Can dogs eat Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach)?
Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach)（小松菜）
Safe to feed
A leafy green with solid calcium and iron, and less oxalate than spinach.
13 kcal per 100 g
What kind of food is this?
A brassica leafy green. Compared with the average of the vegetables listed here, it has about 3 times the iron, 3 times the calcium, and 2 times the vitamin A, at 13kcal per 100g.
Calcium is a mineral involved not only in bones and teeth but also in muscle contraction and nerve signaling. Iron relates to how red blood cells carry oxygen. Komatsuna is also known as a green with beta-carotene and lutein.
Its strength is delivering calcium and iron from greens without adding many calories. Being low in oxalate, it is also an easy green to alternate with spinach.
Choosing between komatsuna and spinach
Both are green leafy vegetables containing iron and calcium, but they differ in one point: spinach is higher in oxalate and needs to be boiled and drained, while komatsuna is lower in oxalate and can be used after a quick boil.
When a dog has a history of urinary stones and oxalate is a concern in their meals, komatsuna is one of the leafy greens that often comes up as a candidate. It has 170 mg of calcium per 100 g — more than three times that of spinach (49 mg).
When you have these care goals
Eye care — Komatsuna contains lutein and beta-carotene. One of the ingredients that comes up when thinking about eye care for senior dogs.
Nutrition
Komatsuna (per 100 g, raw)
Japan's Standard Tables of Food Composition (8th ed.)
| Energy | 13 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 1.5 g |
| Fat | 0.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 2.4 g |
| Calcium | 170 mg |
| Phosphorus | 45 mg |
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| Fiber | 1.9 g |
|---|---|
| Moisture | 94.1 g |
| Sodium | 15 mg |
| Potassium | 500 mg |
| Magnesium | 12 mg |
| Iron | 2.8 mg |
| Zinc | 0.2 mg |
| Copper | 0.06 mg |
| Iodine | 2 µg |
| Selenium | 1 µg |
| Manganese | 0.13 mg |
| Vitamin A | 260 µg |
| Vitamin D | 0 µg |
| Vitamin E | 0.9 mg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.09 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 µg |
| Vitamin C | 39 mg |
| EPA | 0 mg |
| DHA | − |
| Alpha-linolenic acid | 56 mg |
"−" means the item is not listed in the source table (it does not mean zero).
In food-energetics terms
In food-energetics terms, this is classified as "neutral" — it neither warms nor cools the body.
(Food energetics is a long-standing idea of supporting the body through everyday meals. Treat it as one extra hint alongside the nutrition numbers.)
How much for your dog?
Get daily estimates from weight and activity level.