Witnessed by: Unani
Shaqaqul (Pastinaca secacul), of the Apiaceae family. Umbelliferous herb with a fleshy tap-root, divided leaves and an umbel of small flowers; native range: the eastern Mediterranean and the Levant, into Iran; the drug reaches India through the dried-drug trade. Globally recognized as shaqaqul · shaqaq-ul-misri in Arabic, shaqaqul in Persian, shaqaqul misri in Urdu, and shaqaqul · Eastern parsnip · skirret of the Arabs in English. The part used is the root. Pale, whitish, fleshy root-pieces, often split lengthwise and shrunken in drying, light and slightly spongy; faintly aromatic like a parsnip, the taste sweetish and mildly mucilaginous.
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.
SHAQAQUL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- shaqaqul
- Scientific name
- Pastinaca secacul Russell, the name the Unani record carries the drug under
- Family
- Apiaceae
Form
- Part used
- the root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Unani
- sweet · aromatic (parsnip-like)
Temperature
- Unani
- hot (1st degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- kidneys · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), mughalliz-e-mani (thickens the semen), muqawwi-e-badan (general restorative), muhallil-e-warm (resolves swelling), and mudirr-e-baul (diuretic)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- a weak, cold digestion that cannot handle its heavy sweetness; obesity
- Toxicity
- no toxicity is on record; it is close to a food
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