Tamarind - Benefits of Natural Healing Herb
Tamarind fruit is carefully gathered and the pulp is separately collected and stored.
Tamarind has a variety of uses. The unripe fruit is acid in taste, whereas the pulp of the ripe fruit is both sweet and acid and is cooling, carminative, digestive and laxative. It is anti-bilious and anti-scorbutic.
The leaves and seeds are astringent. Tender leaves and flowers have a cooling effect. The bark is astringent and serves as a tonic.
According to ayurvedic theory, our diet should include all the six tastes – sweet, sour, pungent, acid, bitter and astringent, tamarind supplies the acid-sweet tastes.
Its use in cooking is well known and is much in vogue particularly in South India. Added in proper measure. Tamarind is beneficial to health, excessive use may prove harmful to the body.
In summer elixir type syrup is prepared from it, which is very cooling and anti-bilious. Sometimes it is given to patients suffering from fever, sunstroke and inflammatory conditions.
It is prepared thus: Boil 1 oz each of tamarind fruit and dates in a quart of milk, strain and add some cloves, cardamoms and a few grains of camphor.
The pulp of the ripe fruit along with the skin of dates or gur mixed freely in water, stirred and filtered, along with pepper, cardamom, clove and a little salt makes a very tasty and delicious ream, which is often taken along with food.
It is commonly used in the preparation of curries and chutneys.
When heavy intoxication is caused by bhanga or cannabis indica, the syrup of panaka prepared from tamarind serves as an antidote. It is also given in cases of liquor or dhatura poisoning.
One tola each of tamarind pulp, dates, seeds of pomegranate and embolic myrobalan are powdered together and mixed with 32 tolas of water. About 2 ozs. Dose of the resultant emulsion is then taken.
In medicine, the pulp of the fruit, seeds, leaves, flowers and the bark are all used.
The pulp of the fruit is useful in constipation. According to the Unani system, the pulp is effective in controlling fever. It purges the bile.
The red outer covering of the seed is an effective remedy against diarrhea and dysentery. About 10 grains of powder of the seeds with an equal quantity of cumin seeds and sugar is given 2-3 times daily.
The seeds powdered and given to women are beneficial in leucorrhoea. Another method is to soak the seeds in water overnight, next morning the skin is removed and the seeds are immersed in milk and given for drinking. This removes leucorrhoea.
The seed rubbed with water and applied to a scorpion sting renders relief.
For the prevention of smallpox, villagers use seeds with turmeric powder and an equal quantity of water for three days.
Leaves are crushed with water and juice extracted. It is useful in feverish conditions and in burning when passing urine.
Poultice prepared from the leaves applied on swelling relieves the trouble.
Juice extracted from the flowers is given internally for bleeding piles.
Gargling with tamarind water aids in the healing of sore throat. Tamarind water with ghee and sugar will stop diarrhea caused as a result of drastic purgatives.
The bark of the tree is burnt and from the ash kshar or salt is prepared. Which is very efficacious in chronic abdominal colic. This is known as Chinchakshara.
Tamarind is efficacious in preventing or curing scurvy.
In short, tamarind which is widely used in cooking, has numerous medicinal applications.
