Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Fever nut (Caesalpinia bonduc), of the Fabaceae family. Straggling prickly climbing shrub armed with hooked thorns; native range: coastal thickets and hedges through the tropics of India and beyond. Globally recognized as latakaranja · kuberakshi in Sanskrit, kat karanj / karanjwa in Hindi, karanjwa in Arabic, and nicker nut, bonduc nut, gray nickernut in English. The part used is seed kernel (and root bark). Smooth, hard, lead-grey globular seeds; the white kernel within is intensely bitter, clean and lasting on the tongue.
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.
FEVER NUT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Fever nut
- Scientific name
- Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb.
- Family
- Fabaceae
Form
- Part used
- seed kernel (and root bark)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · astringent (kashaya) · pungent (katu)
- Unani
- bitter
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · liver · spleen
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- jwaraghna (antipyretic, especially periodic fever), krimighna (anthelmintic), dipana, kaphavatahara, a bitter tonic
- Unani
- daf-e-hummiyat (antiperiodic), muqawwi-e-meda (stomachic tonic), daf-e-deedan (anthelmintic), mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- high pitta and heat states; large doses in pregnancy
- Toxicity
- large doses of the bitter kernel may nauseate and irritate the stomach
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