Botanical Name

Lepidium sativum L.

Family

Brassicaceae/Cruciferae.

Synonyms

Arabis chinensis Rottler , Cardamon sativum (L.) , Crucifera nasturtium, Lepia sativa (L.), Lepidium hortense Forssk, Lepidium spinescens DC, Nasturtium sativum (L.), Nasturtium spinescens (DC.) Kuntze, Thlaspi sativum (L.) Crantz, Thlaspidium sativum (L.) Spach

Regional Name

English : Common Cress, Hindi : Chansur, Sanskrit : Candrika, Punjabi : Holan, Taratej, Urdu : Halim, Assamese : Halim, Bengali : Chand Shura, Halim, Gujrati : Aseriya, Aseliyo, Kannada : Allibija, Kapila, Kashmiri : Alian, Malayalam : Asali, Marathi : Ahaliva, Haliv Oriya : Chandasara, Chandasura, Tamil : Allivirai, Telugu : Adityalu, Aadalu.

Part Used

Roots, Leaves and Seeds.

Description

It is a small erect, annual herb, about 15-45 cm high, cultivated throughout India.Seeds, small, oval-shaped, pointed and triangular at one end, smooth, about 2-3 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, reddish brown.

Phytoconstituents

It contains Alkaloids, essential oil, fixed oil and mucilage.It contains Calcium, Potassium,Iron, Folic acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin C. Fibre, Proteins – Amino acids – Glutamic acid, leucine, methionine. Fatty acid – linolinic acid,7 imidazole alkaloids – Lecidine B,C, D,E,F and 2 monomeric alkaloids Semilipedene Side A and Side B were found in Garden cress seeds

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa : Katu, Tikta, Guna : Laghu,Ruksa, Vipaka : Katu, Virya : Usna

Ayurvedic Applications

Hikka, Atisara, Vatarakta

Medicinal Uses

Seeds are bitter, thermogenic, depurative, galactagogue, emmenagogue, tonic, , ophthalmic and diuretic. It is useful in leprosy, skin diseases, dysentery, diarrhea, antibacterial, dyspepsia, eye diseases, leucorrhoea, scurvy, asthma, cough, cold and seminal weakness. It is useful in secondary syphilis and tenesmus. It is useful in scurvy and hepatopathy.