Myrobalan, Belleric

Bibhitaki (Ayurveda)
Thandrikkai , Tanrikkay (Siddha)
Bahera (Unani)
Ba Ru Ra བ་རུ་ར (Tibetan)
Mao He Zi 毛诃子 (TCM)

Belleric Myrobalan
Illustrations of Indian Botany, Wight, 1840

Chebulic, Emblic, Belleric, Citrine (Yellow) and Indian (Black) Myrobalan
A Complete History of Drugs, Pomet, London, 1748

1. Yellow (Citrine) Myrobalan
2. Black (Indian, Nigrum) Myroabalan
3. Chebulic Myrobalan
4. Emblic Myrobalan
5. Belleric Myrobalan
Krauterbuch, Lonitzer, 1578

Left to Right: Yellow Myrobalan, Chebulic Myrobalan, Belleric Myrobalan, Emblic Myrobalan (stoned), Black Myrobalan (Adam, 2017)

Botanical name:

Terminalia bellerica

Parts used:

Fruits, stoned
Belleric should be smooth, oval or almost round, yellowish, less angled or cornered than other Myrobalans

Temperature & Taste:

Warm, dry. Sweet, Sour

Classifications:

2O. ASTRINGENT. 2S. STRENGTHENING
3D. CORDIALS & CARDIACS
4c. CARDIAC

Uses:

1. Clears Phlegm:
-primary medicine for Phlegm disorders and Phlegm constitutions
-can be used for Phlegm congestion anywhere in the body
-Cough, Asthma, Bronchitis
-Sore Throat, Hoarseness, Dyspnoea and Allergies

2. Astringes to Stop Leakage:
-Diarrhea; also Nocturnal Emission.
-atony, prolapse, catarrh or hemorrhages.
-good for vomiting of Pregnancy.

3. Clears Heat and Toxin:
-Febrile diseases (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
-Heat-toxin skin diseases including Impetigo

4. Nourishes Blood, Benefits Qi:
-strengthening tonic
-debility during convalescence (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)

5. Clears Damp, Breaks Stones:
-calculi of the Gall Bladder and Urinary Bladders.

6. Externally:
-decoction is used as an eyewash for numerous eye disorders.
-fresh fruit pulp is applied to corneal ulcers.
-the oil from the seeds is used topically for leukoderma and skin diseases.
-the kernel is used topically for inflammation and pain.
-decoction is used as a wash to stop falling of the Hair; if the powder is applied after, it makes the hair blacker (Pemell)

Dose:

Decoction: 3–9 grams;
Powder: 1–3 grams; with Honey to clear Phlegm

Substitutes:

1. Chebulic Myrobalan;
2. Emblic Myrobalan (Unani);
3. Melia Toosendan (Buryat region)

Correctives:

1. Sugar
2. Honey
3. See Chebula for general correctives for the Myrobalans.

Preparation:

1. In Unani medicine, Belleric Myrobalan is sometimes soaked in milk, then dried. This corrects its excess dryness and is called Shiramulaj. Mixing the powder with Almond oil or Ghee also corrects the dryness.
2. In some western formulas, it is infused in Quince juice and toasted (Nicholas Florentini)

Comment:

1. The Myrobalans are some of the important medicines in all Traditional Medicine systems except TCM where only Chebulic Myrobalan is used, and that, sparingly. The special thing about these fruits is that they are regulators, and when used together, they can balance and regulate the Humors. Each has a regulatory effect on one of the Humors: Chebula for Wind; Emblic and Yellow Myrobalan for Blood and Bile; Belleric for Phlegm; Black Myrobalan for Melancholy.
2. The three main Myrobalans: Chebulic, Emblic and Belleric, when used together form Triphala, the Three Fruits. These are both a household remedy and the basis for some of the most complex formulas of Traditional Medicine intended to treat some of the most obstinate diseases.
3. There are a great many Myrobalan based formulas used in Traditional Medicine. These are called Triphala in Ayurveda, Itrafal in Unani and Tryphera in the West.
4. Taken in Infusion, they only purge; in Decoction, they purge and bind (purging more); the Powder purges and binds (binds more).

Main Combinations:

Triphala

1. Phlegm obstructing the Lungs, Belleric Myrobalan with Long Pepper, Black Pepper
2. Cough and Asthma, Belleric Myrobalan with Chebula, Ginger, Adhatoda vasica
3. Urinary stones, Urinary infections, Belleric Myrobalan with Tribulus, Coriander seed, Phyllanthus amarus, Madder
4. Insomnia, Belleric Myrobalan with Centella, Indian Spikenard, Valerian

Major Formulas:

Kaisor Guggulu (Bdellium Youthful Pill) (Ayurveda)

‘Pills without which I would not be’ (Nicholas)
Arabian Pills (Nicholas)
Magisterial Imperial Pills
Pills of Bdellium (Mesue)
Electuary of Life (Arnold de Villa Nova)
Electuarium Alcharif (Mesue)
Electuary of Micleta (Nicholas)

Triphala Electuary of Raisins (Unani)
Triphera of Dodder of Thyme (Mesue)
Triphala Electuary of Dodder (Unani)
Triphala Electuary of Fennel Seeds (Unani)
Triphala Electuary for Epilepsy (Itrifal Zabeeb)
Triphera Persica (Mesue)
Triphera of the Saracens (Triphera Saracenica Magna)
Triphera Minor (Triphera Phoenonis) (Mesue)
Triphala Electuary Lesser (Unani)
Triphala Electuary Greater (Unani)
Triphala Electuary to Purge Phlegm and Black Bile

Frankincense 10 (Spos dkar 10) (Tibetan Medicine)

Cautions:

1. Vata (Wind) conditions and constitutions.
2. Dryness of the Lungs, Skin or Bowels.
3. Mesue said the only deleterious effect of the Myrobalans was their potential to create obstruction. This is why they are regularly mixed with Ghee or Oil and Honey in Ayurveda and Unani. They are also used with medicines to prevent likelihood of obstruction such as Stoechas, Indian Spikenard, Ginger or Pepper etc.
4. Pemell said they should not be used in Obstruction or Fever. They are sometimes used in formulas in these cases with appropriate medicines.

Main Preparations used:

Extra Info
History

History

‘Belleric myrobalans, in Sanskrit Vibhitaki, are considered by Hindu physicians to be astringent and laxative, and are prescribed in affections of the throat and chest. As a constituent of the triphala (three myrobalans), they are employed in a great number of diseases. The kernel of the fruit is narcotic if taken in large quantity, and is sometimes used as an external application to inflamed parts. (Sarangadhara.)

Formulae for the administration of this myrobalan as a pectoral will be found in Dutt’s Hindu Materia Medica. Mahometan writers describe it as astringent, tonic,

attenuant, and aperient, useful in dyspepsia and bilious headache, also as an astringent application to the eyes. Belleric myrobalans are only briefly noticed by European writers upon Indian drugs. There is no doubt about the narcotic properties of the kernel. The part used in medicine is the pulp. The tree produces a quantity of gum. In the Concan the kernel, with that of the marking nut, is sometimes eaten with betel nut and leaf in dyspepsia; the fruit also is used as an astringent usually in combination with Chebulic myrobalans. (Vegetable Materia Medica of Western India, Dymock, 1885)