Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
White mustard (Sinapis alba), of the Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) family. Bristly annual herb with yellow crucifer flowers and pods of pale round seed; native range: the Mediterranean basin; naturalised and cultivated across the temperate world. Globally recognized as gaura sarshapa / siddhartha in Sanskrit, safed rai in Hindi, bai jie zi (白芥子) in Chinese, khardal abyad (خردل أبيض) in Arabic, and yellow mustard, salad mustard in English. The part used is ripe seed. Hard straw-coloured seeds, all but tasteless whole; ground and wetted they wake to a slow, spreading, biting heat that reddens and stings the skin.
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.
WHITE MUSTARD
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- White mustard
- Scientific name
- Sinapis alba L.
- Family
- Brassicaceae (Cruciferae)
Form
- Part used
- ripe seed
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu)
- Western
- pungent · acrid
- Unani
- pungent · acrid
Temperature
- TCM
- warm
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna, tikshna)
- Western
- hot
- Unani
- hot & dry (3rd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung
- Western
- lungs · circulation · skin · joints
- Unani
- lungs · brain · nerves
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- warms the Lung and expels cold phlegm, regulates qi, disperses nodules and reduces swelling, unblocks the collaterals and relieves pain
- Ayurveda
- kapha-vata-hara, kaphaghna, deepana, ushna-tikshna rubefacient
- Western
- rubefacient, counter-irritant, stimulant, emetic in large dose, and a condiment
- Unani
- muharrik (stimulant), jali (detergent), muhallil (resolvent); a strong purge and emetic in quantity
Cautions
- Contraindications
- yin deficiency with heat, dry cough from heat, and inflamed or broken skin; internal use with caution in gastritis and ulcer
- Toxicity
- left on the skin the plaster blisters and burns; large internal doses irritate the gut and provoke vomiting, and the concentrated volatile oil is a dangerous irritant
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