Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Psyllium (Plantago ovata), of the Plantaginaceae family. A small stemless annual herb with narrow woolly leaves and slender spikes; native range: The dry lands of the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, Iran and north-west India, where it is a major field crop. Globally recognized as ashwagola / snigdhajira in Sanskrit, isabgol in Hindi, bazr qatuna (بزر قطونا); ispaghol in Arabic, and ispaghula, blond psyllium, flea seed in English. The part used is the seed and its husk (the mucilaginous testa). Tiny boat-shaped pinkish-grey seeds coated in a thin translucent husk that is all but tasteless; dropped in water it swells within minutes to a bland, slippery, colourless mucilage many times its bulk.
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.
PSYLLIUM
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- psyllium
- Scientific name
- Plantago ovata Forssk.
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
Form
- Part used
- the seed and its husk (the mucilaginous testa)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- dominant: sweet (madhura) · astringent (kashaya)
- Western
- mucilaginous · bland · sweet
- Unani
- bland · sweet
Temperature
Ayurveda: cooling (sheeta)
Western: cool
Unani: cold & moist (2nd degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses agree on a cooling, moistening, soothing seed
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- intestines · bowels · bladder · mucous membranes
- Unani
- intestines · stomach · kidneys · bladder
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- grahi and stambhana (binding, in flux) yet also anulomana (a gentle laxative bulk), sheetala and pittahara, and soothing to the mucosa — a dual-acting demulcent
- Western
- demulcent, emollient, a bulk laxative and, in flux, a mild astringent — soothing to inflamed mucous membranes
- Unani
- mulaiyin (laxative), mubarrid (refrigerant) and murattib (moistener); qabiz (binding) in dysentery, and a demulcent for heat and rawness
Cautions
Contraindications: intestinal obstruction, stricture or narrowing, and difficulty swallowing; must always be taken with ample water
Toxicity: harmless in itself, but taken with too little fluid it can swell and lodge, choking the throat or blocking the gut; separate it from other oral medicines by an hour or two
Interactions
- Western
- cardiac glycosides: the mucilage binds and delays absorption, lowering the serum level of digoxin taken at the same time · antidiabetic agents: slows carbohydrate absorption and adds to glucose lowering, while also delaying uptake of drugs swallowed together
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