Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
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Kaṭphala is the dried bark of the box myrtle tree, Myrica esculenta. In Ayurveda it is a single drug (one plant, not a mixture), used mainly for coughs, blocked noses, sore throats and loose stools.
It is given as a powder, a boiled decoction, a gargle or a snuff. Classical texts group it with the medicines that thin and clear kapha, the bodily principle linked with mucus and congestion.
The honest evidence verdict: Kaṭphala has a long and well-recorded place in Ayurvedic practice, but almost all modern testing has been in test tubes and animals. Traditional standing and proof of effect are two different things, and a long history of use does not by itself show that something works.
Nobody has shown in people how Kaṭphala works. What follows is the best current thinking, not settled fact.
The bark is very rich in tannins, the same astringent (puckering, drying) compounds found in strong tea. Tannins bind to proteins on the surface of the gut and throat, which may explain the old use for loose stools and raw, sore throats.
Laboratory work also reports anti-inflammatory (swelling-reducing) and antihistamine-like activity from myricetin and related compounds. Animal studies have shown reduced airway irritation and reduced fever. These findings are a reason to study the plant, not a reason to expect the same result in a person.
Kaṭphala is sold and used as:
Bark powder (churna), the standard form, taken with warm water or honey.
Decoction (kvatha), bark simmered in water and strained.
Gargle or throat wash, made from the cooled decoction.
Nasal snuff (nasya), a classical practice that should only be done under a trained practitioner, not at home.
Bark extract capsules and tablets, a modern format with no agreed strength.
An ingredient in compound Ayurvedic formulas for cough and congestion.
The berry is also sold as a fruit, juice or squash in the Himalayan foothills. That is a food, not this medicine.
Kaṭphala appears in the classical Ayurvedic compendia, including the Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita, and in later materia medica such as the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, usually in the groups for cough, hoarseness and nasal congestion.
It grows across the Himalayan belt from Nepal and northern India into north-east India and parts of China. Related Myrica species have their own long records in Unani, Tibetan and Chinese practice, and North American bayberry (Myrica cerifera) was used in a similar astringent way.
Bark harvesting has pushed wild populations down, and the species is treated as threatened in parts of its range.
See a doctor if a cough lasts more than three weeks, if you cough up blood, or if you become short of breath or wheezy.
Get medical help the same day for a fever above 39°C, a stiff neck, severe throat pain that stops you swallowing, or diarrhoea with blood, or diarrhoea lasting more than two days.
Stop the bark and get checked if you bruise easily, bleed from the gums or nose, feel unusually tired or pale, or develop a rash, swelling of the face or trouble breathing.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →
The published evidence for Kaṭphala is weak or absent. That usually means no controlled trial has tested it, not that a trial found it ineffective — the two are different, and we grade only what has been published.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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