Plumbago, ChitrakaLeadwort, Ceylon LeadwortChitraka, Chitrak (Ayurveda) Tsi tra ka ཙི་ཏྲ་ཀ (Tibet) Sheetraj Hindi, Chitrak (Unani) Venkodiveli (Siddha) Bai Hua Dan (TCM) |
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Plumbago zeylanicaEdwards’s Botanical Register, 1846
Plumbago zeylanica(Photo by David Eickhoff) (Wikimedia)
Botanical name:
Plumbago spp.
1. P. zeylanica (syn. P. rosea) (White variety)
2. P. indica (Red variety)
3. P. capensis
Parts used:
Root-bark
Temperature & Taste:
Very Warm, Dry. Pungent, Bitter. Toxic. The Red variety is hottest.
Uses:
1. Warms Yang, Clears Damp:
-Indigestion, Colic, bloating, poor appetite, soft or watery stool
-aversion to Cold
-Rhinitis associated with Damp and Wind
-Diarrhea, Dysentery (TCM, Ayurveda)
-Cough, Asthma
-with Honey for Obesity
-Hemorrhoids
2. Clears Wind-Damp, Eases Pain (TCM, Ayurveda):
-Rheumatism; Arthritic and Bone pain
-cold-damp Joint Pain with swelling and pitting
3. Warms the Kidneys, Promotes Urine:
-Urinary Stones, Polyuria
-Spermatorrhea, Leukorrhea
-Edema, Obesity
-taken with Ghee and suitable herbs, it is a rejuvenator
4. Opens obstruction, Clears Damp:
-Swelling and obstruction of the Liver or Spleen
-Cold-Damp-type Jaundice
-Liver tonic
5. Moves the Blood, Clears Stasis: (TCM, Ayurveda)
-bruising, Blood stagnation (TCM)
-amenorrhea
6. Resists Poison: (TCM, Ayurveda)
-chronic Skin diseases including Psoriasis, Leprosy
-toxic swellings and sores
-Snake Bite (TCM)
-in the treatment of Malaria, fresh leaves were beaten and applied to the pulse before the fit, removing when heat is felt. (TCM)
7. Kills Worms:
-Worms and Parasites
8. Externally:
-Three or 4 fresh leaves can be crushed and applied for swelling and pain or toxic sores, but only for 15–20 minutes (TCM)
-crushed, wrapped in gauze and applied to peri-anal abscess, acute lymphadenitis, mastitis, cellulitis, boil etc. (TCM)
Dose:
Powder: 500mg–3 grams daily (normal dose is 1 gram); it is often taken with Ghee
Decoction: 9–15 grams, but must be boiled for at least 3–4 hours. (TCM)
Preparation:
1. It can be prepared with Lime (or Lemon) juice to limit is hot nature. This initially turns the roots red, but with repeated washing the red color fades.
2. Root pieces may also be boiled in a solution of Cow Dung.
Correctives:
1. Mastic
2. Gum Arabic
Substitutes:
1. Valerian
2. Madder
3. Zedoary
4. Baliospermum montanum (Danti)
Main Combinations:
One of the Trimada group of Drugs, along with Embelia ribes and Cyperus rotundus
One of the Triptighna group of Drugs, used for Phlegm diseases with Ginger, Long Pepper, Cyperus rotundus, Calamus etc.
One of the Dipaniya group of drugs, used to promote Appetite with Ginger, Long Pepper, Black Pepper, Asafetida, Ajowan etc
One of the Lekhaniya group of drugs, used to reduce Fat, with Cyperus rotundus, Berberis asiactia, Calamus, Turmeric, Picriorrhiza etc.
1. Digestive Cold and weakness:
i. with excess Ama, Plumbago with Fennel, Ginger and Cardamon
ii. Plumbago with Inula racemosa, Ginger, Cumin
ii. with indigestion and poor appetite, Plumbago with Emblic and Chebulic Myrobalan, Long Pepper, Rock Salt (as in Powder of Emblic Myrobalan of Ayurveda)
2. Severe Abdominal pain, Abdominal Tumors:
i. Plumbago (7 parts), Chebula (6 parts), Ammi (5 parts), Ginger (4 parts), Vida Salt (3 parts), Calamus (2 parts), Asafetida (1 part). (Sardula Churna, Ayurveda)
ii. Plumbago, Cyperus rotundus, Cubeb, Embelia, Three Pungents (Trikatu), Three Myrobalans (Triphala), boiled in Ghee and Milk to form a paste.
3. Clear Phlegm:
i. Plumbago with Ginger, Long Pepper, Chebula
ii. Phlegm in the Lungs with Cough and Congestion, Plumbago, Long Pepper, Ginger, Tabasheer and Licorice
4. Phlegm Cough and Asthma, Plumbago, Chebula, Pepper, Salt
5. Obesity:
i. Plumbago with Fennel seed, Ammi, Ginger
ii. Plumbago with Cyperus rotundus, Ginger and Honey
iii. Plumbago with Cyperus rotundus, Embelia ribes
6. Arthritic disease:
i. Plumbago with Bdellium, Cyperus rotundus, Olibanum
ii. Plumbago with Bdellium and Shilajit
iii. Ama-Vata: Plumbago, Cubeb, Ginger, Long Pepper (equal parts), powder and take with hot water every morning.
iv. Rheumatic Arthritis, Hemiplegia, Plumbago with Argyreia root, Chebulic Myrobalan, Ginger, Ajowan, Rock Salt, Long Pepper (as in Ajamodadi Churna)
7. As a strengthening tonic:
i. Plumbago with Withania, Shilajit
ii. Plumbago with purified Sulphur
8. Female tonic:
i. Plumbago, Asparagus Shatavari, Rose
ii. Plumbago with Chlorophytum, Catechu, Withania, Cumin, Cinnamon, Iron Bhasma, Red Coral
9. Amenorrhea with Blood stasis, or for Scrofula, decoct Plumbago with Pork (TCM)
10. Obstinate skin diseases:
i. Plumbago with Psoralea, Madder and Shilajit
ii. Plumbago with Vernonia seed, Psoralea, Galangal, Turpeth (Uyghur medicine)
11. Leucoderma, Plumbago with Abrus precatorius seeds as a paste and applied. (India)
12. Leprosy, Plumbago with Chaulmoogra, Semecarpus, Psoralea and Shilajit (Ayurveda, Ashtanga Hridaya)
13. Depression: Valerian, Convolvulus Shankhapushpi, Plumbago, Boswellia, Calamus. (This combination was found to have anti-depressant activity)
14. Viral Hepatitis, Plumbago with Picrorhiza, Triphala, Bdellium (Ayurveda)
15. Hemorrhoids, Plumbago with Ginger, Chebulic Myrobalan, Holarrhena antidysenterica
16. Fistula-in-Ano, Plumbago with Nerium bark, Turpeth, Calamus, Gloriosa, Alstonia (equal parts), decocted in Sesame oil (as in Citrakadi Taila of Ayurveda)
Main Formulas:
Chitrakadi Kashayam (Plumbago Decoction)
Powder of Emblic Myrobalan (Ayurveda)
Punarnavadi Guggulu (Boerhaavia and Bdellium Pills)
Electuary of Dodder
Triphala Electuary of Dodder (Unani)
Powder of Emblic Myrobalan of Ayurveda
Citrakadi Taila
Cautions:
1. Not used during Pregnancy
2. Heat-type conditions or Hot constitutions
3. Overdose can cause burning, vomiting and diarrhea; leading to respiratory depression and cardiac arrest.
4. Very strong anti-fertility effects have been noted in animal experiments (100-200mg/kg)