Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba), of the Rhamnaceae family. Spiny deciduous shrub or small tree with glossy leaves and zig-zag twigs; native range: Northern China and the temperate belt of Asia; long cultivated across China, India, the Near East and the Mediterranean. Globally recognized as badara / kola in Sanskrit, ber in Hindi, da zao (大棗) in Chinese, unnab (عناب) in Arabic, and Chinese date, red date in English. The part used is ripe fruit (dried). An oval drupe ripening from green to deep mahogany-red, its skin wrinkling as it dries; the pale flesh is sweet, mealy and date-like around a hard pointed stone.
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.
JUJUBE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Jujube
- Scientific name
- Ziziphus jujuba Mill.
- Family
- Rhamnaceae
Form
- Part used
- ripe fruit (dried)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet
- Ayurveda
- dominant: sweet (madhura) · then: sour (amla) · astringent (kashaya) in the unripe fruit
- Western
- sweet, mucilaginous
- Unani
- sweet
Temperature
- TCM
- warm
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita — the ripe fruit)
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- temperate (inclining to cold & moist)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Stomach · Heart
- Western
- lungs · stomach · blood
- Unani
- lungs · liver · heart · kidneys
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- tonifies Spleen and Stomach qi, nourishes the Blood, calms the spirit (an zhen) to quiet restlessness, and harmonises the other herbs and moderates harsh or drastic drugs
- Ayurveda
- brimhana (nourishing and bulk-giving), balya (strengthening), a demulcent for the throat and chest, and a mild laxative and blood-tonic
- Western
- demulcent, emollient, nutritive and pectoral; a soothing fruit for the chest and throat
- Unani
- munzij-e-dam (blood-corrector and purifier), mulaiyin (laxative emollient), muskin-e-hararat (allays heat) and a soothing pectoral for cough and hoarseness
Cautions
Contraindications: damp-heat, phlegm, bloating and fullness, and where there are parasites or dental caries; its cloying sweetness aggravates kapha and damp
Toxicity: a benign food with no significant toxicity
Interactions
- Western
- sedatives / CNS depressants: may add to sedative and spirit-calming effect in large medicinal dose
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