- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- Asia (west and south), Europe (cultivated)
- Sanskrit
- Moolaka
- Other names
- Witte rammenas (daikon)
Asia · Food · № 545
Raphanus sativus
Food · Asia
Radish
Raphanus sativus
Traditionally attributed effects: seeds and leaves diuretic, laxative, dissolve stones; juice against scurvy; for painful and difficult urination, stones, urinary diseases, haemorrhoids, stomach ache; syrup for hoarseness, whooping cough and chest complaints.
Safety notes
Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Chinese materia medica: Not with weakness from qi deficiency.
Preparation
Leaf juice 2.5–5 ml; juice of the taproot 5–10 ml; root powder 1–2 g; root decoction 28–56 ml; syrup.
Use in traditions
Described in the Ayurvedic materia medica. Sanskrit name: Moolaka. The large white radish (daikon) is a staple vegetable in East Asia; in Korea it is made into kimchi. In Chinese medicine the seeds (lai fu zi) make the qi descend in food stagnation and cough with phlegm. In Ayurveda (mulaka) young radish is a digestive remedy.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Ayurvedic materia medica
Attributed effects
Seeds and leaves diuretic, laxative, dissolve stones; juice against scurvy; for painful and difficult urination, stones, urinary diseases, haemorrhoids, stomach ache; syrup for hoarseness, whooping cough and chest complaints.
Preparation and amount
Leaf juice 2.5–5 ml; juice of the taproot 5–10 ml; root powder 1–2 g; root decoction 28–56 ml; syrup.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- pungent, sweet, neutral
- Meridians
- lung, spleen, stomach
Attributed effects
Radish seed (lai fu zi) helps in food stagnation with a full feeling, foul belching and heartburn, and makes rebellious lung energy descend in chronic cough with much phlegm.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 6–12 g a day, usually in a decoction.
Combinations
- With hawthorn berry and shen qu for food stagnation
- With white mustard seed and perilla seed for cough with white phlegm
Caution: Not with weakness from qi deficiency.
Chinese food therapy
Attributed effects
According to Chinese food therapy, white radish (daikon) clears phlegm from the lungs, cools, curbs persistent cough and cleanses the skin. Grated in miso soup, sliced in clear soup.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- DecoctionSyrup, honey and oxymelPowder and kitchen
- Formulas
- Bao he wan