Watercress, real

Nasturtium officinale, also known as watercress, is a plant species used as a vegetable from the genus Nasturtium (watercress) of the Brassicaceae (cruciferous family).

Nasturtium officinale is a perennial, winter-green plant that grows in marshy or watery areas. It has hollow, round stems that grow between 15 and 90 cm long; its roundish root leaves sprout at the lower end. The small, grass-green leaves usually consist of two to four pairs of leaflets.
Watercress bears white to purple racemose inflorescences. The flowering period is from May to July. The pods of the plant are 8 to 20 mm long and 2 to 3 mm wide and contain up to 60 seeds. They ripen from September to October.

The fresh or dried herb, Nasturtii herba, is used phytotherapeutically.

Food: The leaves are used as a spice for soups, salads, potatoes, curd cheese and more.

The main active ingredients are mustard oil glycosides.

Nasturtium officinale is the parent plant of Nasturtii herba, a component of the ready-to-use preparation Angocin® Antiinfekt, see also under Horseradish

1. Montag A (2023) Plants and skin. Springer-Verlag Ltd. S. 417-421
2. Kassner N et al. (2024) Investigation into the Effectiveness of an Herbal Combination (Angocin®Anti-Infekt N) in the Therapy of Acute Bronchitis: A Retrospective Real-World Cohort Study. Antibiotics (Basel) 17;13(10):982. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics13100982. PMID: 39452248; PMCID: PMC11505283.