Bruhathi or Brhathi herb

     Brhathi also known as Indian night shade is found through out India. The herb is useful in treating many diseases and hence also called Mahati. Dr.Varun Ram Raj of Ayurvedatarian uses the herb Brhathi in conditions like Cough (Kasa) Respiratory disorders (Swasa) etc as the herb alleviates Vata Kapha doshas. The main causative factor for Kasa and Swasa are vitiation of these two doshas. Modern researches shows that the herb can be used as an aphrodisiac, carminative and analgesic as it contains Phytoconstituents like solasonine, solanine etc . Brhathi can be used to treat numerous diseases like Alopecia, Sprue etc.

General aspects and Geography

Botanical name : Solanum indicum      

Family :  Solanaceae 

Habitat: Found through out India

Parts used

• Root Fruit Leaves

Classical categorization based on Ayurveda Textbooks

Charaka Samhita – Sothahara varga (alleviates swelling  )

Susruta Samhita – Brhatyadi gana

Pharmacological action

• Carminative 
• Aphrodisiac 
• Antipyretic 
• Expectorant 

 

Medicinal property according to Ayurveda

• Pacana (Appetizer )
• Kasahara (Alleviate cough )
• Sulahara (Alleviate swelling )
• Agnivardaka (Carminative )

Therapeutic indications

• Alopecia (Indralupta)- Fresh juice of Brhathi taken and mixed with Honey and applied externally on scalp
• Worm infection of ear (Krimi karna) – Fumigation of Brhathi alleviates complications of ear infections and is beneficial to eliminate worms
• Sprue (Grahani )- Brhathi is processed with buttermilk and is taken internally   
• 
  

Dosage

Powder (Churna) – 2 g

Decoction (Kashaya )- 60 ml

Juice(Swarasa)- 10 ml

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 

• Brahatyadi kwatha
• Dasamularishta 
• Laghupancamula kwatha
• Dasamula ghrtha 

Morphology :

An armed shrub with herbaceous branched stem with prickles. Leaves are pubescent above. Inflorescence is axillary corymbose cyme. Flowers are small. Fruits are berry.

Vernacular names of Brhathi

English – Indian night shade

Hindi- Banabhanta

Malayalam – Cheruchunda

Sanskrit -Brhathi

Synonyms

• Vartaki
• Pithaphala
• Kantaki
• Mahati

Rasapanchaka 

Rasa- Tikta (bitter) Katu (Acrid ) 

Guna-  Laghu (Light)

Vipaka- Katu (Acrid ) 

Virya- Ushna (hot)

बृहतीग्राहिणी हृद्यापाचनी कफवातहृत् |

कटुतिक्ताऽऽस्यवैरस्यमलारोचकनाशिनी ||

(Bhavaprakasa Nighantu -Guducyadi varga-shloka 36)

  Brhathi alleviate Vata Kapha doshas because of it’s properties like hot potency and acrid taste. Ayurvedatarian lead by Dr. Varun Ram Raj, uses the herb Brhathi in treating diseases caused by the vitiation of Vata and Kapha doshas. Ayurvedatarian are currently conducting more researches on the herb to fully exploit it’s medicinal values and to prepare new combinations for the alleviation of commonly found diseases.

Frequently asked Questions

1. What are the uses of Brhathi kashaya ?

According to Ayurvedic textbooks, Brhathi kashaya can be used to treat Chronic fever and Respiratory distress.

2. What is the Dosage of Dasamularishta ?

          Dasamularishta can be taken internally at a dose of 20 ml for an adult.