‘Monster’ radish can help prevent heart disease and stroke

Vegetables are good source of various vitamins and important minerals like iron and calcium. So if you have green salad as a part of your daily diet then that’s a sign of healthy diet, but step aside carrots, onions and broccoli! Because the newest heart-healthy vegetable could be a huge stout radish.

According to study appearing in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists report that compounds found in the Sakurajima Daikon, or “monster” radish could help protect coronary blood vessels and potentially prevent heart disease and stroke.

The findings can lead to the discovery of similar substances in other vegetables even lead to new drug treatments.

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The Sakurajima radish is a Japanese cultivation and it is the biggest radish variety in the world. In 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records certified a Sakurajima weighing nearly 69 pounds as the world’s heaviest radish. Radish actually helps to cleanse our liver and stomach, thus detoxifying it. Not only limited to detoxifying but its particular property of purifying our blood can reduce high blood pressure and the threat of clots which are risk factors for heart attack and stroke.

Till date, there was no evident study to prove Sakurajima radish is more beneficial compared to other radishes when it comes to heart-health. To address this knowledge gap, the researchers exposed human and pig vascular endothelial cells to extracts from Sakurajima Daikon and smaller radishes. They used fluorescence microscopy and other analytical techniques and the research team found the Sakurajima Daikon radish induced more nitric oxide production in these vascular cells than a smaller Japanese radish.

The team also found that trigonelline, a plant hormone, as the active component in Sakurajima Daikon that appears to promote a cascade of changes in coronary blood vessels resulting improved nitric oxide production.

So next time when you visit Japan, do check out for a Sakurajima Daikon, or “monster” radish.

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