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Botanical Name:
Terminalia chebula Retz
Haritaki consists of the pericarp of mature fruits of
Terminalia chebula Retz, Family Combretaceae
Common Name(s) in English & Indian Languages
Sanskrit: Abhaya, Kayastha, Siva, Pathya, Vijaya
Assamese: Shilikha
Bengali: Haritaki
English: Myrobalan
Guajarati: Hirdo, Himaja, Pulo-harda
Hindi: Harre, Harad, Harar
Kannada: Alalekai
Kashmiri: Halela
Malayalam: Katukka
Marathi: Hirda, Haritaki, Harda, Hireda
Oriya: Harida
Punjabi: Halela, Harar
Tamil: Kadukkai
Telugu: Karaka, Karakkaya
Urdu: Halela
Botanical description:
A tropical shade tree, usually 15–20 m high, but can be up
to 30 m in height, and up to 1.3 m in girth; bark rough,
scaly; shoots and young leaves usually rusty villous. Leaves
simple, opposite, coriaceous, broadly ovate to
ovate-elliptic, 7–15 cm in width by 8–25 cm in length,
glabrescent; veins obscure above, slightly raised and
usually brownish pubescent beneath; apex acute or abruptly
acuminate; base cuneate, slightly cordate or rounded;
petiole 1–3 cm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent with a
pair of nodular glands near leaf base. Inflorescences
axillary or terminal panicles, usually with 3–6 spikes (each
3–6 cm long); rachis pubescent; flowers 2 mm long, 3–4 mm in
diameter; bracts nearly glabrous, 1.5–2.0 mm long; calyx
outside glabrous, inside densely villous, calyx-segments
triangular; stamens 3–4 mm long; ovary glabrous, ovoid, 1 mm
long; style glabrous, 2.5–3.0 mm long; disc lobed, densely
villous. Fruit a drupe, glabrous, subglobose to ellipsoid,
2.5–5.0 cm by 1.5–2.5 cm, usually smooth or frequently
5-angulate, ridged, wrinkled, turning blackish when dry.
Seed: one, rough, ellipsoid, 1.0–2.0 cm by 0.2–0.7 cm, and
without ridges
Parts used:
Fruits
Major chemical constituent:
Tannins, anthraquinones and polyphenolic compounds.
Therapeutic uses:
• Inflammation (Sotha)
• Piles (Arsa)
• Tastelessness (Aruci)
• Heart disease (Hrdroga)
• Cough (Kasa)
• Anaemia (Pandu)
• Increased frequency and turbidity of urine (Prameha)
• Upward movement of gases (Udavarta)
• Constipation (Vibandha)
• Chronic fever (Jirnajvara)
• Intermittent fever (Visamajvara)
• Disease of head (Siroroga)
• Bronchial Asthma (Tamaka Svasa)
• Abdominal lump (Gulma)
• Diseases of abdomen (Udararoga) |
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