Horseradish is considered a European plant of the cabbage family, a root vegetable with long docklike leaves, grown for its pungent root. The root of the horseradish plant, which is grated or scraped as a condiment and often made into a sauce. Here Melissa Smith, NaturalNews.com, reflects on health benefits of horseradish including anti-cancer effects:

“Horseradish might not be something you eat every day, but you may want to consider eating it more often. Researchers from the University of Illinois found that this root vegetable may protect against cancer.

In their study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers found that horseradish contains compounds that could help detoxify and remove cancer-causing free radicals in the body.

“We knew horseradish had health benefits, but in this study, we were able to link it to the activation of certain detoxifying enzymes for the first time,” said Mosbah Kushad, one of the authors of the study.

This study stemmed from their previous study in which they identified and quantified glucosinolates – the compounds in horseradish responsible for the cancer-fighting effect. They found that horseradish contains nearly 10 times more glucosinates than broccoli. Glucosinates increase the ability of the liver to detoxify cancer-causing chemicals and suppress the growth of existing cancerous tumors.

In the current study, the research team determined whether the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) grades of horseradish roots vary in their phytochemical content or potential health-promoting properties. To do so, they looked for the products of glucosinolate hydrolysis, which stimulate enzymes involved in detoxifying cancer-causing substances. Then, they compared the quantity and activity of these products in 11 horseradish strains rated U.S. Fancy, U.S. No. 1, or U.S. No. 2.

The USDA puts horseradish roots in these categories based on their diameter and length. Horseradish roots sized 8 inches (in.) or longer with a 1.5 in. diameter are graded U.S. Fancy, while U.S. No. 1 is 6 in. and U.S. No. 2 is 4 in.

The research team discovered that the higher-grade U.S. Fancy horseradish roots had dramatically more glucosinolates than U.S. No. 1. They also found that concentrations of different glucosinolate hydrolysis products varied according to USDA grade. The U.S. Fancy had greater allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), while U.S. No. 1 had greater 1-cyano 2,3-epithiopropane (CETP).

These two compounds have different levels of cancer-fighting activity, with CETP being weaker than AITC. Still, the detection of CETP in horseradish is noteworthy because the team said that this is the first time that CETP from horseradish was detected and measured.”

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