Chebulic Myrobalan
From DrugPedia: A Wikipedia for Drug discovery
Common name: Chebulic Myrobalan, Myrobalan • Hindi: हर्रा Harra, हरड़ Harad • Manipuri: মনাহী Manahi • Marathi: Hirad • Tamil: kaDukkaay • Malayalam: Katukka • Telugu: Nallakaraka • Kannada: Halle • Bengali: Haritaki • Oriya: Karedha • Konkani: Ordo • Assamese: Hilika • Sanskrit: Kayastha, Jivapriya
Botanical name: Terminalia chebula
Family: Combretaceae (Rangoon creeper family)
Chebulic Myrobalan is a flowering evergreen tree called in English the Myrobalan or sometimes the Chebulic Myrobalan. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and the adjacent areas such as Pakistan, Nepal and the south-west of China stretching as far south as Kerala or even Sri Lanka where is called Aralu. This tree yields smallish, ribbed and nut-like fruits which are picked up when still green and then pickled, boiled with a little added sugar in their own syrup or used in preserves or concotions. The seed of the fruit, which has an eliptical shape, is an abrasive pit enveloped by a fleshy and firm pulp. Chebulic Myrobalan can reach heights of 20 meters.
Medicinal uses: Chebulic Myrobalan is highly regarded as the 'king of medicines' in the Ayur-Vedic Medicine. It is reputed to cure blindness and it is believed to inhibit the growth of the malignant tumours. It is allegedly also a powerful detox agent.
