A glance at Indian herbal system !

In past few years, there has been a revival of Indian system of life sciences and a rapid growth for the herbal medicines globally, as they originate naturally with various side benefits. Ayurveda guides us on the knowledge of these herbs, and helps to uproot the disease and promotes overall state of good health. Thus even with a handful of herbs you can provide an excellent support for your family and your health. Today, the eleventh herb that I will be highlighting in our series #SacredIndianHerbs is Akarkara, one of the fantastic herbs found in nature that helps to restore, strengthen male reproductive system, takes care of oral hygiene in most favourable manner, pacifies pain and has many more benefits.

About Akarkara

Akarkara is a perennial plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is a plant of France whose major beneficial and medicinally useful part is its roots. It is only a 6 inch tall plant that spreads on the ground with tough and cylindrical roots with a few hairy rootlets. The plant has numerous spreading branched stems with yellow disk and white ray flowers. In India, Spilanthes acmella (latin name) belongs to the same plant family and is used as the substitute of Anacyclus pyrethrum, providing the same health benefits.

Scientific name: Anacyclus pyrethrum
English name: Pellitory root, Pyrethrum root
Hindi name: Akarkara

Get all round healthy living with Akarkara

Akarkara is a medicinal plant used in ayurvedic and other herbal medicines worldwide for the treatment of men’s sexual disorders, dental disorders, oral care etc. It is used both internally and externally for dealing with various health issues. Let’s see how this fabulous herb can help us in more ways...

1. Akarkara: Encourages a healthy libido

From the ancient times, men are always looking for natural ways to increase their potency. Akarkara is one of the oldest natural remedy for increasing libido and sperm count in men. Akarkara when mixed with honey improves the quality and quantity of sperms. For increasing libido, many people consume akarkara powder at night with a glass of milk. An Ayurvedic medicine, known by the name ‘Narasimha churna’ is used as an excellent aphrodisiac. It is made by the mixture of fox nuts (makhana), pellitory root (akarkara), Konch beej etc. It releases bound up testosterone and increases the supply of blood to the genitals. Thereby, increases the physical strength as well as triggers the sexual desire to treat impotence and erectile dysfunction in men.

2. Akarkara: A toothache plant

Teeth are an important part of our health. It is not just part of our esthesis, they play a role in overall nutrition and maintaining health. With the help of teeth, we chew and swallow a healthy and well nourished diet. If they are not healthy, then the grind process of the food will be done by the intestines which might eventually become weak. Akarkara is a folk medicine for treating toothache, dental cavities, blood from gums, looseness of teeth, etc. It is a basic ingredient in many toothpastes and powders. Even a gentle massage of Akarkara root powder helps in treating toothache, bleeding gums and also makes the teeth white. The bacteria present over the teeth also get destroyed.

An effective homemade tooth powder: Mix trikatu powder (a herbal blend of pippali, dry ginger, and black pepper) and triphala powder (a herbal formula composed of the powder of three fruits: amalaki, bibhitaki and haritaki) in the same quantity. Now take the akarkara powder in the same quantity as that of mixture. Mix akarkara powder with the triphala and trikatu mixture. The resultant mixture is then stored in a dry container. Brush your teeth daily with this powder regularly to get rid of problems such as excess saliva formation, carious tooth and bleeding gums.

An effective homemade toothpaste: Akarkara is mixed with Majuphal (Oak galls) and Tejbal (Tumburu). Majuphal and Tejbal are commonly used as tooth powder. Majuphal makes the gums shrink and eradicates the deposit. You will have a better and shiny teeth. While Tejbal prevents the occurrence of any kind of tooth and gum related diseases. We have seen that all the commercially available herbal pastes commonly contain both of these herbs. To form a homemade paste, mix the mixture in mustard oil. Store it in a airtight container and brush your teeth regularly with this paste. For more effective results, you can add 1g of edible camphor to this mixture. It will eradicate all the bad odor from the mouth which is a big trouble nowadays because of your bad eating habits. Hence, aids in keeping the mouth healthy and odorless.

3. Akarkara: A natural sialogogue

The secretion of saliva by our salivary glands helps to lubricate and cleanses our mouth. Without sufficient flow of saliva, there will be difficulty in chewing and swallowing the food. Akarkara helps to stimulate the saliva production and salivary flow by just applying its powder in the mouth in all directions and leaving it for sometime. You will notice that there is increase in the saliva quantity in the mouth. It promotes a better health since saliva contains digestive enzymes that aids in the digestion process by acting on the food particles and starting the digestive process early. The carbohydrate digestion also starts in the mouth with the help of these digestive enzymes. An interesting fact to note about akarkara is that if its powder mixed with honey is consumed by the children with excessive saliva formation, on the contrary it helps to control the increased saliva content. Thus akarkara modulates the prefect functioning of our salivary glands.

4. Akarkara: Vata dosha pacifier

Increased vata dosha in body results in muscles aches or joint pains. Akarkara is known to pacify vata doshas. Thus mixing akarkara in any pain oil increases its potency to combat with body pains or it can be mixed simply with any oil. People suffering from the problem of nervine weakness in the body or from paralysis are benefited with its local application. It strengthen the nerves and helps to build the body strength. When generally used mixed in any massage oil, it provides nourishment to the entire body and makes it re-energized and rejuvenated.

Akarkara: As an occupation

Nowadays akarkara is grown rapidly for trading purposes. If you too want to derive income benefits from it then you may contact the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) of your area and have all the knowledge about the cultivation of akarkara. The board has been established few years back by Government of India to coordinate with all matters relating to Medicinal Plants, Support Policies and Programs for growth of trade, export, conservation and cultivation for herbs.

As akarkara is a good source of nutrition for the entire body and the problems arising due to nutritional deficiencies. We should promote the use of these herbs to promote overall community health so that various disorders can be dealt in natural and economical way.