Contents:
Common Names | Parts Usually Used | Plant(s) & Culture | Where Found | Medicinal Properties | Biochemical Information
Uses | Formulas or Dosages | Nutrient Content | How Sold | Warning | Resource Links | Bibliography
Scientific Names
- Raphanus sativus L.
- Cruciferae
- Crucifer family
Common Names
- Black radish
- Common radish
- Garden radish
- Spanish radish
Parts Usually Used
Root, seed
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Radish is an annual or biennial plant; the fleshy root, coming in various colors and shapes, produces an erect, hollow stem from 8 inches to 3 feet high. The alternate leaves are lyrately divided, with a large terminal segment. They may be glabrous or covered with sharp hairs. The white or lilac-colored flowers have violet veins and grow in branched racemes. Flowering time depends on the manner of cultivation.
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Where Found
Widely cultivated as a salad vegetable.
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Medicinal Properties
Root: antispasmodic, astringent, cholagogue, diuretic
Seed: digestant, carminative, expectorant
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Biochemical Information
Seed: Erucic acid, oleic, linolenic, and linoleic acids; glycerol sinapate, raphinin
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Uses
The juice pressed from grated, fresh radish root is an old European home remedy for coughs, rheumatism, and gall bladder problems. Radish has been used for chronic bronchitis, flatulence, diarrhea, headache, and insomnia. Radish is not recommended for use when the stomach or intestines are inflamed. The seeds treat abdominal fullness, sour eructations, diarrhea caused by food congestion, phlegm with productive cough and wheezing. Finely grated radish, sprinkled with raw cane sugar in order to make a syrup, provides good remedy for whooping cough. This will also help all liver ailments.
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Formulas or Dosages
Radishes which have not developed flower stems are preferred.
Juice: mix equal parts radish juice and honey. Take 1 tbsp. 3 times a day.
Juice Cure: start by taking 3 to 4 oz. juice (by weight) before breakfast each day. Gradually increase the amount to 14 oz. a day. Depending on results, after 1 to 3 weeks, reduce the quantity to 3 or 4 oz. again until a complete cure is affected.
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Nutrient Content
Iron, sulfur, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C
How Sold
In the supermarket produce section
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Warning
Radish is not recommended for use when the stomach or intestines are inflamed.
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Resource Links
Boost Your Health with Medicinal Herb Sprouts and Microgreens
Bibliography
Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs
Chinese Medicinal Herbs
The Herb Book
The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine
Planetary Herbology
Webster’s New World Dictionary
