Terminalia Arjuna: Everything You Wanted To Know About This Ayurvedic Plant

Ayurveda has several herbs that can work like a charm on your general health. At the same time, there are some specific herbs that can show miraculous positive effects on certain parts of your body, such as the liver, heart, and other vital organs.

One such herb that is rather popular for curing heart ailments is Terminalia Arjuna.

What Is Terminalia?

Terminalia is basically a tree, which has medicinal properties in its bark. There are three species of the tree that is used in Ayurveda for their medicinal richness. These include Terminalia Arjuna, Terminalia Chebula, and Terminalia Billerica.

Out of these three, Terminalia Arjuna is the most popular one. For centuries Terminalia Arjuna tree has been used in Ayurveda to balance the Kapha, Pitta, and Vata.

The Terminalia Arjuna medicinal uses were mainly towards the cure of various heart ailments. Problems such as asthma, scorpion stings, poisonings, and bile duct disorders have also been addressed by Terminalia Arjuna’s medicinal properties.

The Terminalia Arjuna Tree

The Terminalia Arjuna tree is normally between 60 feet and 80 feet in height. It is usually found along streams, rivers, and dry water bodies.

Terminalia Arjuna tree is mainly seen in the Indo-sub-Himalayan tracts of South Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chota Nagpur, Madhya Pradesh, Burma, Deccan region, and Delhi. It is also quite common in the forests of Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

Although the tree prefers red laterite and humid, fertile soils, it can easily grow in almost all types of soils. The tree has the capability to tolerate half submergence for some weeks.

The Terminalia Bark

Terminalia Arjuna is a possible cardioprotective agent that belongs to the Combretaceae family. It is primarily an Ayurvedic solution that has its name mentioned since the Vedic period.

You will find the name of this Ayurvedic herb in several ancient Indian medicinal texts. These include Sushruta Samhita, Charaka Samhita, and Astanga Hridayam.

The bark of Terminalia Arjuna has been described by several names. These include expectorant, demulcent, astringent, styptic, cardiotonic, urinary astringent, and antidysenteric.

History suggests that apart from Terminalia Arjuna blood pressure benefits, the tree is also useful in ulcers, diabetes, fractures, leukorrhea, cardiopathy, and anaemia.

A great ancient physician, Chakradatta had suggested giving the Terminalia Arjuna as a decoction of the bark with ghrita or milk.

A decoction of the bark has been extensively used as ulcer wash. The ashes of the whitebark are also proven useful against scorpion sting and snakebites.

The bark of the Terminalia Arjuna tree is especially popular in the world of Ayurveda. It has been in use in India for more than 3,000 years as a primary source of heart remedy.

Vagbhata was the first Indian physician who was credited as the first user of the Terminalia Arjuna bark. He used it to cure heart conditions during the seventh century A.D.

Terminalia Arjuna is one of the primary ingredients that is used even today in every Ayurvedic product meant for the blood vessels and the heart.

Whether you search for Ayurvedic medicine for high blood pressure or Ayurvedic medicine for high cholesterol, Terminalia Arjuna will always be there in the list of ingredients. However, nothing much is known as Terminalia Arjuna leaves.

Flowers and Fruits of Terminalia Arjuna

The flowers of Terminalia Arjuna occur in panicle and simple spikes. These flowers are sessile in nature. The flowering normally happens in the months of May to June. On the other hand, the fruits of the tree mature in the months of January to March.

The fruit is a fibrous-woody drupe that ranges from 2.5 cm to 5 cm in size. When it is mature, the fruits are dark brown in color and comes with five hard, veined, projected wings.

Common Names of Terminalia Arjuna

The Ayurvedic herb Terminalia Arjuna’s common name is Arjun.

You will find this name in most of the Ayurvedic products meant to cure the human heart. This is mainly due to the Terminalia Arjuna medicinal uses and its medicinal properties.

There have been numerous experiments carried out on this tree in the past.

There are also several experiments going on to find out more about the various medicinal properties of the tree.