Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), of the Fabaceae (Caesalpiniaceae) family. Large long-lived evergreen tree with feathery leaves and pendulous curved pods; native range: tropical Africa, carried in earliest times to India and thence across the tropics. Globally recognized as amlika / chincha in Sanskrit, imli in Hindi, tamr hindi (تمر هندي) in Arabic, and tamarind, Indian date in English. The part used is fruit pulp; also leaf and seed. A sticky red-brown pulp about hard shiny seeds, drawn from brittle pods, with a keen fruity-sour, slightly sweet taste that waters the mouth.
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.
TAMARIND
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Tamarind
- Scientific name
- Tamarindus indica L.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Caesalpiniaceae)
Form
- Part used
- fruit pulp; also leaf and seed
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- dominant: sour (amla) · the ripe fruit also: sweet (madhura) · astringent (kashaya)
- Western
- sour · sweet
- Unani
- sour
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna — the sour fruit)
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- cold & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- stomach · bowels · liver · blood
- Unani
- stomach · liver · intestines · heart
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- dipana (kindles digestion), anulomana (the ripe pulp loosens the bowel), hridya, vata-kaphahara; pittavardhaka
- Western
- refrigerant, mild laxative, antiscorbutic and febrifuge; a cooling, thirst-quenching drink in fevers
- Unani
- musakkin-e-safra (cools bile), mulaiyin (laxative), muqawwi-e-meda (stomachic), daf-e-atash (allays thirst), qabiz in the unripe
Cautions
Contraindications: high pitta, acidity and burning, bleeding disorders and hyperacid ulcers; sensitive teeth
Toxicity: the strong acid may erode tooth enamel and aggravate acidity and reflux in excess
Interactions
- Western
- antiplatelet agents: tamarind raises the blood level and effect of aspirin and ibuprofen taken with it
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