Pterocarpus, Red Sandalwood
Raktachandana, Raktasaara (Ayurvedic)Sandal Surkh, Sandal-e-Ahmar (Unani)
Tsan dan dmar po ཙན་དན་དམར་པོ (Tibetan)
Shivappu-Chandanam (Siddha)
Medical Botany, Woodville, Hooker, Vol. 3, 1832
Red Sandalwood(Adam, 2017)
Botanical name:
Pterocarpus santalinus (syn. Santalum rubrum)
Parts used:
Wood
Temperature & Taste:
Cool, dry. Bitter, Sweet.
Classifications:
2F. PURIFYING. 2P. HEMOSTATICS
3B. FEBRIFUGE & ANTIPYRETIC
Uses:
1. Clears Heat from the Blood, Resists Poison:
-Fevers, Burning feeling and Inflammations.
2. Clears Heat, Stops Bleeding:
-heat-type Bleeding
3. Clears Heat, Astringes to Stop Leakage:
-Diarrhea
-Catarrh, Burning Urine
4. Clears Heat from the Heart:
-Heart debility associated with Heat, Palpitation.
5. Coloring:
-Often used as a coloring matter for tinctures, spirits and decoctions etc.
6. Externally:
-powder, paste or infusion is applied to all types of inflammation; applied to Headache, Skin irritations, Fever and Boils.
-topically to strengthen the Sight and reduce selling of the Eyes including conjunctivitis.
-paste applied with milk has been applied to Bleeding Piles.
-paste to skin spots and freckles
Dose:
Powder: 2–5 grams;
Decoction: 3–9 grams
Corrective:
Honey
Substitute:
1. White Sandalwood; Camphor (Unani)
2. Dragons Blood
3. TCM sources often cite Dalbergia in formulas where Red Sandalwood is used, for example in Tibetan formulas.
4. Adenanthera pavonina has also been used as a substitute.
5. Caragana jubata is used as a substitute in Tibetan Medicine.
Comment:
1. White and Yellow Sandalwood effect and move the Qi, the Red effects the Blood.
2. The White Sandalwood has an effect on Phlegm, the Yellow on Bile and the Red on Blood and to clear Heat.
Main Combinations:
1. For Stomach and Liver Heat with Qi stagnation, the 3 Sandalwoods with Rose, Rhubarb, Purslane seed, Licorice, Gum Arabic, Tragacanth, the Four Cold Seeds and Camphor (as in Powder of Three Sandalwoods)
2. For Catarrh, Consumption, Spitting Blood, and Diarrhea, the 3 Sandalwoods with 4 Cold Seeds, Tabasheer, Rose, Barberry, Red Earth, Camphor (as in Troches of Sandalwood)
3. To clears Liver Heat, Red and White Sandalwood, Rose, Red Coral, Tabasheer, Camphor
4. To clear Liver Heat, and Heat in general, Red and White Sandalwood, Tabasheer, Saffron, Picrorhiza, Swertia (Tibetan Medicine)
5. For Arthritis, Lower Back and Hip pain, Heat and inflammation of the Nerves or Blood, Red Sandalwood, Pearl, Nutmeg, Emblic Myrobalan, Frankincense, Licorice, Clove, Aloeswood, Bezoar, Scorpion, Tabasheer (as in ‘Mind Increasing Jewel‘ of Tibetan Medicine)
6. As a paste for skin spots, freckles and discolorations, Red Sandalwood with Madder, Costus, Symplocos racemosa and roasted Lentils. (Ayurveda)
Major Formulas:
Powder to Cool the Heart
Powder to Cool the Liver
Powder for the Liver (Bononiense)
Cordial Powder
Troches of Sandalwoods (Trochisci Santalon) (Mesue)
Troches of Rose (Trochisci Diarrhodon)(Nicholas)
Electuary of the Juice of Roses (Mesue)
Electuarium Dianthu (Galen)
Antelope Horn 14 (Rgya ru bcu bzhi) (Tibetan)
Sandalwood 18 (Tibetan Medicine)
Cautions:
1. In TCM, Sandalwood is not used in Deficient-Heat conditions. It is suitable for these conditions when combined with appropriate medicines as is evident from other Traditions.
2. All Sandalwoods decrease sexual activity with long-term use or in large doses.
CITES listing:
This medicine is listed on CITES as endangered.