Sinapi, Mustard

Khardal, Rai (Black Mustard, Unani)
Safaid Sarson (White Mustard, Ayurveda)
Yungs Dkar  ཡུངས་དཀར  (White Mustard, Tibetan)
Picture Ortus Sanitatis, Meydenbach, 1491

Picture Picture
Two varieties of Mustard
Della Materia Medicinale, Andrea Valuassori, 1562

Picture Brassica nigra
Kohler’s Medizinal Pflanzen, 1887

Picture Sinapsis alba
(Photo by Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:
There are 2 types of Mustard:
  1. Sinapsis alba (White, syn. Brassica alba)
  2. S. nigra (Black or Brown Mustard, syn. Brassica nigra, B. sinapioides)

Parts used:


Seed

Temperature & Taste:


Hot, dry. Pungent

Classifications:


2B ATTENUATERS.    2C INCIDER.    2M. DRAWING.    2U. SUPPURATIVES
3E. DIURETIC.    3K. EXPECTORANT.     3L. ANTI-TUSSIVE.     3N. EMETIC.     3P. MASTICATORIES & STERNUTATORIES
4k. ARTHRITIC
TCM:
P. Clear Cold Phlegm

Uses:


1. Clears Cold and Damp (West, TCM, Ayuveda):
-Falling Sickness, Lethargy, Paralysis, Headache, and Dizziness
-strengthen and warm the circulation of the whole body
-Stomach pain, pains in the sides, and in the bowels
-promote Menstruation when obstructed by Cold
-rheumatic and sciatic pains.

2. Warms the Lungs, Clears Phlegm (West, TCM, Ayuveda):
-Lung conditions with Tough and Cold phlegm: cough, chest distention, bronchial congestion; ‘Shortwindedness’
-pain from swelling of the cheat and ribs.
-Chronic Bronchitis and Asthmatic Bronchitis (TCM)
-vomiting and regurgitating of Phlegm.

3. Clears Swellings and Nodes, Stops Pain:
-cold obstruction of the circulation with joint pain, cold aches
-Sores and Boils that have no active inflammation, but ooze clear liquid (from coldness and poor circulation)
    
4. Warms the Kidneys, Promotes Urine:
-promotes urine when obstructed by cold.
-‘Mightily stirs up Lust’.

5. Resists Poison:
-’the seed of the White Mustard is used in some antidotes’. (Gerard)
-‘Quartan Fevers from Tartarous Mucilage, and in Quotidians a dram given before the Fit’ (Schroder)

6. Emetic:
-1 Tablespoon of the powder taken in water has been much used as a prompt emetic.
    
7. Externally:
-applied to sore joints from coldness, as sciatica, crick in the neck,
-bruises.
-In poultices, ointments and baths for most cold diseases.
-externally to drive away Carus (put in the nose)
-to promote Sneezing
-externally to ripen Swellings and Tumors
–Chewed in the mouth for toothache that is worse when cold


Dose:


In China, the prepared (Stir-fried) seed is most used internally, the raw (unprepared) seed is mostly used topically.
Powder: 500mg–3 grams
Decoction: 3–9 grams, decocted briefly.
Much used topically in plaster, poultice, pastes etc.
As a poultice add enough hot water to Mustard seed powder to form a stiff paste; apply topically.
As a wash or Foot bath, 1 tablespoon of the bruised seeds can be boiled in 1 liter of water for a few minutes.

Correctives:


1. Vinegar
2. Almond Oil

Substitutes:


1. Cress Seed (Lepidium sativum) (Unani)
2. Radish seed
3. Avicenna said Mustard seed is a substitute for Rocket seed.

Preparation:
Stir-Fried Mustard seed:
  The seed is dry fried until dark yellow and aromatic. The lessens its heat and dispersing activity, but is better to warm the Stomach and is preferred for Cold-Phlegm conditions in TCM. This is most commonly how it is used internally in China.

Main Combinations:


1. Cold and Weak Digestion, Mustard seed with Ginger, Long Pepper, Tinospora (Ayurveda)
2. Cough from Cold Phlegm:
i. with fullness and distention in the chest, combine Mustard seed with Radish seed
ii. Mustard seed with Long Pepper, Inula racemosa, Tylophora (Ayurveda)
3. Diuretic:
i. Mustard seed with Juniper berry, Carrot seed, steep in Ale (Formulaire Magistral et Memorial Pharmaceutique, 1823)
ii. Mustard seed with Parsley seed, Celery seed, Rocket seed
4. Paralysis:
i. Mustard seed powder is mixed with Conserve of Roses and Syrup of Ginger to form an Electuary. (Culpeper)
ii. Mustard seed (½ dram), Caraway seed, Cinnamon (4 grains each), Ginger (2 grains), Syrup, sufficient to form a Bolus. (Saunders)
iii. Mustard seed powder (1 oz.), Essential oil of Rosemary (8 oz.). Digest 3 days, filter. Used topically for paralysis. (Niemann)
5. Deep rooted boils without heat, combine Mustard seed with Cinnamon and Figwort
6. Arthritis, Cold-Damp type Joint pain:
i. Mustard seed with Cinnamon
ii. Mustard seed with Bdellium, Myrrh, Frankincense (Ayurveda)
7. As a liniment for pain, Mustard seed oil is mixed with Camphor and alcohol
8. As a gargle, Mustard seed with Vinegar and water
9. Tumors and swellings of the Throat, a gargle with Mustard seed, Vinegar and Honey (Gerard)

Major Formulas:


Pills of Mustard Seed (Unani)
Electuary to Clarify the Voice (Galen)
Antidote for Cold Kidneys and to Excite Libido (Nicholas)

San Zi Yang Qin Tang

Cautions:


1. Not for excess Heat or Yin deficiency.
2. Avoid in Stomach Heat, Gastritis, Peptic Ulcers and Gastrointestinal bleeding.
3. Avoid in patients with deficient Cough.

Toxicity:


1. Overdose can cause diarrhea and enteritis.
2. Topical application may cause redness and local irritation. In some cases, topical application has caused allergic reactions, sweating, dizziness, agitation etc.

Main Preparations used:


Oil expressed from the Seed (good for Cold diseases of the Nerves); Mustard Plaster

1. Cataplasm of Mustard:
i. Mustard seed, Linseed (½ pound each), Hot Vinegar, sufficient. Beat and mix to form a cataplasm. (London)
ii. Mustard powder, Yeast (equal parts), Vinegar or Vinegar of Squill (sufficient).
iii. Oatmeal (4 oz.), Vinegar (6 oz.), boil to a thickness, then add powdered Elder flower (3 oz.), Mustard seed (3 drams). (Pharmacopoeia extemporanea, Augustin, 1822)