Medicinal and Therapeutic Utilities of Raphanus Sativus

The radish (Raphanus sativus) of the Brassicaceae family domesticated in Europe during pre-Roman times is an edible root vegetable. It is grown and consumed throughout the world. Radish has numerous varieties, sizes, color and duration of cultivation time. It is annual herb, 20-100 cm long, with a rosette of lyrate, pinnatified leaves arising from a short stem. All the species of Raphanus including R. sativus have 2n=18 chromosome. The commercial type of radish is said to be largely self – incompatible. Radishes are an alternative treatment for a variety of ailments including whooping cough, cancer, gastric discomfort, liver problems, constipation, dyspepsia, gallbladder problems, arthritis, gallstones, kidney stones etc. The radish leaves are good source of protein, having biological value of 76.6 and digestibility co-efficient is 73.5%. Presence of some biochemical substances such as methins, sapogenins, levon; enzymes such as phosphatase, catalase; histaminergic component and a weak spasmolytic; amino acids such as lysine, methionin etc.; polyphenolics such as protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid; antibacterial substances such as Sulphoraphene and raphanin; free radical scavengers etc. and many other therapeutic and medicinal properties of radish have been discussed in the paper.