Euphorbia thymifolia, Dudhi

Asthma plant, Pill-bearing Spurge, Small Euphorbia
Lesser variety (E. thymifolia):
–Thyme-leaved Euphorbia
–Dudhi, Chhoti Dudhi (Ayurveda)
–Thar nu (Tibetan)
–Sittrapaladi (Siddha)
–Dudhi Khurd (Unani)
–Shabram (Arabic)
Greater variety (E. hirta, E. pilulifera):
–Small Euphorbia
–Badi Dudhi (Ayurveda)
–Ammanptharisi (Siddha)
–Dudhi Kalan (Unani)
–Laban Maghrabi (Arabic)
–Da Fei Yang Cao (TCM)
E. prostrata:
–Dagdhika (Ayurveda)
 Picture Picture
Picture Euphorbia thymifolia
K.R. Kirtikar, B.D. Basu, Indian medicinal plants, Plates, vol. 5: t. 847 (1918)

Picture Euphorbia hirta
N.J. von Jacquin, Icones plantarum rariorum, vol. 3 (1786-1793)

Botanical name:


Euphorbia spp.
Two varieties supply Dudhi in Ayurveda:
  1. Lesser: E. thymifolia; E. pityusa is given as a source of Shabram in Avicenna’s Canon, Materia Medica.
  2. Greater: E. hirta (syn. E. pilulifera, E. pilulifera var. hirta)
In addition, E. prostrata is used synonymously in modern Ayurveda.

Parts used:


Whole plant with root; Latex

Temperature & Taste:


Warm/Cold, dry (Unani). Sweet, Salty, Pungent, Bitter
Unani Pharmacopoeia of India lists its temperature as both Hot and dry and Cold and dry.
Avicenna said the herb is warm, but the milky latex is Hot in the 4th degree.

Uses:


1. Clears Phlegm, Stops Cough and Wheezing:
-Cough; Spasmodic Cough; productive Cough in the Aged
-Breathlessness, Bronchial Asthma
-Emphysema (Unani)

2. Clears Heat, Stops Leakage:
-Acute Enteritis; Diarrhea, Dysentery (herb, seed)
-Bleeding from Heat including Bleeding Piles
-Diabetes (Unani)
-Leukorrhea (Unani)
-Gonorrhea

3. Purges Phlegm and Water:
-used as other Spurges to purge Phlegm, Damp and Water (herb, seed, latex)
-Damp skin diseases, weeping Eczema etc.
–Avicenna said it purges black bile, phlegm and water

4. Moves the Blood:
-Amenorrhea (root, Ayurveda)
-Lung or Breast Abscess
–‘It possesses the potency of opening the mouth of the vessels’ (Avicenna)

5. Kills Worms and Parasites:
-worms in Children (Ayurveda, Unani)

6. Promotes Milk:
-E. hirta is used to promote Breast Milk (others probably also) (TCM, Ayurveda)

7. Externally:
-Obstinate skin diseases, inc. Eczema, Ringworm, Foot Lichen etc. (Latex)
-topically to Fungal Infections
-Dandruff
-latex is applied to Boils, Abscesses
-‘The milk of spurge facilitates tooth extraction’. (Avicenna)


Dose:


1. Often given in Milk or Ghee
2. Avicenna said ‘The milk (latex) is absolutely of no use and probably nobody ever took it orally’.
E. thymifolia (Herb, root):
–1–3 grams (traditionally 1–2 drams);
–Decoction (1 in 40): 1–2 oz.
E. hirta:
–10–20 grams of the whole plant
–A teaspoonful of the powder (E. hirta) mixed with an equal amount of sugar taken twice daily treats Dysentery.
E. prostrata:
–3–5 grams in Decoction (UPI)

Correctives
1. Honey or Sugar
2. Milk or Ghee
3. Aniseed, Fennel (Avicenna)

Substitute:


1. E. pilulifera is regarded as the bigger variety and is used similarly.
2. E. prostrata is also used similarly.

Preparation:


1. In TCM, the Spurges are often prepared by soaking in Vinegar.
2. Avicenna had a preparation where Spurge was soaked in the juice of endive, fennel and garden-nightshade for three days. (See in the formulas below)

Main Combinations:


1. Asthma:
i. Euphorbia thymifolia with Sundew
ii. Euphorbia thymifolia with Lobelia and Grindelia
2. Edema: ‘taken orally for treating dropsy. For this purpose it should be soaked in the juice of endive, fennel and garden-nightshade for three days. This material on drying is used for making tablets with requisite quantities of Indian salt, turpeth, myrobalan and aloe. In this form it becomes most beneficial ‘. (Avicenna)
3. Colic, Euphorbia thymifolia with Gum Ammoniac, Bdellium, Sagapen (Avicenna)
4. Bleeding Piles, Euphorbia thymifolia with Solanum surattense, cooked in Ghee, for bleeding piles (Charaka)

Major Formulas:


Great Yellow Compound (Sman ser chen mo) (Tibetan)
Influenza Pills (Lo gyon ril bu) (Tibetan)
Pomegranate All Inclusive Pill (Se ‘bru kun ‘dus) (Tibetan)

Cautions:


1. Avoid overdose.
2. Avoid in Pregnancy and marked weakness.
3. Not used in Fever or Heat disease. May cause gastric irritation and Fever
4. Avicenna said the ancient physicians noted its harmful effect of libido and semen formation.

Main Preparations used:


Extract, Dried Juice