Toxic or Edible?

On the dangerousness of agaves

Basically, the dangerousness of the agave has to be put into perspective: Although different can Agave species have different ingredients in and on the leaves, but the agave is usually classified as a less poisonous plant. However, the agave danger lurks elsewhere as well. The pointed spines on the tips and sometimes on the edges of the leaves sometimes cause painful injuries that only heal very slowly. The agave is perhaps only dangerous insofar as it is sometimes used by inexperienced gardeners with the Aloe vera can be confused.

Ingredients and possible effects of the agave

The mildly poisonous agaves usually contain the following ingredients:

• volatile oil
• Saponins
• Oxalic acid
• 0.4 to 3% hecogenin

After the agaves were imported to Europe, parts of the plants were also propagated in this country as natural remedies for certain diseases such as warts or constipation. However, you should refrain from your own experiments in this regard, as the concentration of the Active ingredients in the leaves vary greatly and laypeople therefore cannot correctly estimate the dosage can be. If the agave juice gets on the skin or even the mucous membranes, this can lead to severe skin irritation and conjunctivitis.

The use of different types of agave

Mainly in Mexico, agaves are still an important economic factor today. While the so-called sisal agave with the threads of its leaves provides the raw material for cords made from sisal, the juices of the blue agave are used to make tequila and mezcal. Since agaves also contain a lot of sugar, they are specifically cultivated for the production of the sweetener agave syrup.