Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Green vitriol (ferrous sulphate) (Melanterite), of the sulfate mineral family. Pale bluish-green monoclinic crystals and crusts, effloresing and oxidising to a yellow-brown ochreous powder in air; native range: a secondary mineral efflorescing on weathering pyrite, in mine workings and on pyritic shales; the commercial salt is made by acting on iron with sulfuric acid. Globally recognized as kasisa in Sanskrit, hira kasis, kasis in Hindi, hira kasis, zaj in Arabic/Urdu, and green vitriol, copperas, melanterite in English. The part used is the purified salt, and its calcined form. A pale green, glassy salt, freely soluble, with a sharply metallic, styptic, inky taste; on standing in air it dulls, yellows and crumbles.
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.
GREEN VITRIOL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- green vitriol (ferrous sulphate)
- Scientific name
- Melanterite (hydrated iron(II) sulfate, FeSO₄·7H₂O)
- Family
- sulfate mineral
Form
- Part used
- the purified salt, and its calcined form
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- astringent (kashaya) · sour (amla)
- Unani
- astringent · sour
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · liver · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- keshya (blackens and strengthens the hair), lekhana, krimighna, kushthaghna, garbhashaya-sankochaka (contracts the womb), kaphavatahara, pandughna
- Unani
- habis (styptic and astringent), mujaffif (desiccant), jali (detergent), qatil-e-kirm (kills worms), musawwid-e-sha'r (blackens the hair)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy — the classical texts hold it to contract the womb; gastric ulceration and hyperacidity; the raw salt is never given unpurified
- Toxicity
- an irritant iron salt — it blackens the teeth and stools, and in overdose burns the stomach and causes vomiting, bloody purging and, in children especially, the acute iron poisoning that damages the liver. Iron overload follows prolonged use.
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