Published Research - H

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Haritaki

Botanical name: Terminalia chebula

The chebulic myrobalan is of great importance in Ayurvedic medicine. It is known as haritaki in Sanskrit because it is sacred to Shiva (Hara). It is an ingredient of Triphala, or 'three fruit', a rasayana which also contains Bibhitaki and Amlaki. The plant was first mentioned in Chinese medicine in 1061 and it is referred to as the 'king of medicines'. It has been known as Abhay as it thought to promote fearlessness.

Immunomodulatory activity
The crude extract of a formula containing T. chebula, Tinospora cordifolia, Berberis aristata and Zingiber officinale showed a significant enhancement in humoral immunity measured by haemagglutination titre and cell-mediated immune response, exhibited by inhibition of leucocyte migration.

Source: Sohni YR, Bhatt RM 1996 - Activity of a crude extract formulation in experimental hepatic amoebiasis and in immunomodulation studies. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 54(2-3):119

Anti-bacterial activity
An extract of T. chebula showed a potent wide-spectrum anti-bacterial activity against human pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Source: Phadke SA, Kulkarni SD 1989 - Screening of in vitro anti-bacterial activity of Terminalia chebula, Eclipta alba and Ocimum sanctum. Indian Journal of Medical Sciences 43(5):113

Cardiotonic activity
Extracts prepared from the fruit rind of T. chebula, when tested on normal as well as hypodynamic isolated frog hearts, increased the force of contraction and cardiac output without changing the heart rate.

Source: Reddy VRC, Rammana Kumari SV, Reddy BM, Anzeem MA, Prabhakar MC, Appa Rao AVN 1990 - Cardiotonic activity of the fruits Terminalia chebula. Fitoterapia 61(6):517