Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western
Gymnema (Gymnema sylvestre), of the Apocynaceae (formerly Asclepiadaceae) family. Woody, twining perennial climber with softly hairy stems and milky sap; native range: Dry deciduous forests of central and peninsular India, tropical Africa and Australia; climbs through scrub and hedgerow. Globally recognized as meshashringi (मेषशृंगी, 'ram's horn') in Sanskrit, gurmar ('sugar-destroyer'), merasingi in Hindi, chi geng teng (匙羹藤) in Chinese, and gymnema, Australian cowplant, periploca of the woods in English. The part used is leaf (chiefly); also root. Ovate, downy leaves, faintly bitter and astringent at first; then the strange gift of gymnemic acid, which numbs the sweet taste and leaves plain sugar tasting of grit.
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.
GYMNEMA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Gymnema
- Scientific name
- Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) R.Br. ex Sm.
- Family
- Apocynaceae (formerly Asclepiadaceae)
Form
- Part used
- leaf (chiefly); also root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter
- Ayurveda
- dominant: bitter (tikta) · astringent (kashaya) · with: pungent (katu)
- Western
- bitter · astringent
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Western
- cool (dry, cooling to a damp-heat constitution)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Stomach
- Western
- digestion · blood
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat and resolves toxicity, dispels wind and stops pain, reduces swelling; folk use to check wasting-thirst (xiaoke)
- Ayurveda
- kapha-medas-hara, mutrala (diuretic), a foremost drug for prameha/madhumeha; kaphaghna in cough and sluggish digestion
- Western
- hypoglycaemic, antidiabetic, astringent, bitter digestive; blunts sugar craving and sweet appetite
Cautions
Contraindications: hypoglycaemia and low blood sugar; caution with insulin or oral hypoglycaemics; pregnancy and lactation for want of data
Toxicity: low toxicity in customary doses; excess may drive blood sugar too low
Interactions
- Western
- antidiabetic agents: additive blood-sugar lowering; may require downward dose adjustment of insulin or sulphonylureas
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