Chemical Constituents of Black Walnut

The black walnut contains a number of active ingredients, of which the most important are juglone, tannins and iodine. Juglone is a brown constituent of the black walnut hull, leafs, bark and even roots. It is called a phytotoxic allelochemical. Phytotoxic means that it kills plants, and allelochemical means that the black walnut tree produces this chemical to keep other plants from growing around it. You may have noticed that vegetation under black walnut trees is rather scarce, and this is the reason. Since yeast and fungus in humans are also plants, it has been conjectured that it will work against fungus as well and it has been described as an anti-fungal in many herbal reference books.

Chemical Constituent Comparative Scale
Very Low                   Low                            Average                          High
Magnesium (44 mg)     Total Ash (2.9%)         Aluminum (23.1 mg)        Calories (363)
Vit A (s100 IU)           Calcium (309 mg)        Carbohydrates (82.1%)   Crude Fiber (16.2%
Vit C (0)                      Manganese (2.36 gm) Chromium (0.9 mg)         Fat (5.2%)
Zinc (trace)                  Niacin (0.7 mg)            Cobalt (3.6 mg)              Iron (45.5mg)
                                   Phosphorus (107 mg)   Silicon (2.22 mg)             Potassium (1490 mg)
                                   Protein (9.8%)              Tin (1.2 mg)                   Selenium (2.99 mg)
                                   Riboflavin (0.1 mg)
                                   Sodium (13 mg)
                                   Thiamine (0.2 mg)