Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica), of the Combretaceae family. Large deciduous forest tree with a buttressed trunk; native range: the deciduous forests of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Globally recognized as bibhitaki / aksha in Sanskrit, bahera in Hindi, mao he zi (毛诃子) in Chinese, balela (بليلج) in Arabic, and belleric myrobalan, bastard myrobalan in English. The part used is ripe fruit (pericarp of the drupe). Ovoid grey-brown fruits with faint ridges and a velvety skin, of a dry, puckering astringency turning to a faint sweetness as it is chewed.
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.
BIBHITAKI
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Bibhitaki
- Scientific name
- Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb.
- Family
- Combretaceae
Form
- Part used
- ripe fruit (pericarp of the drupe)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- astringent · bitter
- Ayurveda
- astringent (kashaya)
- Western
- astringent · bitter
- Unani
- astringent
Temperature
- TCM
- neutral
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Western
- warm
- Unani
- cold & dry (1st–2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Large Intestine
- Western
- lungs · bowels · digestion · mucous membranes
- Unani
- stomach · brain · lungs · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- astringes the Lung and stops cough, and binds the intestines to check chronic diarrhoea
- Ayurveda
- kaphaghna, kasahara (antitussive), rasayana, anulomana (mild laxative), chakshushya (benefits the eyes), keshya (benefits the hair)
- Western
- astringent, tonic, mildly laxative and expectorant; a constituent of triphala
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), muqawwi-e-meda (stomach tonic), muqawwi-e-dimagh (brain tonic), and mild aperient in some preparations
Cautions
- Contraindications
- large doses in pregnancy, and in marked dryness, dehydration or emaciation, where its drying astringency is unsuitable
- Toxicity
- well tolerated as a food-grade fruit; excess is drying and, in quantity, laxative
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