Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Gum arabic tree (Vachellia nilotica), of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family. Thorny medium tree with dark fissured bark, feathery bipinnate leaves and golden flower-balls; native range: Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, on dry plains and riverbanks. Globally recognized as babbula in Sanskrit, babul, kikar in Hindi, aqaqia, qaraz in Arabic, and babul, Egyptian thorn, prickly acacia, gonakie in English. The part used is bark, gum, pods and flowers. Hard fissured bark and necklace-like pods, intensely astringent and mouth-puckering, with a sweetish gum weeping from the trunk.
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.
GUM ARABIC TREE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Gum arabic tree
- Scientific name
- Vachellia nilotica (L.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Form
- Part used
- bark, gum, pods and flowers
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- astringent · bitter (kashaya, kashaya-tikta)
- Unani
- astringent · sour (qabiz, mouth-puckering)
Temperature
Ayurveda: cooling (sheeta)
Unani: cold (and dry, 2nd degree)
convergence: both traditions ({witness_count}) read it cold and drying, a firm astringent
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · intestines · uterus · blood · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- kashaya and stambhana (astringent, arresting), grahi (absorbent), vrana-ropana (wound healing), dantya (for the teeth)
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis-ud-dam (styptic), mughalliz (thickening), musakkin (soothing)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and marked vata dryness, and states of blocked bowel
- Toxicity
- very low; excess astringency may bind the stool and dry the passages
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