Skip to content

White cabbage

Cabbage is a plant whose leaves are usually eaten as a vegetable. However, the leaves are also used as medicine.

Cabbage is used to treat stomach pain, excessive stomach acid production, stomach and intestinal ulcers and the so-called Roemheld syndrome. Cabbage is also used to treat asthma and morning sickness. Other uses include the prevention of osteoporosis and various types of cancer, including lung cancer, stomach cancer, bowel cancer, breast cancer and other types of cancer. Women who are breastfeeding sometimes apply cabbage leaves or cabbage leaf extracts to the breast to reduce swelling and pain.

How does cabbage work?

Cabbage contains chemicals that are thought to protect against cancer. Cabbage may also change the way oestrogen is used in the body, which could reduce the risk of breast cancer. All in all, not much is known yet about how the chemicals in cabbage might work as medicine.

How effective is cabbage?

Cabbage could potentially be effective for lactostasis in pregnant women, which manifests as hard and sore breasts when applied to the skin of the breast. Whole cabbage leaves appear to be as effective as chilled gel packs in relieving pain and swelling. An extract of cabbage leaves in the form of a cream has also been tested. Some women reported that this extract worked, but the effect was not significantly better than a cream without the extract. There is not enough scientific data to make a statement about the effectiveness of cabbage in preventing bladder, colorectal, stomach and lung cancer. However, there is some evidence that people who eat a lot of cabbage and related vegetables such as kale, broccoli and cauliflower have a lower risk of developing these cancers. There is also currently insufficient scientific data on the effectiveness of cabbage for stomach pain, stomach and intestinal ulcers, excessive stomach acid production, asthma and morning sickness, and for the prevention of osteoporosis. Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of cabbage in all these areas of application.

Safety and side effects

Even in medicinal doses, cabbage appears to be safe and harmless for most people when taken orally or applied to the skin. There is not much evidence of possible side effects.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: There is not enough information on the safety and harmlessness of cabbage in medicinal quantities during pregnancy, so pregnant women should avoid such quantities until more data is available. However, breastfeeding women should also refrain from consuming normal amounts of cabbage. There is evidence that colic can occur in breastfed infants if the mother eats cabbage, and as little as one serving of cabbage per week may be enough to cause this side effect. However, applying cabbage leaves to relieve pain and swelling due to breastfeeding appears to be safe if done several times a day for one or two days. Hypothyroidism: There are concerns that cabbage may exacerbate hypothyroidism. For this reason, it is best to avoid cabbage if you have an underactive thyroid.

Interactions

Care should be taken when using cabbage in combination with the following medications:

Acetaminophen

The body breaks down acetaminophen in order to excrete it. Cabbage may increase the rate at which the body breaks down acetaminophen. For this reason, eating cabbage in combination with taking acetaminophen could reduce the effectiveness of acetaminophen. Drugs that are broken down by the liver (cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) substrates and glucuronidated drugs) Some drugs are broken down by the liver. Cabbage may accelerate the rate at which the liver breaks down certain drugs. Eating cabbage in conjunction with drugs that are broken down by the liver may reduce the effectiveness of some drugs. For this reason, you should consult your doctor before eating large quantities of cabbage if you are taking medication that is broken down by the liver.

Oxazepam

The body breaks down oxazepam in order to be able to excrete it. Cabbage may increase the rate at which oxazepam is broken down by the body. For this reason, eating cabbage in combination with the use of oxazepam could reduce the effectiveness of oxazepam.

Warfarin

Cabbage contains large amounts of vitamin K. Vitamin K is used by the body to support blood clotting. Warfarin is used to slow down blood clotting. By supporting blood clotting, cabbage could reduce the effectiveness of warfarin. For this reason, the blood should be checked regularly. It is possible that the warfarin dosage may need to be reduced.

Dosage

The following dosages have been investigated in scientific studies:

Applied to the skin:

  • For enlarged and painful breasts during breastfeeding: A hole was cut in large cabbage leaves for the nipple and the leaf was then washed and cooled. The cooled cabbage leaf was worn under the bra or as a compress under a cool towel until the cabbage leaf reached body temperature, which took about 20 minutes. This procedure was repeated one to four times a day for 1 to 2 days.

References

  1. Balk JL. Indole-3-carbinol for cancer prevention. Altern Med Alert 2000; 3:105-7.
  2. Bolton-Smith C, Price RJ, Fenton ST, et al. Compilation of a provisional UK database for the phylloquinone (vitamin K1) content of foods. Br J Nutr 2000;83:389-99.
  3. Bradlow HL, Michnovicz J, Telang NT, Osborne MP. Effects of dietary indole-3-carbinol on estradiol metabolism and spontaneous mammary tumors in mice. Carcinogenesis 1991;12:1571-4.
  4. Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Available at: http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/.
  5. Grubbs CJ, Steele VE, Casebolt T, et al. Chemoprevention of chemically-induced mammary carcinogenesis by indole-3-carbinol. Anticancer Res 1995;15:709-16.
  6. He YH, Friesen MD, Ruch RJ, Schut HA. Indole-3-carbinol as a chemopreventive agent in 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) carcinogenesis: inhibition of PhIP-DNA adduct formation, acceleration of PhIP metabolism, and induction of cytochrome P450 in female F344 rats. Food Chem Toxicol 2000;38:15-23.
  7. Isbir T, Yaylim I, Aydin M, et al. The effects of Brassica oleraceae var capitata on epidermal glutathione and lipid peroxides in DMBA-initiated-TPA-promoted mice. Anticancer Res 2000;20:219-24.
  8. Kojima T, Tanaka T, Mori H. Chemoprevention of spontaneous endometrial cancer in female Donryu rats by dietary indole-3-carbinol. Cancer Res 1994;54:1446-9.
  9. Lust KD, Brown JE, Thomas W. Maternal intake of cruciferous vegetables and other foods and colic symptoms in exclusively breast-fed infants. J Am Diet Assoc 1996;96:46-8.
  10. Michnovicz JJ, Bradlow HL. Induction of estradiol metabolism by dietary indole-3-carbinol in humans. J Natl Cancer Inst 1990;82:947-9.
  11. Michnovicz JJ. Increased estrogen 2-hydroxylation in obese women using oral indole-3-carbinol. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1998;22:227-9.
  12. Nikodem VC, Danziger D, Gebka N, et al. Do cabbage leaves prevent breast engorgement? A randomized, controlled study. Birth 1993;20:61-4.
  13. Pantuck EJ, Pantuck CB, Anderson KE, et al. Effect of brussels sprouts and cabbage on drug conjugation. Clin Pharmacol Ther 1984;35:161-9.
  14. Roberts KL, Reiter M, Schuster D. A comparison of chilled and room temperature cabbage leaves in treating breast engorgement. J Hum Lact 1995;11:191-4.
  15. Roberts KL, Reiter M, Schuster D. Effects of cabbage leaf extract on breast engorgement. J Hum Lact 1998;14:231-6.
  16. Roberts KL. A comparison of chilled cabbage leaves and chilled gelpaks in reducing breast engorgement. J Hum Lact 1995;11:17-20.
  17. Stoewsand GS. Bioactive organosulfur phytochemicals in Brassica oleracea vegetables-a review. Food Chem Toxicol 1995;33:537-43.
  18. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 14. Nutrient Data Laboratory. Available at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp
  19. van Poppel G, Verhoeven DT, Verhagen H, Goldbohm RA. Brassica vegetables and cancer prevention. Epidemiology and mechanisms. Adv Exp Med Biol 1999;472:159-68.
  20. Yuan F, Chen DZ, Liu K, et al. Anti-estrogenic activities of indole-3-carbinol in cervical cells: implication for prevention of cervical cancer. Anticancer Res 1999;19:1673-80.
  21. Zhao H, Lin J, Grossman HB, et al. Dietary isothiocyanates, GSTM1, GSTT1, NAT2 polymorphisms and bladder cancer risk. Int J Cancer 2007;120:2208-13.