Lepidium sativum / Tuinkers / Garden cress

Lepidium sativum (Garden cress, Brassicaceae) is a fast-growing, edible herb that is botanically related to watercress and mustard, sharing their peppery, tangy flavor and aroma. In traditional system of Indian medicine various parts of plant have been used to treat various human ailments such as diarrhea, dysentery, leprosy, skin and eye diseases, leucorrhoea, scurvy, liver diseases, renal diseases, dyspepsia, asthma, cough, cold and seminal weakness, also it is considered as bitter, diuretic, tonic, abortifacient, aphrodisiac, thermogenic, galactagogue, emmenagogue, depurative, ophthalmic, also used to treat tenesmus, secondary syphilis. Lepidium sativum mainly contains alkaloids, saponins, anthracene glycosides, carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, flavonoids, sterols as chief phytochemical constituents. Glutamic acid is the most abundant amino acid; leucine and methionine are the highest and the lowest essential amino acids respectively. Its extracts have been found to possess various pharmacologicalivities. A comprehensive review of its ethno-medical uses, chemical

constituents and pharmacological profile as a medicinal plant. Mainly focused on its Anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic and coagulant, antihypertensive, diuretic anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, anti-ashthamatic, prokinetic, laxative, hypercholesterolemic, fracture healing, chemo-protective and anti-oxidant activity for better evaluation in various therapeutic applications.

Anti-oxidant activity

Ethanolic extract of Lipidum sativum seeds showed a potential nephrocurative, nephroprotectivity and invivo antioxidant potential at 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg against Cisplatin(5mg/kg, i.p) induced nephrotoxicity. The enzyme estimation in

Kidney tissue found that increased in malondialdehyde, superoxidedimutase, catalase and reduced glutathione level

Yogesh chand Y, Srivastav DN, Seth AK, Vipin S, Balaraman R, Tejas KG. Invivo antioxidant potential of Lepidium sativum L. seeds in albino

rats using cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity. Inter J Phytomed 2010; 2: 292-298

http://www.voedingswaardetabel.nl/voedingswaarde/voedingsmiddel/?id=820

http://www.earthjournals.org/IJPR_102.pdf