Witnessed by: Ayurveda
African eggplant (Solanum anguivi), of the Solanaceae family. Prickly perennial undershrub with stellate hairs and small round berries; native range: tropical Africa and Asia, common on wasteland throughout India. Globally recognized as brihati · mahati · kshudrabhanta in Sanskrit, barhanta · birhatta in Hindi, and African eggplant · Indian nightshade in English. The part used is root, fruit. Spiny grey-green stems, bitter pungent roots, and small yellow-ripening berries.
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.
AFRICAN EGGPLANT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- African eggplant
- Scientific name
- Solanum anguivi Lam.
- Family
- Solanaceae
Form
- Part used
- root, fruit
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter · pungent (tikta , katu)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana (kindles and digests), kaphavata-hara, shwasahara (relieves breathlessness), kasahara (relieves cough), shothahara
Cautions
- Contraindications
- the hot penetrating root avoided in high pitta, bleeding and acidity
- Toxicity
- a nightshade; the unripe berries are irritant in quantity
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