Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
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Sandal Surkh is the deep red heartwood of the red sandalwood tree. Its plant name is Pterocarpus santalinus. It is a single drug (mufrad) of Persian and Unani medicine.
Most often it is used as a cooling paste on the skin. It is sometimes taken by mouth in small amounts. The same wood is also an old source of red dye.
Traditional healers use it for hot, itchy or sore skin. They also use it for burning feelings in the body and for headache. It is one part of larger tonic mixtures too.
It is not a food. People do not eat it in any real amount.
The honest verdict comes first. There is no useful human trial evidence for red sandalwood. What we have is lab and animal work.
A long record of old use tells you that people valued it. It is not proof that it works.
No one has shown how Sandal Surkh works in people. So what follows is theory, not proven fact.
In Unani theory the wood is cold and dry. It is used to cool heat, calm burning feelings and dry weeping skin. That is why it was put on the skin rather than swallowed.
Lab work hints at some anti-inflammatory (swelling-calming) action. It also hints at antioxidant (cell-protecting) action. These may come from its red pigments and related compounds.
Animal studies have reported lower blood sugar. Some have also reported help with wound healing.
None of this has been confirmed in people. What happens in a test tube often does not happen in the body.
Sandal Surkh is sold and used in a few simple forms.
Common forms include: - Coarse chips or shavings, soaked or simmered in water - Fine wood powder, mixed with water or rose water into a skin paste (lep) - Water infusions and decoctions taken by mouth in small amounts - One part of mixed Unani products such as sharbats, khamiras and cooling powders - Wood-infused oils used for massage in some regions
True red sandalwood is scarce, and trade rules protect it. So cheaper red woods and dyed timber are often sold under the same name.
Red sandalwood has been named in drug texts for hundreds of years. It appears in Unani, Ayurvedic, Siddha and Chinese works. In Ayurveda it is called Raktachandana.
Persian and Arab doctors listed it among the cooling woods, next to white sandalwood. It spread along Indian Ocean trade routes. It travelled as a medicine, and as a prized dye and timber.
See a doctor if the skin problem you are treating spreads, weeps pus, becomes painful, or has not improved in two to three weeks.
Get medical help the same day if you develop swelling of the lips, face or throat, trouble breathing, a widespread rash, or signs of very low blood sugar such as sweating, shaking, confusion or feeling faint.
Also speak to a doctor before starting it if you take any prescription medicine, especially for diabetes.
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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