Remedies of Punarnava and its Medicinal Importance

Ayurveda considers man as an integral part of Mother Nature. Therefore the laws of nature are very well applicable for him also. Ancient philosophy which ponders the “secret of life and beyond” gives prime importance for health. It has understood the need of longevity and effectiveness to attain the supreme goal. Punarnava helps maintain efficient kidney and urinary functions with its diuretic, laxative, stomachic, diaphoretic, anthelminthic antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory action.

According to Ayurveda, Punarnava is bitter, cooling, astringent to bowels, useful in biliousness, blood impurities, leucorrhoea, anaemia, inflammations, heart diseases, asthma, alternatives etc.

The leaves are useful in dyspepsia, tumours, spleen enlargement and abdominal pains. According to Unani system of medicine, the leaves are appetizer, alexiteric, useful in ophthalmia, in joint pains. Seeds are tonic expectorant, carminative, useful in lumbago, scabies. The seeds are considered as promising blood purifier.

Remedies of Punarnava and its Medicinal Importance

Punarnava in India where it has a long history of use by indigenous and tribal people, and in Ayurvedic or natural/herbal medicine in India.

There, the roots are employed for many purposes including liver, gallbladder, and kidney, renal and urinary disorders. Bitter, stomachic, laxative,diuretic, expectorant, rejuvenative, diaphoretic, emetic Root-purgative, anthelmintic, febrifuge,  White-laxative, diaphoretic.

Punarnava gives flowers and fruits in rainy season. It has two varieties as described in ayurvedic text i.e. white and red variety of  Punarnava.one more variety i.e. blue Punarnava can also be found as mentioned in other  ayurvedic text named raja nighantu. It has been mentioned in the ayurvedic text that the white  Punarnava variety is what we commonly call  Punarnava i.e. Boerhaavia diffusa and the red  Punarnava variety is Trianthema portulacastrum which is generally used to adultrate Punarnava roots. Thus white Punarnava is basically used for the medicinal purpose. The white variety of Punarnava works as all the three dosha (vata, pitta and kapha) shiamak i.e. it suppresses all the
three aggravated doshas whereas the red Punarnava variety aggravates the vata dosha and suppresses the pitta dosha. As a whole both the varieties of punarnava are laghu (light) and ruksha (dry) in properties.

Punarnava also known by the botanical name of red hogweed is a very effective diuretic it works very well on the urinary system and it targets directly the damaged nephrons (kidney’s basic functional unit) which get damaged specially in cases of high blood sugar level i.e. in diabetic people. Punarnava speeds up the filtration process of kidneys and flushes out the excessive fluids and other waste products Punarnava is very effective in treating obesity thus it is a very important ingredient for a variety of patent Ayurvedic medicines used to treat obesity. It also acts as anti-inflammatory drug. It
is good for respiratory problems as well as it acts on the kapha dosha and thus suppresses the mucous formation. Thus Punarnava forms an integral part of many ayurvedic medicines that helps curing asthma, dyspnoea and other breathing problems as it helps in the removal of mucus from the bronchial tubes. In conditions like pneumonia or dyspnoea (difficulty in breathing) Punarnava is given along with Vacha (another Ayurvedic herb) As Punarnava works as a diuretic it can cure the
conditions like Anasarca (i.e. generalized body swelling). It can even be used in serious conditions like congestive cardiac problems. One of the Ayurvedic preparation that is used to treat anemia i.e. Punarnava mandoor has punarnava as an integral part .This preparation is used to increase the Hb levels in the body and thus cures iron deficiency anaemia.

Punarnava along with other ayurvedic herbs as Rasna, Shunthi etc. is used to treat swelling in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. In such cases rasna works as analgesic, shunthi works as amahar i.e. does detoxification and Punarnava relieves the swelling.

Punarnava works as a very good tonic as well in general debilities cases. It works as rasayana for
the body as it rejuvenates the body by cleansing it with its unique property of flushing out the mala
(toxins) from the dhatus (body tissues), balances the doshas and opening and nourishing the various body channels so that each and every tissue and cell of the body gets proper nutrition and keeps the body fit and fine.

Punarnava is a very good nerve rejuvenator and it is given in cases of sciatica or nervous weakness
or even paralysis condition. Externally also it is used for various purposes as in various panchkarma procedures like swedan (fomentation) where Punarnava roots mainly and punaranva plant as a whole is used to relive pain and swelling.

When Punarnava is used in enemas it works as a purgative and treats flatulence. It works as a mild
laxative and it enhances the appetite thus can be given in various gastric troubles including
constipation which is a most common trouble faced by people these days.
Punarnava can even be used to treat jaundice. It can be given in cases where intoxication due to serpent and rat bites has occurred. Sometimes fresh root juice of Punarnava is put into eyes so as to get relief from various eye ailments like night blindness and conjunctivitis.

Paste made from Punarnava roots is applied on  the injured wounds as it helps drying up the
oozing out of that wound. Also Punarnava can be used as in the form of dressing for various swellings or ulcers.

Punarnava is also helpful for many skin disorders. Punarnava is very effective in treating disease
like dropsy which is a condition where excess of fluid gets accumulated in the tissues and cavities
of the body. Punarnava can also be used to treat ascetic where fluid gets accumulated in abdominal cavity. Mainly it treats the ascites which is caused due to some liver disorder. According to Ayurveda ascites is described as jalodar roga where pradhan dosha is vata which blocks the channels of air within the body thus making the water gets accumulated in the peritoneal cavity of abdomen i.e. between muscles and abdominal skin.