Advisory Services

Butea Gum Tree

Description: Butea_monosperma   Description: Butea_monosperma_01nsh

BOTANICAL NAME:

  • Butea monosperma

FAMILY:

  • Leguminosae                                       

SYNONYM(S):

  • Butea frondosa Koenig ex roxb

URDU NAME:

  • Plaspapra, Tesu

REGIONAL NAME:                  

  • Bengali: Palas
  • Punjabi: Chichra
  • Persian: Palah
  • Hindi: Tesu, Dhak, Palas.
  • Pashto: Kammarkas
  • Sanskrit: Palasha
  • Sindhi: Khalas Papari

UNANI/TIBBI NAME:

  • Palas, Dhak, Tesu, Chenia Gond

ENGLISH NAME:

  • The flame of the forest
  • Butea gum tree (the gum is known as Bengal kino or Butea kino)

HABITAT:

  • Jehlum (Punjab), N.W.F.P.

DESCRIPTION:

  • A deciduous Tree with the crooked gnarled trunk, 3-5m in height,
  • Bark bluish-grey to light brown
  • Leaves 3 foliate; leaflet leathery, hairy on the underside, terminal ones broad obviate whereas the lateral smaller obliquely obviate.
  • Flower bright orange- red , large and in dense racemes
  • Stalk dark brown velvety
  • Calyx velvety jet black in colour
  • Pendulous pod containing a single seed

PART USED:

  • Gums, seeds, leaves and flowers

TASTE:

  • Acrid

TEMPERAMENT:

  • Hot 3°, dry 3°

PERIOD OF OCCURRENCE:

  • Flowers and fruit occurs on tree during March- May

PROCEDURE & TIME OF COLLECTION:

  • The bark of tree yields a red juice which exudes from natural or artificial Scares, this harens into a ruby red vitreous gum, which is collected.

CONSTITUENTS:

  • Tannins
  • Gallic acid
  • Mucilaginous matter
  • Pyrocatechin

SUBSTITUTES:

  • Gond kikar/gum acacia (gum arabica wild.)

ACTIONS AND USES IN UNANI SYSTEM OF MEDICINE:

Pharmacological action:

  • Gum: Astringent, Viscostic , Avaricious, Desiccative, Tonic
  • Seed: Anthelmin
  • Leaves: Astringent
  • Flowers: Astringent, Diuretic, Depurative, Aphrodisiac

Therapeutic uses:

  • Gum is useful in chronic diarrhea, back aches, piles, and tonic for liver, lungs and chest diseases, syphilis.

DOSES:

  • 1-3 gm

CORRECTIVES:

  • Katira/tragacanth (Sterculia Urens Linn )
  • Gulab/rose (Rosa damascene mill)
  • Sandal/sandalwood (san tal urn album linn)      

IMPORTANT UNANI FORMULATIONS:

  • Hab-e-deedan
  • Sufuf silane raham

ASTROLOGY:

  • Saturn