Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Oak galls (Quercus infectoria), of the Fagaceae family. A small oak or shrub of the eastern Mediterranean bearing hard round galls on its twigs; native range: the eastern Mediterranean and the Levant to Persia — Greece, Syria, Kurdistan and Asia Minor. Globally recognized as mayaphala in Sanskrit, majuphal / maju in Hindi, mo shi zi (没食子) in Chinese, 'afs / mazu (عفص) in Arabic, and Aleppo galls, nutgalls, oak apples, dyer's galls in English. The part used is the gall — an excrescence induced by the wasp Cynips gallae-tinctoriae. Hard, heavy greyish or bluish-green spheres the size of a marble, warty and tuberculed, breaking to a pale interior and puckering the tongue with an intense, almost pure astringency.
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.
OAK GALLS
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Oak galls
- Scientific name
- Quercus infectoria G.Olivier
- Family
- Fagaceae
Form
- Part used
- the gall — an excrescence induced by the wasp Cynips gallae-tinctoriae
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- astringent · bitter
- Ayurveda
- astringent (kashaya)
- Western
- astringent · sour
- Unani
- astringent · bitter
Temperature
- TCM
- warm
- Ayurveda
- cooling
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- cold (& dry, 2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Large Intestine · Lung · Kidney
- Western
- bowels · intestines · mucous membranes · skin
- Unani
- intestines · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- astringes the intestines and stops chronic diarrhoea and dysentery, binds leakage and stops bleeding, and firms sores applied externally
- Ayurveda
- stambhana and kashaya (astringent, checks discharge and flux), grahi, vrana-shodhana-ropana (cleanses and heals wounds), and a strengthener of spongy gums
- Western
- a powerful astringent, styptic and antihaemorrhagic — internally for diarrhoea, externally for piles, prolapse, leucorrhoea and relaxed gums and throat; a chemical antidote (tannin precipitates alkaloids and metals)
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis-ud-dam (styptic), mujaffif (desiccant) and daf-e-ishaal (antidiarrhoeal)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and dry conditions; not to be taken with iron salts or alkaloidal medicines, which its tannin precipitates
- Toxicity
- the high tannin content astringes strongly — prolonged internal use irritates the stomach and impairs iron and protein absorption; large doses cause gastric upset
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