Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Armenian bole, of the clay/earth (iron-bearing aluminosilicate) family. A soft, fine-grained red to brownish-red earthy clay in friable lumps; native range: a fine red ferruginous clay reported from Armenia and neighbouring Anatolia, and later from other red-earth beds sold under the same name. Globally recognized as gil-e-armani, bura-e-armani in Arabic/Urdu, bolus armenus, terra armena in Latin, and Armenian bole, bole armeniac in English. The part used is the levigated (washed and elutriated) earth. Pale to brick red, smooth and unctuous to the touch, adhering to the tongue with a faint astringency and no grittiness; breaks with an earthy fracture.
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.
ARMENIAN BOLE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Armenian bole
- Family
- clay/earth (iron-bearing aluminosilicate)
Form
- Part used
- the levigated (washed and elutriated) earth
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- astringent
- Unani
- astringent
Temperature
- Western
- cold
- Unani
- cold & dry (2nd degree)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- astringent, styptic, absorbent and antidiarrhoeal; formerly reckoned an alexipharmic
- Unani
- habis-ud-dam (styptic), qabiz (astringent), mundamil-e-qurooh (heals ulcers), dafe-taffun (checks putrefaction), muqawwi-e-meda (stomachic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and cold dry temperaments; obstruction
- Toxicity
- an inert earth in itself, but of uncertain composition — commercial boles have carried clay impurities, and prolonged use binds the bowels
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