The efficacy and function of radish

Radish is a common Chinese medicine. It can be used for medicinal purposes as well as for food. The effects and functions of radish are quite comprehensive. Let's take a look at it below.

[Other names] Pod, reed radish (Erya), radish, shepherd's purse (Shuowen), Luofu (Qianfu Lun), Luowei (Hanshu Jin Zhuo's note), Hail radish (Jingdian Shiwen), purple cabbage (Tang Materia Medica), radish (Meng Shen), purple cabbage, Wen cabbage, radish seedling, Chu cabbage, Qin cabbage (Bencao Tujing), Tusu (Vegetable Recipe), radish seed (Guixin Miscellaneous Notes), white cabbage (Flora of Guangzhou).

[Source] It is the fresh root of radish, a plant of the cruciferous family. Dig up fresh roots in winter, remove stems and leaves, and wash them.

[Original morphology] Annual or biennial erect herb, up to 1 meter high. The roots are thick, fleshy, and vary in texture, size, color, and shape. The stem is strong, with longitudinal lines and grooves, branched, and more or less covered with glaucoma. The radicular leaves are tufted, pinnate-shaped, up to 30 cm long, and sparsely hairy; the leaves at the lower part of the stem are pinnate-shaped, 12-24 cm long, with the largest lobe at the top and obtuse at the tip, and 4-6 pairs of lobes on both sides, opposite or alternate along the rachis, triangular-ovate, and the lobes become smaller as they move downwards, with sharp tips and obtuse or dentate edges; the leaves at the upper part of the stem gradually become smaller, with leaf blades oblong, 3-5 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, with short pointed tips and shallowly serrated edges or nearly entire; the base has a short petiole or is nearly sessile. Racemes grow at branch tops; sepals 4, linear-oblong, green, with lavender outside; petals 4, obovate-cuneate, with long claws, white, lavender or pink; 3 stamens 4 strong; pistil 1, ovary thin cylindrical. The silique is cylindrical, fleshy, slightly constricted inward at the seed, and has a long pointed beak at the tip. The seeds are oval and slightly flat, about 3 mm in diameter, and reddish brown. Flowering period is from March to June. Fruiting period is from May to August.

[Habitat distribution] Widely cultivated throughout the country.

【Chemical composition】 The sugar content of the root is mainly glucose, sucrose and fructose. Coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, phenylpyruvic acid, gentisic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid and various amino acids were also detected in each part. The fresh roots contain 7.75 mg% methyl mercaptan and nearly 20 mg% vitamin C. Because they do not contain oxalic acid, they are a good source of calcium. Contains 0.41 mg% manganese and about 7 mg% boron (dry weight). It also contains radish glycosides.

[Pharmacological action] The alcohol extract has antibacterial effect, especially against Gram-positive bacteria. In the presence of serum, the activity is reduced by half. It can also be antifungal. The acidic substances in radish root are non-toxic to mice when injected subcutaneously at 3 grams/kg or intraperitoneally at 2 grams/kg, and only cause mild, short-term toxic reactions in rabbits when injected subcutaneously at 1 gram/kg. It is also reported that the juice extracted from the crushed root can prevent the formation of gallstones and is used to treat cholelithiasis.

【Nature and flavor】 Spicy, sweet, cool,

【Entry into Meridians】 Enters the lung and stomach meridians.

【Functions and indications】It can eliminate stagnation, resolve phlegm and heat, relieve gas, soothe fullness and detoxify. It is used to treat food stagnation, phlegm, cough, aphonia, vomiting blood, epistaxis, thirst, dysentery, and hemicrania.

[Usage and Dosage] For internal use: mash the juice and drink it, 1 to 3 liang; decoct it into soup or cook it. For external use: mash the medicine and apply it on the nose or use the mash juice as nose drops.

【Note】 ① "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Radish root, when eaten by people who take Rehmannia root and Polygonum multiflorum, will cause their beards to turn white."

[Additional prescription] ①To treat sour food: chew a few slices of raw radish, or chewing raw vegetables is also good. Dried, cooked, salted, and those that are used by people with cold stomachs are all ineffective. (Binghu Collection of Simple Prescriptions)

【Discussions by various scholars】 ①《Compendium of Materia Medica》: "Radish has the same function as turnip, but it is more powerful and even stronger. The root can also be used after being cut off and cooked as medicine."

[Clinical Application] Treatment of Trichomonas vaginitis: Wash the radish with water, wipe it with alcohol for disinfection, and chop it into a paste. Take 1 to 2 teaspoons each time, wrap it into a gauze roll with sterilized gauze, tie a long string at one end, and use it as a vaginal suppository. When applying the medicine, first rinse the vulva and vagina with 1/5000 potassium permanganate solution. After drying, put the gauze roll with radish paste into the vagina, with the thread ends exposed outside the vagina. Once a day. A total of 68 cases were treated and 62 were cured. Generally, the itching, heat, heaviness or pain in the vulva will disappear 2 to 3 days after taking the medicine, and the secretions will gradually return to normal from purulent state; after 5 to 10 treatments, the congestion of the vaginal mucosa will be reduced or completely return to normal. After applying the medicine for 4 to 7 times in a row, the smear test showed negative results for Trichomonas. No side effects were observed during the treatment.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

【Source】 From "Tang Materia Medica"

Having said so much, we can see that radish has many uses. It can also be used as medicine to treat diseases. You might as well know more about these, it will be helpful in your life.