Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Garlic (Allium sativum), of the Amaryllidaceae (Alliaceae; formerly Liliaceae) family. Bulbous perennial of clustered cloves under a papery sheath; native range: Central Asia (the Tien Shan region); cultivated worldwide since deep antiquity. Globally recognized as lashuna / rasona in Sanskrit, lahsun in Hindi, da suan (大蒜) in Chinese, and thum (ثوم) in Arabic. The part used is bulb (clove). Ivory cloves in a papery wrap, near-odourless whole; crushing frees the hot, sulphurous, penetrating pungency of allicin.
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.
GARLIC
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Garlic
- Scientific name
- Allium sativum L.
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae (Alliaceae; formerly Liliaceae)
Form
- Part used
- bulb (clove)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent
- Ayurveda
- dominant: pungent (katu) · the parts: sweet (root) · bitter (leaf) · astringent (stalk) · salty (tip)
- Western
- pungent, acrid
- Unani
- pungent, acrid
Temperature
TCM: warm
Ayurveda: heating (atyushna — very)
Western: hot
Unani: hot & dry (3rd–4th degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses converge — a fierce heat unmistakable in every tradition
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Stomach · Lung · Large Intestine
- Western
- digestion · lungs · circulation · blood
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- warms the middle, moves qi, resolves toxicity and stagnation, kills parasites and disperses accumulation
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana (digestive), vata-kapha-hara, hridya (cardiac), rasayana, krimighna, vrishya (aphrodisiac)
- Western
- diaphoretic, expectorant, antiseptic, antimicrobial, hypotensive, anthelmintic
- Unani
- mohallil (resolvent), kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), jali (detergent), muharrik (stimulant); a chief drug of the great theriacs (tiryaq-e-farooq)
Cautions
Contraindications: high pitta and heat states, acidity, bleeding disorders; large medicinal doses in pregnancy and lactation
Toxicity: raw excess irritates the gut and can burn the skin; heartburn
Interactions
- Western
- anticoagulants: additive antiplatelet and fibrinolytic effect · antidiabetic agents: additive glucose lowering · antihypertensives: additive blood-pressure lowering
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