Witnessed by: TCM · Unani
Chinaberry (Melia toosendan), of the Meliaceae family. Deciduous tree with pinnate leaves and lilac panicles; native range: China (notably Sichuan) and temperate East Asia; the closely allied Melia azedarach spread across South Asia, Persia and the Mediterranean. Globally recognized as chuan lian zi (川楝子); ku lian (苦楝) in Chinese, bakayan (بکاین) in Urdu, zanzalakht (زنزلخت) in Arabic, and Persian lilac, bead tree, China tree, Sichuan chinaberry, pride of India in English. The part used is ripe fruit (chuan lian zi); also stem- and root-bark and leaf. Round yellow drupes drying to hard wrinkled brown balls, the pulp intensely bitter; the whole plant slightly toxic.
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.
CHINABERRY
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Chinaberry
- Scientific name
- Melia toosendan Siebold & Zucc.
- Family
- Meliaceae
Form
- Part used
- ripe fruit (chuan lian zi); also stem- and root-bark and leaf
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter
- Unani
- bitter · acrid
Temperature
- TCM
- cold (with slight toxicity)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Stomach · Small Intestine · Bladder
- Unani
- skin · intestines · liver · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- courses Liver qi and stops pain, drains heat, kills parasites and expels dampness (topically for tinea)
- Unani
- musakkin-e-hararat (antipyretic), daf-e-deedan (anthelmintic), jali (detergent), mohallil (resolvent)
Cautions
Contraindications: cold from spleen–stomach deficiency (its cold nature harms the middle); pregnancy; not for prolonged or high dosing
Toxicity: slightly toxic; overdose (toosendanin) causes nausea, vomiting, dizziness and, in large amounts, hepatotoxicity and respiratory depression — historic fatalities on overdose
Interactions
- TCM
- hepatotoxic drugs: additive liver injury from toosendanin in overdose
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