Summary
To ancient Greeks and Romans, cabbage was called sea or wild cabbage. It is native to the Mediterranean region. Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin C and it also contains a large amount of glutamine, which is an amino acid that helps prevent inflammation. Cabbage is also known for being an excellent diet food thanks to its low caloric value. It is also known to help with digestive problems.
One cup of shredded and boiled cabbage contains just 33 calories and 91 percent of the recommended daily vitamin K intake. Cabbage has no known health hazards or side effects. Cabbage can be eaten or taken in a 500 mg tablet to gain the nutritional benefits. Cabbage can be found in tablet, pressed or chopped form.
Description
Medicinal Parts
The medicinal parts of the plant are the fresh cabbage head and juice derived from the fresh leaves.
Flower and Fruit
The inflorescences have long-pedicled flowers. The flowers are large and have 4 erect, narrowly elliptoid sepals 6 to 12 mm long. The 4 petals are about twice as long as the calyx and are sulphur yellow. The margin broadens at the tip and narrows at the base to an equally long wedge-shaped funicle stem. The stamens are erect and close to the ovary. The central honey gland is almost erect. The fruit is oblong, podlike, almost cylindrical, and has a domed lid. The dividing wall of the fruit is thin as well as pitted and folded between the dark brown seeds, which have a diameter of 1.5 to 4 mm.
Leaves, Stem, and Root
The plant can be annual, biennial, or perennial. It is about 2 m high and has thin roots. The stem is woody from the first year and is covered in leaf nodes. It has a bluish bloom and is branched toward the top. The leaves are fleshy, blue-green, and glabrous. The lower leaves are petiolate, lyre-shaped, pinnatifid or simple. The upper leaves are oblong to linear-oblong, usually entire-margined and narrowed to rounded at the base and sessile.
Habitat
Wild Cabbage was originally found in the Mediterranean region. Today it grows wild as far north as southern England and Helgoland, and cultivated varieties are found in temperate and damp climates worldwide.
Production
White cabbage juice is the juice of Brassica oleracea.
Other Names
Colewort
Actions & Pharmacology
Compounds
Mustard oils (breakdown products of the glucosinolates accompanying cell destruction): allyl mustard oil, methyl sulfinyl alkyl isothiocyanates, methyl sulfonyl alkyl isothiocyanates
3-hydroxy-methyl-indole
5-vinyl-oxazolidine-2-thion (goitrin)
Rhodanides
Alkyl nitriles
Amino acids: including S-methyl cysteine sulphoxide, S-methyl methionine sulphoxide and, when extracted from red cabbage, also anthocyans, including cyanidine-5-0-glucoside-3-0-sophoroside
Effects
Cabbage protects the mucous membrane of the stomach from gastric hydrochloric acid. The gastroprotective effect of the juice is attributed to the regenerative ability of the mucous membrane that is caused by an anti-ulcer factor (vitamin U).
Indications & Usage
Unproven Uses
Folk medicine uses include drinking the juice for gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers.
Homeopathic Uses
Preparations of the flowering herb are used for hypothyroidism.
Indian Medicine
Cabbage leaves are used for disorders of the thyroid, gastrointestinal tract, itching and cough, as well as for asthma, gout, and hemorrhoids.
Precautions & Adverse Reactions
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages.
Dosage
Mode of Administration
The drug is available as a standard preparation or prepared from chopped and pressed Cabbage for internal use. Also available in homeopathic preparations.
How Supplied
- Tablet – 500 mg
Preparation
White cabbage (Brassica Oleracea Var. Capitata) extract is prepared by processing leaves by mashing or using a centrifuge. The resulting mass is pressed through a linen cloth.
Daily Dosage
To augment a bland diet take 1 liter of juice daily for at least 3 weeks but not more than 6 weeks as a dietary additive.
Homeopathic Dosage
5 drops, 1 tablet, 10 globules every 30 to 60 minutes (acute) or 1 to 3 times daily (chronic); parenterally: 1 to 2 mL sc; acute: 3 times daily; chronic: once a day (HAB34).
Storage
The fresh juice will keep for approximately 24 hours if kept cool.
