Apamarga, commonly known as ‘Prickly chaff flower’ is an erect, stiff, annual-perennial herb, often with a woody base found commonly in waste places roadsides, gardens, fields or farms, forest edges, forest clearings and other places. The name ‘Apamarga’ indicates that the plant mitigate all three vitiated doshas. The word ‘Achyranthes’ means the plant have numerous thorns in it and ‘aspera’ indicates the spinous bracts of inflorescence of prickly chaff flower plant. Apamarga one of the 21 leaves used in the Ganesh Patra Pooja done regularly on Ganesh Chaturthi day.
Apamarga is one of the important and most used herbs in Ayurveda due to its vast variety of actions and ability to pacify all three doshas. So it is widely used in many disease conditions including allergic reactions. Apamarga has been extensively used in Ayurveda as an anti-inflammatory agent besides being useful in Hemorrhoids, indigestion, cough, asthma, anemia, jaundice and snake bite. To instantly get rid of cough, read more about cough home remedies.
Apamarg oil is used locally in earache. The root powder is sprinkled over the lesion in skin diseases.
☆ Plant Description :
• Root – Cylindrical tap root, slightly ribbed, 0.1-1.0 cm in thickness, gradually tapering, rough due to the presence of some root scars, secondary and tertiary roots present, yellowish-brown;odour, not distinct.
• Stem – 0.3 – 0.5 cm in cut pieces, yellowish-brown, erect, branched, cylindrical, hairy, solid, hollow when dry.
• Leaf – Simple, subsessile, exstipulate, opposite, decussate, wavy margin, obovate, slightly acuminate and pubescent due to the presence of thick coat of long simple hairs.
• Flower – Arranged in inflorescence of long spikes, greenish-white, numerous, sessile, bracteate with two bracteoles, one spine lipped, bisexual, actinomorphic, hypogynous;perianth segments 5, free, membranous, contorted or quincuncial, stamens 5, opposite, the perianth lobes, connate forming a membranous tube-like structure, alternating with truncate and fimbriate staminodes, filament short;anther, two celled, dorsifixed;single;stigma, capitate.
• Fruit – An indehiscent dry utricle enclosed within persistent, perianth and bracteoles.
• Seed – Sub-cylindric, truncate at the apex, round at the base, endospermic, brown.
☆ Medicinal Properties and Uses of Apamarga (Achyranthes aspera) :
• Food allergy: eliminates aam visha (toxins) and stimulate agni (digestive fire), hence helps in food allergic conditions.
• Nasal allergy: found very effective in expelling sputum from lungs, relieves in cough and cold, asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis and bronchitis.
• Skin allergy: kanduhara (relieves in generalized pruritis) used in urticarial rashes.
• Fungal Infections: have fungicidal activity when taken orally.
• External Uses: paste preparation used in warts and Scorpio bite; Swaras drops in ear pain.
☆ Home remedies of Apamarga :
Ayurveda is the Indian wisdom for maintaining health through natural measures. Home remedies are the easiest measures for health care. Apamarga is having a wide range of actions in different medical conditions.
• In Diarrhoea (Visuchika) – Fresh roots of Apamarga is collected and made into a paste. It then taken with water checks diarrhea.
• In Sinus related cases(Nadivrana) – Oil is prepared from Apamarga fruits and is mixed with cow’s urine. It is the applied along the sinus.
• In Excessive hunger (Bhasmaka) – Gruel prepared of Apamarga seeds, milk and Iguana meat soup is taken.
• In Wounds (Vrana or Sastrakshata) – Paste of fresh leaves of Apamarga is applied over accidental wound to check bleeding.
• In Vomiting (Chardi) – Root powder of Apamarga is taken along with honey in vomiting.
• In Stomach ache (Udarasula) – Juice of Apamarga plant is taken, mixed with honey and given in stomach ache.
• In Piles (Arsas) – Repeated administration of root powder of Apamarga grinded with honey and rice water is useful in piles.
• In Bleeding disorders (Raktarsrava) – Seeds of Apamarga taken with rice water is effective in bleeding disorders.
☆ Apamarga side effects:
• In high dose, it may cause vomiting.
• It is not suitable for use in pregnant ladies. Can be used in lactating mothers and in children in lower doses for limited period of time.
• For men, undergoing infertility treatment, it is better to avoid long term usage of Apamarga.
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