The Ayurveda Experience May 17, 2019
Shankhpushpi is a very popular Ayurvedic herb that is primarily used as a brain tonic. It is called shankhpushpi since shankh means conch and pushpi means flowers and it literally translates to flowers that resemble the shape of a conch shell. Shankhpushpi has many uses and benefits in Ayurveda.
Alternatively, shankhpushpi can also mean flowers as white as the color of a conch.1 Shankhpushpi has been used in Ayurveda for ages. All renowned Ayurvedic texts mention shankhpushpi and its benefits.
Shankhpushpi is also known as shankhahuli and shankhavali in India. You may sometimes see it written as shankhapushpi. It is known as ‘speed wheel’ in English. Shankhpushpi is even used as a vegetable in some regions of India.
This article will discuss shankhpushpi uses and shankhpushpi benefits in Ayurveda along with its botanical properties and the scientific research conducted on it.
Ksheer pushpi: It means that which has flowers white like milk.
Mangalya kusuma: Ayurveda believes that these flowers bring good fortune.
Rasa or taste: Tikta or bitter
Guna or qualities: Snigdha or oily and picchila or sticky
Virya or potency: Sheeta or cool
Vipaka or taste conversion after digestion: Madhura or sweet
Prabhava or special effect: Medhya or improves intelligence and memory
Effect on
dosha:
It brings all three doshas into equilibrium and works especially well on Vata and Pitta disorders.
Its
madhura vipaka, oily, and sticky qualities pacify the Vata dosha whereas its cool potency pacifies Pitta dosha and its bitter taste pacifies Kapha dosha.
Parts used: Panchanga or whole plant.2
Swarasa or freshly extracted juice: 2-4 tola (one tola is approximately equal to 12 grams)
Kalka or paste or bolus prepared from a herb: 1 tola
Churna or fine powder: ¼-½ tola
Popular Ayurvedic Formulations of Shankhpushpi: Shankhpushpi paanak and Medhya kashaya 5
In the classical Ayurvedic text Charak Samhita, shankhpushpi has been mentioned as a medhya rasayana. Medhya rasayana means herbs which improve memory and intellect.
Medhya rasayana is a group of four medicinal plants namely – Mandukaparni (Centella asiatica), Yastimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) and Shankhapushpi (Convolvulus pluricaulis). Shankhpushpi is considered the best rasayana for improving memory and intellect.4
Shankhpushpi is considered the best rasayana for improving memory and intellect.
In Ayurvedic herbology, Dravyaguna Vijnana, shankhpushpi benefits and uses are as follows.5
Chemical Composition of Convolvulus Pluricaulis
Shankhpushpi contains alkaloids like
shankhapushpine, convolamine, convoline, convolidine, convolvine, confoline, convozine. Besides these shankhpushpi also contains volatile oils, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, hydrocarbons,myristic acids, palmitic acids, linoleic acids, scopoletin, β-sitosterol, ceryl alcohols, 20-oxo triacontanol, tetratriacontane acids, flavonoid-kaempferol, steroids-phytosterols, D-glucose, maltose, rhamnose, sucrose, starch and other carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids.6
Always consult your Ayurvedic practitioner and general physician before changing your diet and lifestyle and before using Ayurvedic herbs like shankhpushpi.
If you’d like to learn more about Ayurveda and how herbs can help with brain health, check out Dr. Akil Palanisamy’s course below.
References
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