Terminalia chebula RETZ. & WILLD

English Name : Black or Chebulic Myrobalan

Family : Combretaceae

Origin : India

Description

It is a tree with a rounded crown and spreading branches. The bark is dark-brown, often longitudinally cracked; the leaves are ovate or elliptic with a pair of large glands at the top of the petiole; the flowers are yellowish white, in terminal spikes; the drupes are ellipsoidal, obovoid or ovoid, yellow to orange-brown and hard when ripe, becoming 5-ribbed on drying; the seeds are hard and pale yellow.

Habitat
Forests of India. Abundant in North India and southwards to the Deccan tablelands at 1,000 to 3,000 ft.

Parts Used : Fruit, fruit coat, bark, seed and powder

Herb Effects
Carminative, increases the secretion of gastric juices, laxative and antispasmodic (fruit); lowers blood sugar and antiviral (flower); coagulates semen and stimulates the central nervous system (stem bark); protects the liver.

Active Ingredients
Arginine, ascorbic acid, asparagine, chebulin, chebulagic acid, chebulinic acid, corilagin, ellagic acid, gallic acid, pectin, shikimic acid, sorbitol, succinic acid, tannic acid, xylose (fruit); beta-sitosterol (bark); stearic, oleic, palmitic and behenic acids (oil from the kernel); linoleic acid, oleic acid (seed).

Medicinal Use
Stomach problems, tooth decay, hemorrhoids, external wounds, ulcers, scalds, inflammation of the mouth mucosa, increases the secretion of gastric juices (fruit); in asthma, sore throat, vomiting, sore eyes, heart diseases, hiccups, indigestion, constipation etc.

Dosage
The dose is from 2 to 5 grains, in pill or capsule, every 2 to 4 hours.

Reference