CautionAfrica · Food · № 360
Bottle gourd
Lagenaria siceraria
Young fruits are eaten as a mild, easily digestible vegetable. Medical claims, for example about the heart or peace of mind, have not been studied.
Local African healing traditions+2
Tradition in Asia
Ayurveda
South Asia; classical texts formed over centuries
History
Ayurveda literally means “knowledge of life”: āyus is life, veda is knowledge. Its roots lie deep in the history of South Asia. The Vedic texts, especially the Atharvaveda, already mention medicinal plants and charms against disease, but a coherent medical system only takes shape later.
That system took form in three classical works known together as the Bṛhat Trayī, “the great three”: the Charaka Samhita, on internal medicine, the Sushruta Samhita, on surgery, and Vagbhata’s Ashtanga Hridaya. The first two grew over centuries and reached their present form roughly between a few centuries before and a few centuries after the beginning of the Common Era. Around the seventh century Vagbhata summarised both. Traditional datings are often much earlier; historians keep to these more cautious estimates.
Ayurveda never stood alone. It influenced Tibetan Sowa Rigpa and met Unani, the Greco-Arabic medicine that came to India with Muslim rulers. Under British colonial rule Western medicine became the official standard. From the late nineteenth century Indian reformers rebuilt Ayurveda, with their own colleges, pharmacies and standardised remedies. That is why today’s Ayurveda looks different in many ways from classical practice.
Key ideas
According to classical teaching, everything is made up of five great elements (pañcamahābhūta): space, air, fire, water and earth. In the body they work as three doshas. Vata stands for movement and arises from air and space. Pitta stands for transformation and heat, from fire and water. Kapha gives structure and cohesion, from water and earth.
Every person is born with their own balance of the doshas, the prakriti. Health means that the doshas are in balance, that the digestive fire (agni) works well, that the body tissues (dhātu) are healthy and wastes (mala) are properly eliminated, and that the mind is clear. According to this teaching, illness often begins with a disturbed agni and the build-up of undigested residue (āma).
Treatment follows the same logic. Foods and herbs are chosen by their taste (rasa, of which there are six), their potency, warming or cooling (vīrya), and their post-digestive effect (vipāka). A good daily routine (dinacharya) and moving with the seasons (ritucharya) weigh as heavily as the remedies themselves. Classical Ayurveda has eight branches, from internal medicine and surgery to paediatrics, toxicology and rejuvenation (rasāyana).
Knowledge and its transmission
An Ayurvedic physician is called a vaidya. For centuries knowledge passed from teacher to pupil, in the guru-shishya-parampara, often within families. Pupils learned the classical verses by heart and watched their teacher at work.
Alongside this learned tradition there was, and still is, a broad body of folk knowledge: home remedies, kitchen herbs and local healers without classical training who are nevertheless deeply rooted in their region.
Today Indian universities train students for the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), a course of more than five years including an internship. Since 2014 India’s Ministry of AYUSH has overseen education, research and regulation for Ayurveda and other traditional systems of care.
Texts and figures
The Charaka Samhita is the great text on internal medicine. In eight sections and 120 chapters it covers diagnosis, diet, treatment and also the ethics of the physician. It places great emphasis on reasoning and on examining the patient carefully.
The Sushruta Samhita is best known for its surgery. It describes instruments, wound care and operations, including reconstructions of the nose that much later also drew attention in Europe. It also contains extensive plant knowledge.
Vagbhata’s Ashtanga Hridaya summarises the earlier works in verse and is still widely used in teaching today, especially in Kerala. Later works built on this foundation. The sixteenth-century Bhavaprakasha, for example, also describes diseases and plants that had come to India with European traders.
Today
In India Ayurveda is a recognised system of care alongside conventional medicine, with its own hospitals, clinics and a large pharmaceutical industry. It also has a place in healthcare in Nepal and Sri Lanka. Kerala is known for its treatment traditions, such as the cleansing cure panchakarma.
Since 2022 the World Health Organization has had its Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, in the Indian state of Gujarat, set up with support from the Indian government. Outside Asia most people know Ayurveda as a lifestyle or wellness approach. In many Western countries, including the United States, it is not a regulated profession.
Well-designed scientific research is scarce. There is modest evidence of benefit for osteoarthritis, among other things, but for most uses solid evidence is lacking.
Nature in the tradition
Plants make up most of the Ayurvedic pharmacy. Minerals, metals and animal products also occur, especially in the later rasashastra: the alchemical branch that processes metals into so-called bhasmas.
Well-known plants are turmeric (haridra), tulsi or holy basil, ashwagandha, ginger, neem and guduchi, and the three fruits of triphala: amalaki, bibhitaki and haritaki. A plant is rarely used on its own. Formulas combine several remedies, often with honey, ghee or milk as a carrier (anupāna), which is said to steer the effect.
In Ayurveda food is a medicine in itself. Kitchari, rice cooked with mung beans and spices, spiced milk and ghee belong to daily care. What is good depends on a person’s prakriti, on the season and even on the time of day.
Approaching it with respect
Ayurveda is a living system of knowledge with religious and philosophical roots in South Asia, not a collection of wellness products. Its concepts have a precise meaning; a “dosha test” in a magazine does the tradition no justice.
Be practically careful, too. Some Ayurvedic products, especially from the metal-processing tradition, can contain lead, mercury or arsenic. In a 2015 American study, 40 percent of users had raised blood lead levels. Buy only from reliable suppliers and consult a doctor, especially during pregnancy, breastfeeding or when taking medication.
From the kitchen
Recipes from this tradition
AsiaHaldi doodh, warm turmeric milkMilk with turmeric and spices: in Indian households a familiar drink before bed or with a cold.Rest and sleepColdsTurmeric · Black pepper and long pepper · Ginger1 large mug · 10 minutes
Miansari66 · CC0AsiaGulkand, rose petal preserveRose petals and sugar that ripen together in the sun into a fragrant, sweet paste.Hot daysRose and rose hipA jar of about 300 g · 30 minutes, plus 2–3 weeks ripening
Registry
Herbs in this tradition
- Caution
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 462
Velvet leaf
Cissampelos pareira
Traditionally attributed effects: mildly stomachic, bitter tonic, diuretic, dissolves stones, astringent; for intestinal complaints, indigestion, diarrhoea, prolapsed uterus, internal inflammation, urinary tract diseases, purifies the blood in skin diseases.
Herbal knowledge of the Caribbean+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 528
Velvet bean
Mucuna pruriens
Traditionally attributed effects: seeds astringent, expel worms, strengthen the nerves, aphrodisiac; root tonic, stimulating, diuretic, laxative; for nervous diseases (paralysis), kidney diseases, oedema, elephantiasis, leucorrhoea, heavy menstruation, seminal loss.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 119
Galangal
Alpinia galanga
A relative of ginger traditionally used for nausea, wind and sluggish digestion. Clinical evidence is limited.
Ayurveda+6
CautionAsia · Herb · № 503
Gmelina
Gmelina arborea
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, stomachic, bitter tonic, cooling, laxative, promotes milk flow; fruit in cooling decoctions for fever and bile complaints, headache, fever and indigestion; to prevent miscarriage.
Ayurveda
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 433
Yellow bauhinia
Bauhinia tomentosa
Traditionally attributed effects: against dysentery, expels worms; fruit diuretic; seeds tonic and aphrodisiac; for hepatitis, dysentery, tumours and wounds, snake bites.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 468
Golden colchicum
Colchicum luteum
Traditionally attributed effects: cleansing, carminative, laxative, aphrodisiac; for gout, rheumatism, liver and spleen diseases; externally against inflammation and pain.
Ayurveda+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 1
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
Traditionally used for nausea and digestive discomfort; it has a warming flavor.
Ayurveda+6Folklore
CautionAsia · Food · № 269
Barley
Hordeum vulgare
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, light; good for skin and hair.
Ayurveda+4Folklore- CautionAyurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 472
Poison bulb
Crinum defixum
Traditionally attributed effects: emetic, induces sweating, laxative; leaves for whitlow, inflamed toes and fingers, joints and sprains; leaf juice for ear complaints; bulb for bile complaints, urinary complaints and rheumatism.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 556
East Indian globe thistle
Sphaeranthus indicus
Traditionally attributed effects: bitter, tonic, stomachic, stimulating, cleansing; for bile complaints, tumours, worms, skin diseases (purifies the blood), bleeding haemorrhoids, syphilis, urethral discharge, conjunctivitis.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Food · № 343
Pomegranate
Punica granatum
Traditionally attributed effects: root and stem bark astringent and strongly expel tapeworm; flowers and peel astringent and stomachic; juice cooling.
Ayurveda+3
CautionAsia · Herb · № 344
Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
Traditionally attributed effects: aromatic, pungent, strengthens the heart, stomachic, laxative, diuretic, carminative; for asthma, bronchitis, haemorrhoids, bladder complaints, flatulence, cramps from laxatives, dizziness, indigestion, vomiting.
Ayurveda+2
CautionAsia · Herb · № 144
Guduchi (giloy)
Tinospora cordifolia
In Ayurveda a rejuvenating remedy (rasayana) for fevers and the immune system. Studies are small; it has no proven effect against infections.
Ayurveda+2
CautionAsia · Herb · № 142
Guggul
Commiphora wightii (syn. C. mukul)
The resin is used in Ayurveda for joint complaints, overweight and high cholesterol. A US study found no reduction in cholesterol; LDL even rose slightly.
Ayurveda+2
CautionAsia · Herb · № 505
Gulsakri
Grewia hirsuta
Traditionally attributed effects: fever-reducing, diuretic, expectorant, antiviral; fruit for diarrhoea and dysentery, wound healing, heart disease, seminal loss and leucorrhoea.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 486
Gurjun balsam
Dipterocarpus indicus
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, diuretic, cleansing; for chronic bronchitis, gonorrhoea, leucorrhoea, vaginal discharge, leprosy and skin diseases.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 506
Gymnema
Gymnema sylvestre
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, stomachic, tonic, cooling, diuretic, lowers blood sugar (suppresses sweet taste); for diabetes and sugar in the urine, snake bites, fever, cough, swollen glands.
Ayurveda+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 139
Haritaki and triphala
Terminalia chebula
Haritaki is used in Ayurveda as a rejuvenating remedy and gentle laxative. Triphala, a blend of three fruits, is the best-known Ayurvedic formula for digestion. Clinical research is limited.
Ayurveda+3
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 536
Syrian rue
Peganum harmala
Traditionally attributed effects: cleansing, antipyretic, stimulating, promotes menstruation; against tapeworm, intermittent fever and chronic malaria, pain-relieving in asthma, colic, jaundice; promotes milk and menstruation; gargle for sore throat; against head lice.
Local African healing traditions+2
CautionEurope · Food · № 66
Oats
Avena sativa
Oat flakes provide beta-glucan, a fibre that according to approved health claims can help maintain normal cholesterol. Oatmeal is also used in baths for dry, itchy skin. Its traditional role as a nerve tonic is unproven.
Western herbal medicine+1
CautionEurope · Herb · № 59
Marshmallow
Althaea officinalis
Root and leaf are rich in mucilage that forms a soothing layer; used for dry coughs, throat irritation and an irritated stomach. Evidence is modest.
Greco-Roman medicine+3Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 498
Sacred fig
Ficus religiosa
Traditionally attributed effects: bark cooling, astringent, lowers blood sugar; for gonorrhoea, ulcers, skin diseases, scabies, hiccups, nausea; milky sap with milk aphrodisiac; oil for eczema, leprosy, rheumatism; fruit laxative.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 438
Himalayan birch
Betula utilis
Traditionally attributed effects: antiseptic, carminative; for washing wounds and ulcers, skin diseases, hysteria.
Ayurveda- Caution
Asia · Herb · № 415
Himalayan angelica
Angelica glauca
Traditionally attributed effects: strengthens the heart, stimulating; for flatulence, constipation and indigestion.
Ayurveda+1 
CautionAsia · Herb · № 541
Himalayan cherry
Prunus puddum
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent; fruit sour and astringent, stone for kidney stones and gravel.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 564
Himalayan meadow rue
Thalictrum foliolosum
Traditionally attributed effects: tonic, mildly laxative, laxative, diuretic, fever-reducing; for chronic indigestion, recovery after illness, eye inflammation, jaundice, flatulence, colds (snuff), toothache, conjunctivitis and keratitis.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 393
Himalayan silver fir
Abies spectabilis
Traditionally attributed effects: carminative, stomachic, tonic, astringent, antispasmodic, expectorant; for cough, asthma, chronic bronchitis, lung conditions and bladder catarrh; for an enlarged spleen.
Ayurveda
CautionAsia · Herb · № 457
Deodar
Cedrus deodara
Traditionally attributed effects: wood carminative, induces sweating and urination; bark strongly astringent and fever-reducing; for fever, diarrhoea and dysentery, lung and urinary complaints, rheumatism, haemorrhoids, kidney stones; oil for skin diseases and ulcers.
Ayurveda+1
CautionAsia · Food · № 518
Ridged gourd
Luffa acutangula
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, diuretic, bitter tonic, nourishing, expectorant, lowers blood sugar; seeds emetic and laxative; for enlarged spleen, dysentery; leaves on ulcers, ringworm, haemorrhoids, leprosy, insect and snake bites.
Ayurveda
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 480
Bermuda grass
Cynodon dactylon
Traditionally attributed effects: soothing, astringent, diuretic, stops bleeding, mildly laxative; for oedema, blood in the urine, vomiting, chronic diarrhoea, hysteria, bleeding haemorrhoids, bladder irritation, bladder stones, gout and rheumatism.
Ayurveda
CautionEurope · Herb · № 78
Hyssop
Hyssopus officinalis
Traditionally used for coughs, colds and congestion. Clinical evidence is lacking.
Western herbal medicine+2Folklore
CautionAsia · Herb · № 524
Ceylon ironwood
Mesua ferrea
Traditionally attributed effects: blossoms, root and bark bitter, aromatic, induce sweating; dried flowers astringent, stomachic, carminative; for heavy colds, gastritis, bronchitis, vomiting, dysentery, thirst, excessive sweating, bleeding haemorrhoids.
Ayurveda+1
CautionAsia · Herb · № 461
Indian bay leaf
Cinnamomum tamala
Traditionally attributed effects: carminative, stimulating, diuretic and sudorific, decongestant, promotes milk flow; for lack of appetite, bladder complaints, dry mouth, colds, diarrhoea, nausea, indigestion, flatulence, vomiting.
Ayurveda+2- Caution
Asia · Herb · № 427
Indian belladonna
Atropa acuminata
Traditionally attributed effects: narcotic, calming, diuretic, antispasmodic, dilates the pupils, pain-relieving; antidote in opium and mushroom poisoning, smoked for cramps, externally for rheumatism, nerve pain and lumbago.
Ayurveda