Radish

Scientific Names

Raphanus sativus L.
Cruciferae
Crucifer family

Common Names

Black radish
Common radish
Garden radish
Spanish radish
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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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Bibliography

Culpeper's Complete Herbal & English Physician, by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814)

Chinese Medicinal Herbs, compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973.

The Nature Doctor, by Dr. H.C.A. Vogel; Keats Publishing, Inc., 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984