Botanical Name
Terminalia chebula Retz
Family
Combretaceae.
Synonyms
Buceras chebula (Retz.) Lyons, Myrobalanus chebula (Retz.) Gaertn., Myrobalanus gangetica (Roxb.) Kostel., Terminalia acuta Walp., Terminalia chebula var. chebula, Terminalia gangetica Roxb., Terminalia reticulata Roth.
Regional Name
English :Myrobalan, Hindi : Choti Harad, Bal Harar, Sanskrit :Abhaya, Urdu :Halela, Siva, Pathya, Vijaya, Assamese :Shilikha, Bengali :Haritaki, Gujrati :Hirdo, Himaja, Pulo-harda, Kannada : Alalekai, Kashmiri :Halela, Malayalam :Katukka, Marathi :Hirda, Haritaki, Harda, Hireda, Oriya :Harida, Punjabi :Halela, Harar, Tamil :Kadukkai, Telugu : Karaka, Karakkaya.
Part Used
Immature Fruit.
Description
It is found throughout South East Asia - India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, southwest China (Yunnan) and Taiwan (Nantou). In India it is found in the Sub Himalayan tracks from Ravi eastwards to West Bengal and Assam, ascending up to the altitude of 1 500 m in the Himalayas. Immature fruits blakish-brown, wrinkled and ribbed longitudinally, seedless, astringent in taste.
Phytoconstituents
Its fruits contains -Tannins (32-34%) gallic acid, chebulagic acid, punicalagin, chebulanin, corilagin, neochebulinic acid, ellagic acid, chebulinic acid, 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, 1,6-di-o-galloyl-D-glucose, casuarinin, 3,4,6-tri-o-glloyl-D-glucose, terchebulin. Other constituents include amino acids, betasitosterol, resin, flavanol, glycosides, terpenoids and other phenolic compounds such as chebulinic acid, ellagic acid & anthraquinones and minor constituents is polyphenols such as corilagin, galloyl glucose, punicalagin, terflavin A, maslinic acid.
Ayurvedic Properties
Rasa : Madhura, Amla, Katu, Tikta, Kasaya, Guna :Laghu, Ruksa, Vipaka :Madhura, Virya :Usna, Karma :Caksusya, Dipana, Hrdya, Medhya, Sarvadosaprasamana, Rasayana, Anulomana.
Ayurvedic Applications
Sotha, Arsa, Kasa, Pandu, Aruci, Hrdroga, Prameha, Ddavarta, Vibandha, Jirnajvara, Siroroga, Udararoga, Visamajvara, Tamaka, Svasa, Gumna.
Medicinal Uses
It is used in the treatment of asthma, sore throat, vomiting, hiccough, diarrhea, dysentery, bleeding piles, ulcers, gout, heart and bladder diseases.