Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Unani
Borneol camphor (Dryobalanops aromatica), of the Dipterocarpaceae family. A great buttressed rainforest tree yielding solid camphor in fissures of its trunk; native range: the giant camphor trees of Sumatra and Borneo (Baros). Globally recognized as karpura / bhimseni karpura in Sanskrit, bhimseni kapur / barus kapur in Hindi, bing pian (冰片) / long nao (龍腦) in Chinese, kafur-e-baroos (كافور بارّوسي) in Arabic, and borneol camphor, Baros camphor, dragon-brain camphor in English. The part used is crystalline exudate (borneol). Translucent white flakes and crystals with a piercing cool, minty-camphor scent that numbs the tongue and vanishes in the air.
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.
BORNEOL CAMPHOR
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Borneol camphor
- Scientific name
- Dryobalanops aromatica Gaertn.f.
- Family
- Dipterocarpaceae
Form
- Part used
- crystalline exudate (borneol)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent · bitter
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta)
- Unani
- pungent · bitter
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita)
- Unani
- cold (& dry, 3rd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart · Spleen · Lung
- Unani
- heart · brain · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- aromatically opens the orifices and revives the spirit, clears heat and relieves pain, dispels turbidity — for throat, eyes and sores externally
- Ayurveda
- hridya (cardiac), medhya (revives the mind), vishaghna (antidote), kaphapitta-hara, deepana in small dose, refrigerant and aromatic
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic), musakkin (sedative), mubarrid (refrigerant), habis (styptic), daf-e-taffun (antiseptic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy; deficiency and collapse-type unconsciousness without heat; internal use only in tiny doses
- Toxicity
- irritant and, in excess, a convulsant poison — dizziness, vomiting and seizures on overdose; keep the dose minute
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