Witnessed by: Ayurveda
Jivanti (Leptadenia reticulata), of the Apocynaceae family. Much-branched twining shrub with corky stems, small leaves and pale greenish-yellow flowers; native range: dry scrub and hedgerows across the Indian subcontinent, in the Deccan and the sub-Himalaya. Globally recognized as jivanti in Sanskrit, dodi, jivanti in Hindi, and jivanti, cork swallow-wort in English. The part used is whole plant, root. Slender corky stems and thin leaves, faintly sweet and mucilaginous, cooling and reviving on the tongue.
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.
JIVANTI
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- jivanti
- Scientific name
- Leptadenia reticulata (Retz.) Wight & Arn.
- Family
- Apocynaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole plant, root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet (madhura)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita virya)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- life-sustaining rejuvenative, restores strength in wasting, aphrodisiac (vrishya), promotes breast-milk (stanya), soothes the eyes, cools and nourishes
Cautions
- Contraindications
- well tolerated; being building and cooling, used sparingly in heavy kapha and sluggish digestion
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