Advisory Services

Tamarind Tree

 

BOTANICAL NAME:

  • Tamarindus indica

FAMILY:

  • Leguminosae

SYNONYM(S):

  • Nil

URDU NAME:

  • Imli

REGIONAL NAME:                   

  • Bengali: Ambli, Tentul
  • Persian: Tamar-I-Hindi
  • Hindi: Imbli
  • Pashto: Imlay
  • Sanskrit: Amlika, Tintrani
  • Sindhi: Gadamri
  • Arabic: Tamar-I-Hindi
  • Punjabi: Imbli

UNANI/TIBBI NAME:

  • Tamar-e-hindi

ENGLISH NAME:

  • Tamarind tree

HABITAT:

  • Cultivated in Punjab and Sindh

DESCRIPTION:

  • An evergreen large tree 1-15 high with glabrous branched
  • Leaves are 5-10 cm long, 10-20 pairs of sub sessile, oblong, glabrous
  • 3-petalled yellow flowers, with pink stripes.
  • Pods 10-20 cm in length, dark brown when ripe, slightly curved, compressed  obovate-oblong
  • 3-12 seeds are contained in the brownish pulp

PART USED:

  • Fruit pulp

TASTE:

  • Sour

TEMPERAMENT:

  • Cold 1°, dry 2°

PERIOD OF OCCURRENCE:

  • Rosy flowers appear between May and June; whearas the tree bear fruits in February

PROCEDURE & TIME OF COLLECTION:

  • The pods are collected on ripening

CONSTITUENTS:

  • Tartaric, Citric, Malic and Acetic Acid
  • Inver sugar
  • Gum
  • Pectin
  • Calcium
  • Phosphorous
  • Iron
  • Sodium
  • Potassium
  • Thiamine
  • Niacin
  • Ascorbic acid

SUBSTITUTES:

  • Alubukhara/ plum (Prunus domestica)
  • Zarshak/barberry (berberi sanstata)

ACTIONS AND USES IN UNANI SYSTEM OF MEDICINE:

Pharmacological action:

  • Refrigerant
  • Digestive
  • Carminative
  • Laxative
  • Astringent
  • Aperients

Therapeutic uses:

  • The fruit pulp is a good tonic the heart, liver, and stomach, intestine. It is useful in bilious vomiting

DOSES:

  • 25-50 gm

CORRECTIVES:

  • Sugar
  • Unnab/jujube (zizyphus vulgare )

IMPORTANT UNANI FORMULATIONS:

  • Jawanish tamarindi
  • Majoon sandal
  • Hab pachlauna

ASTROLOGY:

  • Mars

 
By Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences