Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Musk mallow (Abelmoschus moschatus), of the Malvaceae family. Erect, softly hairy annual or biennial herb of the mallow kind; native range: tropical India and Southeast Asia; cultivated across the tropics. Globally recognized as latakasturika in Sanskrit, mushakdana / kasturi-bhindi in Hindi, habb-ul-mushk in Arabic, and ambrette, musk-seed, muskmallow in English. The part used is seed. Greyish-brown, kidney-shaped seeds that smell muskily of ambrette when bruised, the taste warm, bitterish and faintly aromatic.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
MUSK MALLOW
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- musk mallow
- Scientific name
- Abelmoschus moschatus Medik.
- Family
- Malvaceae
Form
- Part used
- seed
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · pungent (katu)
- Unani
- aromatic · pungent
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- heart · brain · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- hridya (cardiac tonic), vajikarana (aphrodisiac), vata-anulomana (carminative), deepana (stomachic), mukha-daurgandhya-nashaka (sweetens the breath)
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), muqawwi-e-dimagh (nervine), kasir-e-riyah (carminative), daf-e-taffun (deodorant)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pitta-predominant and hot conditions, acidity; caution in pregnancy
- Toxicity
- large doses of the heating seed may provoke heartburn and thirst; otherwise low toxicity
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