Bakuci: The skin care herb from Ayurveda

   

       

Bakuci is commonly known as Purple fleabane. The herb is well known for the successful management of Vitiligo (Switra). According to Ayurvedic textbooks, Bakuci is one most efficacious herbs for treating skin disorders. The best Ayurveda doctor Dr.Varun Ram Raj of Ayurvedatarian uses the herb Bakuci to treat conditions like Enteritis (Pravahika), Leucoderma (Switra) and to treat other skin disorders as the plant is Kapha and Pitta dosha balancing in nature. The main causative factor of the above mentioned conditions are vitiation of Kapha and Pitta doshas. Modern researches shows that the plant contains Phyto-constituents like raffenose, coumarin, psoralen etc which aids in it’s Antimicrobial actions.

General Aspects and Geography

Botanical name : Psoralea corylifolia        

Family :  Papilionaceae 

Habitat: Found through out India

Parts used

• Seed

Classical categorization based on Ayurveda Textbooks

Charaka Samhita – Not mentioned 

Susruta Samhita – Not mentioned 

Pharmacological Actions 

• Antimicrobial  
• Anti-fungal 
• Anti-inflammatory 

Medicinal property according to Ayurveda

• Rasayana (Rejuvenation)
• Kushtaghna ( alleviate skin disorders )
• Krimighna (Antimicrobial )
• Mehahara (anti-diabetic )

Therapeutic indications

• Enteritis (Pravahika) – Leaves of Bakuci consumed with rice by adding Ghee relieves enteritis.
• Skin diseases (Kushta)- Rubbing the powder of Bakuci is beneficial wide range of skin ailments.
• Leucoderma(Switra)- Decoction prepared from Bakuci is taken internally at a dose of 90 ml daily to alleviate Leucoderma.

Dosage

Powder (Churna) – 3 g

Tablet - 2 tablets twice daily or as per the advice of the Ayurveda doctor 

Note: Ayurveda medications must be taken only after consulting an Ayurveda doctor. 

Formulations 

• Somaraji taila
• Vidangadi churna
• Somaraji ghrtha 
• Avalgujabheejadi churna

Morphology :

      An erect annual herb with strong and elastic branches. The leaves are round or heart shaped. Inflorescence is axillary racemose. Flowers are bluish purple. Seeds are small and smooth.

Vernacular names of  Bakuci 

English –Purple fleabane

Hindi- Babchi 

Malayalam –  Karpokkari 

Sanskrit – Bakuci 

Synonyms  

• Avalguja
• Krushnaphala
• Kushtaghni 

Rasapanchaka – Bakuci

 

Rasa- Madhura(Sweet) Tiktha(Bitter )

Guna-  Ruksha (Dry)

Vipaka- Katu(acrid)

Virya- Sita (cold)

बाकुची मधुरातिक्ता कटुपाका रसायनी ।

विष्टम्भहृहिमा रुच्या सरा श्लेष्मास्त्रपित्तनुत् ।।

(Bhavaprakasa Nighantu – Haritakyadi varga- Shloka no 207)

   Bakuci alleviate Kapha and Pitta doshas because of it’s properties like bitter taste and cold potency. It is mainly used to treat skin disorders. Dr Varun Ram Raj, is leading the research for Ayurvedatarian single herbs and herbal combinations for making the availability of high quality herbal as well as Ayurvedic products to the globe. We currently conducts many studies on Bakuci to understand full potency in treating skin ailments. Reach Ayurvedatarian for real Ayurveda.

Researches on Bakuci 

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249905/
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335975230_BAKUCHI_Psoralea_corylifolia_L_IN_THE_CLASSICAL_TEXTS_OF_AYURVEDA_A_COMPREHENSIVE_REVIEW

Frequently asked Questions

1) What are the uses of Bakuci powder?

 Bakuci powder can be used for rubbing in skin disorders.

2) What is the dose of Bakuci churna ?

Bakuci churna is taken at a dose of 3g for an adult.