Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Elder (Sambucus nigra), of the Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae) family. Shrub or small tree with pithy stems and flat creamy flower-heads; native range: Europe, North Africa and western Asia in hedgerow and waste ground. Globally recognized as khaman (خمان) in Arabic, and black elder, common elder, European elder, elderflower and elderberry in English. The part used is flower and ripe berry. Frothy cream corymbs of muscat-sweet, faintly bitter blossom giving way to hanging trusses of glossy purple-black berries, sweet-sour and staining.
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.
ELDER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Elder
- Scientific name
- Sambucus nigra L.
- Family
- Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae)
Form
- Part used
- flower and ripe berry
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- aromatic · bitter · sweet · sour (flowers aromatic and slightly bitter, ripe berries sweet-sour)
- Unani
- bitter · acrid · aromatic
Temperature
- Western
- cool (relaxing, gently drying)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- lungs · mucous membranes · skin · circulation
- Unani
- joints · kidneys · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- diaphoretic and febrifuge, anti-catarrhal, expectorant, gentle laxative and diuretic (the berries)
- Unani
- muhallil (resolvent), mudir (diuretic), jali (detergent) and mus-hil (purgative in the bark)
Cautions
Contraindications: the raw berry, bark, leaf and root in quantity (emetic and purgative); pregnancy for the bark
Toxicity: raw berries, leaves and bark carry cyanogenic and purgative principles causing nausea and vomiting — berries must be cooked
Interactions
- Western
- antidiabetic agents: berry constituents add to glucose lowering · diuretics: additive fluid loss
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