CHAPTER 6
Amalaki: A Wonder Fruit

Ayurveda takes care of the patient as a whole with its holistic approach. Various Ayurvedic herbal and herbomineral preparations are used for the treatment of chronic and degenerative diseases without any side-effect.

Amla (Aonla) is one of the oldest Indian fruits. It is known as Amalaki in Sanskrit. It is a rich source of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Vitamin C found in amla fruits is heat stable, because it is bound to tannins which allow it to be cooked in preparations like chyawanprash a rejuvenating herbal preparation. The fruits of amla have been used in Ayurveda as potent Rasayana. Perhaps there is no medicinal plant in nature with such a vast range of medical benefits. It is used as an anti-oxidizing, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. Anti-oxidizing property resides in tannoids. It is one of the three constituents of the famous Ayurvedic preparation, Triphala, which is prescribed in many digestive disorders. The medicinal properties of amla have been elaborately described in ancient Ayurvedic texts, such Charak Samhita and Sushrut Samhita. It is used in making pickles and preserves. Preservation of amla is one of the speciality of the Indian fruit-preservation industry. It is said to be the native of tropical South-Eastern Asia, particularly central and southern India.

Amla Herb Information

1. Nomenclature

Family Name: Phyllanthaceae

Scientific Name: Emblica officinalis Linn

Sanskit Name: Dhatri, Amalaki

English Name: Indian gooseberry

Common Name: Amalaka, Amrtaphala, Dhatriphala

Synonym: Phyllanthus emblica

2. Bioenergetics

Rasa: Madhura, Amla, Katu, Tikta, Kasaya

Guna: Laghu, Ruksa

Virya: Shita

Vipaka: Madhura

Karma: Tridosajit, Vrsya, Rasayana, Caksusya

3. Biomedical Action

Stimulant, Anti-diabetes, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, Anti-ascorbutic, carminative and stomachic, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, Bactericidal.

Plant Part Used

Fruits

Habitat

In Himachal Pradesh, the amla seedlings grow wild in the forests up to elevations of 1,500 m. It is found in dry deciduous forests of India and Burma, and in the extreme north-west, ascending to 1,450 m. It is also found in China and Sri lanka. The major difference between these wild trees and the large-fruited types cultivated in the plains is of winter-hardiness; whereas the improved types are highly susceptible to frost injury, the wild amla are not damaged at all. Amla is a heavy bearer and the fruits also remain free from the attack of birds and wild animals. This plant also remains free from any serious disease and major insect pest.

Botanical Characters

The Indian gooseberry tree is a small, deciduous tree of small to medium size up to 5.5 m height that has feathery branches. Its bark is usually light brown to black, coming off in thin strips or flakes, exposing the fresh surface of a different colour underneath the older bark; the average girth of the main stem is 70 cm; in most cases the main trunk is divided into 2 to 7 scaffolds very near the base. The berries are fleshy and pale green, and have 6 dimly marked lobes. The flowers appear in dense clusters under the leaves, and hence the fruits grow in the same manner. The tree is indigenous to India. Fruits, fleshy, almost depressed to globose, 2.24 cm in diameter, 5.68 g in weight, 4.92 ml in volume, primrose yellow base.

The stone of the fruit is six ribbed, splitting into three segments, each containing usually two seeds: seeds 4–5 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, each weighing 572 mg, 590 microliters in volume.

The Flowering and Fruiting Season

The flowering season was observed to occur from the middle of April to the first week of May under Sanwara (H.P.) conditions. The flowering reached its peak in the end of April.

The fruiting season of amla is exceptionally long. The fruit in this area become fit for harvesting in December. They can be retained on the tree up to March without any significant loss in quality or yield. The picking of fruits is generally done by the villagers in February and march. In Western India fruiting season is October to December. The average yield of wild amla-trees growing in the forests is 23.5 kg. per tree.

Amla Fruits

Chemical Constituents

A number of laboratory tests conducted on the Indian gooseberry show that for every 100 grams of the berry, it yields between 470 and 680 mg of vitamin C, which increases in case, the juice is extracted. The fruits contains 20 and 15 times more vitamin C than grapefruits and lemon, respectively. Dehydrated berries yield 2.42 to 3.47 g of vitamin C for every 100 g. The fruit, (as well as its bark and leaves) contains a significant amount of tannins too. The seed of the berry contains a fixed oil, essential oil, and phosphatides.

The fruit pulp, which constitutes 90.97 % of the whole fruit, contains 70.5 % moisture. The total soluble solids constitute 23.8 % of the juice. The acidity of aonla is 3.28 % on pulp basis. The pulp contains 5.09 % total sugars and 5.08 % reducing sugars. The ascorbic acid content is 1,094.53 mg per 100 ml of juice. The tannins and pectin content of the pulp is 2.73 % and 0.59 %, respectively. The fruit pulp contains 0.75 % protein. The mineral content of the edible portion, as represented by its ash, is 2.922 %. The percentage content of the mineral elements, viz; phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron is 0.027, 0.368, 0.059, 0.248 and 0.004, respectively.

Table 6.1 Analysis of Fruit Pulp of Amla

Fruit pulp	90.97% of the whole fruit by weight
	70.5% moisture.
Total Soluble Solids (juice)	23.8% of juice
Acidity	3.28%
Total sugars	5.08%
Tannin	2.73%
Pectin	0.59%
Protein	o.75%
Minerals (represented by ash)	2.922%
Ascorbic acid	1094 mg per 100ml of juice

 

Health Benefit

The amla has been an extensive area of research for its medicinal properties. It has been found to prevent and cure the following health disorders.

• • Amalaki is considered best among Rasayana so called Acharasayana.
• • It clears all the three doshas present in human body. A regular use of amalaki is presumed to prolong life spans, up to 120 years for humans. Taking one raw amla every day in the morning removes general weakness of different part of the body.
• • Amla is a rejuvenator for the entire body. The herb is said to stimulate the production of red blood cells, enhance cell rejuvenation, increase lean body mass and support the functions of lever, heart, spleen and lungs.
• • It has also been used to strengthen eyes, bones and teeth, cause nail and hair to grow.
• • Amla proves useful in treating various respiratory diseases, especially tuberculosis of the lungs, asthma and bronchitis.
• • The root bark is useful in ulcerative stomatis. The bark is useful in gonorrhoea, jaundice, diarrhoea and myalgia.
• • Stimulation of the pancreas, enabling secretion of insulin and consequently reducing blood sugar in diabetes is seen when juice of the berry is taken regularly. So, it is used as a medication for diabetes.
• • Amla is anti-inflammatory and antipyretic in action.
• • Amla is a rich source of vitamin C, hense, this amla berry proves to be one of the best medications for scurvy. The powder of dried amla is mixed with an equal quantity of sugar and taken one teaspoon, thrice every day with milk.
• • The berry is also known to be a preventive measure as well as a balanced remedy for stomach ulcers and tumours.
• • The leaves are used as infusion with fenugreek seeds in chronic dysentery and as a bitter tonic.

Other Uses

• • These fruits are used in huge quantities for making pickles and preserves, both in the villages and in the towns. Several Ayurvedic medicinal preparations, hair wash powders, hair oils etc.
• • The fruit and bark is also used in tanning of leather by the village tanners. They are offered for sale in the towns for this purpose.
• • A fixed oil is obtained from the amla is used to strengthen and promote the growth of hair. The dried fruits have a good effect on hair hygiene and have long been used as an ingredient of shampoo and hair oil. Amla is an accepted hair tonic in traditional recipes for enriching hair growth and also pigmentation. The fruit, cut into pieces, is dried, preferably in shade and then boiled in coconut oil, the resulting oil is said to be excellent for preventing hair greying.
• • An essential oil is distilled from the leaves that are used in perfumery.
• • The aonla-fruits are dried for making triphala. They are also used as a principal ingredient in making another famous Ayurvedic restorative tonic called Chyawanprash and Brahma Rasayana etc.
• • The wood is of inferior quality. Used for agricultural implements, poles.

Home Remedies

• • The fluid mixture of amla and honey is useful in preserving eyesight. It is valuable in curing conjunctivitis and glaucoma.
• • One teaspoon of powdered dried amla mixed with 2 teaspoons of jaggery taken twice every day for a month helps treat rheumatism.
• • A beverage made from the dried fruit, when mixed with lemon juice and misri (sugar candy) eases acute bacillary dysentery.
• • A decoction of the leaves is used as a chemical-free bactericidal mouthwash. Bark of the root mixed with honey is applied to inflammations of the mouth and a decoction of the leaves is also useful as a mouth wash.
• • Amla powder is mixed with red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinum) and prepared in honey to relieve nausea and vomiting.
• • A paste of the fruit is a useful application to the forehead in cases of headache.
• • The seed are fried in ghee and ground in conjee (the liquid from boiled rice) is applied to the forehead to stop bleeding from the nose.
• • The milky juice of the leaves is a good application to sores. Grind the bark of E. officinalis (10 g) into a paste and apply to the cut or wound area once daily for 2 to 3 days. Alternatively, squeeze E. officinalis leaves and extract the juice to the cut once daily for 3 to 4 days. Healing occurs when the dynamic harmony of the doshas is restored.
• • To control vomiting mix 2 teaspoonful of amla juice with honey. Take daily.
• • For treating acidity, a powder consisting of amla, shatavari and sugar in equal parts mixed with equal quantity of honey was prescribed. In adults, the dose of Amalaki powder is 3 to 6 grams.
• • For the control of gastritis, vomiting, anorexia, take 500 mg to 1 g of amla powder, twice a day to be swallowed on an empty stomach or just before meals with water.
• • One tablespoon of the paste of amla leaves mixed with honey or buttermilk controls diarrhoea.
• • A cup of its juice mixed with honey culls intraocular tension extraordinarily. Infusion of the leaves is applied to sore eyes. The dried fruit immersed in water in a new earthen vessel a whole night yields a decoction which is used as a collyrium (a medical lotion applied to the eye as eyewash) in ophthalmia. It may be applied cold or warm.

Cautions

• • Amalaki powder is generally a safe medicine. No toxic or adverse effects are reported even with continuous use. It is safe for its use in children and pregnant women. It is also safe to the baby, if the nursing mother is taking this herb powder.