Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi), of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family. Erect feathery annual herb with finely divided leaves and compound umbels of tiny white flowers; native range: Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean; long cultivated across Iran, India and the Near East. Globally recognized as yavani / yamani / dipyaka in Sanskrit, ajwain in Hindi, nankhwah / kammun muluki in Arabic, and ajowan, bishop's weed, carom, ajwain caraway in English. The part used is fruit (the 'seed'). Tiny ridged greyish-brown ovoid fruits, caraway-like in shape; on crushing a pungent, hot, thyme-and-oregano scent from their thymol, with a sharp biting taste.
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.
AJWAIN
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Ajwain
- Scientific name
- Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague
- Family
- Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
Form
- Part used
- fruit (the 'seed')
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- pungent · bitter (katu, tikta)
- Western
- pungent · aromatic
- Unani
- pungent · aromatic
Temperature
Ayurveda: heating (ushna — tikshna)
Western: hot
Unani: hot (& dry, 3rd degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses read it fiercely hot — a penetrating carminative that dries damp and cold
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- digestion · stomach · lungs
- Unani
- stomach · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana (kindles and digests), vata-kapha-hara, shula-prashamana (antispasmodic), krimighna (anthelmintic), hikka-svasa-hara (relieves hiccup and cough)
- Western
- aromatic carminative, antispasmodic, antiseptic and antimicrobial (thymol), expectorant, stomachic
- Unani
- kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), hazim (digestive), mufatteh sudad (deobstruent), mudirr (emmenagogue and diuretic), daf-e-taffun (antiseptic)
Cautions
Contraindications: high pitta, hyperacidity and gastric ulcer, bleeding tendency; medicinal doses in pregnancy
Toxicity: the concentrated oil (thymol) is irritant and can be toxic in excess — burning, nausea, and mucosal irritation
Interactions
- Western
- anticoagulants: thymol may add a mild antiplatelet effect
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.