Beleric Myrobalan

BOTANICAL NAME:

• Terminalia belenica

FAMILY:

• Combretaceae

SYNONYM(S):

• Nil

URDU NAME:

• Bahera

REGIONAL NAME:

• Bengali: Bhairah
• Pashto: Bahera
• Sanskrit: Vibhitaka Aksha, Bahira
• Arabic: Balilaj
• Hindi: Bahera
• Persian: Baleela
• Punjabi: Bahera
• Sindhi: Bayrah

UNANI/TIBBI NAME:

• Balilaj

ENGLISH NAME:

• Beleric Myrobalan

HABITAT:

• It is wild in the sub-Himalayan tract from the Rawalpindi district Eastward from Kahuta to the Jhehlum River in Poonch

DESCRIPTION:

• A large deciduous tree 10-20 m high
• Leaves broadly elliptic, alternate, surfaces puberulous
• Flowers polygamous greenish-yellow with an offensive smell.
• Cylax pubescent outside with long brown hair inside
• Fruit ovoid 2.5 cm long, velvety, obscurely 5-angled when dry

PART USED:

• Fruits

TASTE:

• Acrid

TEMPERAMENT:

• cold1°, dry 2°

PERIOD OF OCCURRENCE:

• The plant flowers between Aprils to June. Bears fruit in the month of October

PROCEDURE & TIME OF COLLECTION:

• The fruit are collected from the tree before ripening and air dried before storage

CONSTITUENTS:

• Tannic acid
• Gallic acid, mucilage
• Colouring matter
• Chebulinic acid
• Fixed oil
• Saponin
• Glycosides

SUBSTITUTES:

• Haleela Siah/Chebulic Myrobalan (Terminalia Chebula )

ACTIONS AND USES IN UNANI SYSTEM OF MEDICINE:

Pharmacological action:

• astringent
• Alternative
• Antipyretic
• Attenuate
• Aperients
• Tonic
• Laxative

Therapeutic uses:

• Effective purgative
• Brain ad stomach tonic
• Useful in biliousness
• Dyspepsia
• Piles
• Eye diseases
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Sore throat

DOSES:

• 5-8 g

CORRECTIVES:

• Sugar
• Shed/honey

IMPORTANT UNANI FORMULATIONS:

• Irtifal jawarish fanjoosh
• Majun halila
• Malun mochras
• Majun mindi
• Malun kalkalanj

ASTROLOGY:

• Saturn