Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum), of the Fabaceae (Faboideae) family. Small bushy annual with pinnate leaves and inflated pods holding one or two beaked seeds; native range: the Near East and Mediterranean; an ancient pulse crop, now grown across the warm world. Globally recognized as chanaka in Sanskrit, chana / kabuli chana in Hindi, hummus / nakhud in Arabic, and gram, garbanzo, Bengal gram in English. The part used is seed; the sour leaf-exudate. A firm, mealy, nutty-sweet seed; the fresh plant sticky with an acid, malic dew.
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.
CHICKPEA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Chickpea
- Scientific name
- Cicer arietinum L.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Faboideae)
Form
- Part used
- seed; the sour leaf-exudate
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- astringent · sweet (kashaya, madhura)
- Unani
- sweet
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta)
- Unani
- hot & moist (1st degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · kidneys · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- grahi (absorbent), kapha-pitta-hara, ruksha (drying), balya as a food, and cooling to the blood
- Unani
- mughazzi (nutritive), muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), mudir-e-baul (diuretic), munaffith-e-balgham (expectorant)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- high vata, flatulence and weak digestion, where the dry pulse bloats and gripes
- Toxicity
- a wholesome food; the sour exudate is acid and irritant if taken to excess
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.