Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
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Nyagrodha is the Ayurvedic name for the banyan tree, Ficus benghalensis. It is used as a single herb. That means one plant on its own, not a mixed formula.
The parts used are the bark of the trunk and the bark of the hanging air roots. Leaf buds are used as well. Some old recipes also use the milky sap.
In Ayurveda it is given mainly for loose stools and for dysentery (diarrhoea with blood or mucus). It is also used for vaginal discharge and for mouth and gum problems. Healers use it on slow-healing wounds and skin complaints too.
It is also part of the old approach to prameha. Prameha is a group of illnesses that includes what we now call diabetes.
Here is the honest verdict on the evidence. Nyagrodha has a deep, well-recorded place in tradition. But good human trials are more or less missing.
Most of what is published is lab and animal work. Traditional use tells you that a plant was valued and widely used. It is not proof that the plant works, and the two should not be mixed up.
The short answer is that nobody has shown clearly how it works in people.
The bark is very high in tannins. Tannins are plant compounds that bind protein and make tissue feel tight and dry. That drying effect is the likely reason it firms up loose stools.
It is also why the bark is used as a mouth rinse for sore, bleeding gums. The effect is local, in the gut or the mouth. You do not need a deeper claim to explain it.
For blood sugar, the work comes from animals. Studies point to flavonoids in the bark, a type of plant pigment. In rats and in test tubes, these appear to raise insulin release and slow the breakdown of starch into sugar.
Insulin is the hormone that moves sugar out of the blood. These findings do not come from good human trials. Treat them as a possible lead and nothing more.
Lab work also reports antioxidant and germ-killing action in bark extracts. Almost every tannin-rich bark shows this in a dish. It does not reliably turn into a benefit you would notice.
Common forms you will meet:
Dried bark powder (churna). This is the most traditional form. It is taken with water, honey or buttermilk.
A water decoction (kwatha). The bark is simmered in water. You drink the liquid, or cool it and use it as a mouth rinse or wash.
Air root bark powder. It is used much like trunk bark.
Capsules and tablets of bark powder or extract, sold as supplements.
Outside uses: pastes of bark or leaf bud for wounds, and the latex put on the skin in old practice.
Nyagrodha is also part of classical multi-herb mixes, such as Nyagrodhadi kwatha. This page covers the single herb only.
Nyagrodha appears in the oldest Ayurvedic texts. These include the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita. There it heads a named group of astringent, cooling barks used for bleeding, discharge and wounds.
The banyan is a sacred tree across India. It shows up in religious and village life as much as in medicine. Its bark has also been used in Siddha and Unani practice, and in simple home remedies for diarrhoea.
So the herb has a long, unbroken record in one large tradition. That is why its traditional tier sits high while its evidence grade does not.
See a doctor now if you have blood in your stool, a fever, severe stomach pain, or signs of dehydration such as very dark urine, dizziness on standing or passing almost no urine.
Get urgent help if you take diabetes medicine and feel shaky, sweaty, confused or faint. These can be signs of hypoglycaemia (blood sugar dropping too low).
See a doctor within a few days for gum bleeding that keeps coming back, vaginal discharge with pain, smell or fever, or a wound that is red, swollen, hot or leaking pus.
Stop and seek advice if you get a rash, swelling of the lips or face, or trouble breathing after taking it.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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