Radish (muli)Nutraceuticwl potential

 Ref 

Nutrients. 2019 Feb 14;11(2):402. doi: 10.3390/nu11020402

Deciphering the Nutraceutical Potential of Raphanus sativus—A Comprehensive Overview

Abinaya Manivannan 1, Jin-Hee Kim 1, Do-Sun Kim 1, Eun-Su Lee 1, Hye-Eun Lee 1,*

Diets enriched with plants have numerous health benefits to humans. 

It reduces the risk of various ailments, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and aging related problems. 

Moreover, the plant-based diets supply

 plenty of antioxidants that are necessary for combating the harmful effects of free radicals,

 which are the inevitable byproducts of vital metabolisms. 

Plants consist of diverse pharmacologically important secondary metabolites. 

In contrast to primary metabolites, secondary metabolites occur in lower abundance and distribution and are deposited in specialized cells and organelles [1]

. The plant based secondary metabolites can be classified into three major families, such as phenols, steroids and terpenes, and alkaloids [2].

 Among the families, phenols, which are a wide range of compounds with one or more hydroxylated aromatic rings biosynthesized via shikimate pathway, are a major class of plant metabolites [3].

 Generally, secondary metabolites aid the plant fitness by enhancing the plant–environment interaction. Consequently, the secondary metabolites in most cases acts as an antimicrobial and antioxidant in addition to being involved in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stresses.

Vegetables belonging to cruciferous plants have generated a wide range of dietary interest due to their higher nutritional and pharmaceutical potentials. 

Several reports illustrated that cruciferous vegetables consists of glucosinolates, phenolic compounds, tocopherols, carotenoids and ascorbic acid [4,5,6]

. The principal antioxidative effects of the phytochemicals are manifested by the capability of the compound to scavenge the toxic free radicals or by hindering the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins [7,8,9]. 

Moreover, polyphenolic compounds have become 

the focus of present pharmaceutical industries, which is largely due to their health-promoting effects [5,6]. 

The radish (Raphanus sativus L., 2n = 18) is

 a well-known root vegetable crop belonging to the Brassicaceae family.

 The tap root of radishes has been consumed worldwide in the form of pickles, salads and curries due to its high nutritional values [6,7,8,10]. 

Apart from the roots, leaves and sprouts have also been reported to have nutritional and medicinal importance [9]. 

The extracts of radishes have been employed to treat stomach disorders, constipation, urinary infections, hepatic inflammation, cardiac disorders and ulcers in folk medicine since the ancient times [8].

 In addition, various reports have recorded the antimicrobial [11,12], 

anticancer [13], antioxidant [14,15] and anxiety reducing properties [16] of radishes.

 The secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical benefits in radishes include glucosinolates, isothiocyanates and polyphenols [17,18,19]. 

Glucosinolates (GSL) are secondary metabolites that are exclusively found in cruciferous vegetables [4]. 

The chemical conformation of GSL possess

 ß-D-thioglucosides residue bonded to (Z)-N-hydroximinosulfate ester. GSLs are majorly classified into three types based on their precursor amino acids, such as aliphatic glucosinolates (AGSLs), aromatic glucosinolates (ArGSLs) and indolic glucosinolates (IGSLs) [20,21,22]. 

Recently, the GSLs have gained enormous interest in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in the designing of anticancer and antiinflammatory drugs.

 Hence, the present review will provide a comprehensive overview of the current research progress on the antioxidant, chemopreventive, hepatoprotective and antidiabetic properties of radishes.