of nitrate and nitrite in Mediterranean fresh salad vegetables and its modulation by preharvest practices and postharvest conditions. Food Chem. 2019.
- Bell L, Methven L, Wagstaff C. The influence of phytochemical composition and resulting sensory attributes on preference for salad rocket (Eruca sativa) accessions by consumers of varying TAS2R38 diplotype. Food Chem. 2017.
Frequently asked questions about arugula
Is arugula good for you?
For most people, yes, but the research on arugula itself is thin. Raw arugula has 25 calories and 109 µg of vitamin K per 100 g, which is 90% of the Daily Value. In one trial a rocket salad drink lowered systolic blood pressure from 122 to 116 mm Hg. A 5-week trial of leafy greens found no lasting change.
Cohorts link green leafy vegetables to a 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes and an 11% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. These are links, not proof.
Is arugula healthier than spinach?
Neither wins on every count. Per 100 g, arugula has 160 mg of calcium against 99 mg in spinach. Spinach has 483 µg of vitamin K against 109 µg, and 194 µg of folate against 97 µg. It also has 2.2 g of fiber against 1.6 g.
Calories are close, 25 against 23. In one trial, rocket and spinach drinks with the same nitrate dose both raised blood nitrate to about 584 µmol/L and lowered blood pressure.
Is arugula high in vitamin K, and is that a problem with warfarin?
Yes: 100 g has 109 µg of vitamin K, or 90% of the Daily Value. A cup (20 g) has about 22 µg, or 18%.
You do not need to avoid arugula on warfarin. The NHS advises eating a consistent amount, and a review of 11 studies did not support restricting vitamin K. Ask your clinic before making big changes.
Why is arugula peppery or bitter?
The sharp taste is linked to the plant’s glucosinolates and the isothiocyanates they form, such as erucin. In a UK taste study of 7 rocket accessions, hotness, not bitterness, was the main thing people based their liking on. Some people rejected rocket for its glucosinolate content and others preferred the heat. Young leaves are the milder choice, as growers prefer them for flavor.
Is arugula good for weight loss?
No study here tested weight loss. Raw arugula has 25 calories and 1.6 g of fiber per 100 g. A cup (20 g) has only 5 calories, so it fills a plate cheaply. That is a swap effect for higher-calorie foods, not a proven effect of arugula.
In mice, arugula and beetroot extracts limited weight gain on a high-fat diet, which says little about people.
Do you need to wash arugula?
Rinse loose arugula under running water. The FDA says bagged leaves marked pre-washed or ready-to-eat can be used without more washing. Even so, a 2022 outbreak of 109 Salmonella cases in Sweden was traced to pre-washed rocket.
So keep bags cold at 40°F (4°C) or below and use them by the date. Cooking produce thoroughly kills harmful bacteria.
Is arugula the same as rocket?
Yes, arugula, rocket, rucola and roquette all name Eruca sativa, which belongs to the cabbage family with broccoli and kale. Wild rocket, Diplotaxis tenuifolia, is a different plant that is used in a similar way. Some studies say only “rocket” without naming the species, including the blood pressure trial above.
How much arugula can you eat a day?
No study here sets an ideal amount. In a cohort, the top fifth of intake of green leafy vegetables ate a median 1.3 servings a day and lost thinking skills more slowly. A bone trial gave about 200 g of leafy greens a day for 4 weeks.
If you take warfarin, 200 g of arugula would carry about 218 µg of vitamin K, so keep the amount steady.