Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Guggul (Commiphora wightii), of the Burseraceae family. A small thorny deciduous tree of the desert, its papery bark peeling in flakes; native range: the arid rocky scrub of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sindh and Arabia. Globally recognized as guggulu · kaushika · pura in Sanskrit, guggul · gugal in Hindi, muql (مقل) in Arabic, and Indian bdellium, gum guggul, false myrrh in English. The part used is the oleo-gum-resin (exuded from the trunk). Irregular pale-brown to reddish tears and lumps of aromatic resin, sticky and softening in warmth, with a bitter, balsamic, myrrh-like scent and taste.
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.
GUGGUL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- guggul
- Scientific name
- Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari
- Family
- Burseraceae
Form
- Part used
- the oleo-gum-resin (exuded from the trunk)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · pungent (katu) · astringent (kashaya)
- Western
- bitter · aromatic · acrid
- Unani
- bitter · aromatic · astringent
Temperature
Ayurveda: heating (ushna)
Western: warm
Unani: hot (& dry, 2nd degree)
convergence: the {witness_count} witnesses agree on a warm, dry, resolving resin
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- joints · circulation · blood · nerves
- Unani
- nerves · uterus · stomach · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- lekhana (scrapes fat and ama), kapha-vata-hara, medohara (reduces fat and lipids), sandhaniya and shothahara (heals and reduces joint swelling), rasayana, and yogavahi (a carrier of other drugs)
- Western
- anti-inflammatory, hypolipidaemic (lowers cholesterol and triglycerides), antirheumatic, thyroid-stimulant, emmenagogue and antiseptic
- Unani
- muhallil-e-warm (resolves inflammation), mulattif (attenuant), mudirr (diuretic and emmenagogue), muqawwi-e-asab (nerve tonic) and mundamil (heals wounds)
Cautions
Contraindications: high pitta and acute inflammation with heat, bleeding disorders, kidney disease, pregnancy (an emmenagogue), and acute rashes; must be purified before use
Toxicity: unpurified resin causes gastric irritation, diarrhoea and skin rash; overdose brings headache, looseness and eruptions
Interactions
- Western
- anticoagulants: antiplatelet action adds to bleeding risk · thyroid medication: guggulsterones stimulate thyroid function, adding to therapy · CYP450-metabolised drugs: induces CYP enzymes and P-glycoprotein, lowering levels of drugs such as propranolol and diltiazem
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