Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Wild Croton (Baliospermum montanum), of the Euphorbiaceae family. Erect shrub with large, angular, toothed leaves; native range: sub-Himalayan tracts and hilly regions across India. Globally recognized as danti / dantimula in Sanskrit, danti · hakun in Hindi, danti in Urdu, and wild croton, Indian purging croton in English. The part used is root (classical), seed (far more drastic, used with caution). Root acrid, mildly numbing to the tongue; seeds oily and sharply purgative.
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.
WILD CROTON
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Wild Croton
- Scientific name
- Baliospermum montanum (Willd.) Müll.Arg.
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
Form
- Part used
- root (classical), seed (far more drastic, used with caution)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- pungent · bitter (katu, tikta)
- Unani
- pungent · acrid
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (3rd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- intestines · stomach · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- rechana (purgative — one of the classical virechana dravyas), kaphahara, shothahara (anti-inflammatory, especially in ascites), krimighna (anthelmintic)
- Unani
- mus-hil (purgative), mudirr-baul (diuretic, used in oedema/ascites), dafi-waram (anti-inflammatory)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy, weak or debilitated patients, children, piles and inflamed bowel states; never used undiluted or unpurified
- Toxicity
- the raw, unpurified root and especially the seed are a drastic, griping purgative that can cause severe catharsis, colic and dehydration; the seed oil carries croton-like vesicant, irritant diterpene esters and is considered unsafe for internal use without purification
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