Kadam (Neolamarckia cadamba)
Neolamarckia cadamba
Ayurvedic Herbalism
Ayurvedic Herbalism

Kadam

Neolamarckia cadamba

Also known as kadamba, burflower tree, common bur-flower, wild cinchona, Kadamba, Priyaka, Nipa.

CoolingDryingTaste: AstringentTaste: BitterTaste: Sweet

Neolamarckia cadamba is the tall, straight-trunked kadam tree of the coffee family, native to the moist forests of the Himalayan foothills, Bengal, Assam, the Western Ghats and the eastern states, and widely planted along roads and in temple compounds for its fragrant orange ball-shaped flowers. Ayurveda uses the stem bark, and to a lesser degree the fruit and leaf, as a cooling astringent for diarrhea, bleeding, fever and wounds. The tree is loved in poetry and devotional literature, and the bark has held a modest but steady place in the classical nighantus and in village medicine.

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AstringentAntidiarrhealHemostaticAntipyreticAnti-inflammatoryVulneraryAntimicrobialAntioxidantMild hypoglycemicAnthelmintic

Indications what the tradition reached for it in

Specific indications

A kapha-pitta patient with loose, mucoid, sometimes bloody stools, a coated tongue and low-grade fever, who needs binding and cooling rather than heating

Spongy, bleeding gums and recurrent aphthous ulcers in a hot, congested constitution, where an astringent cooling gargle is wanted

A weeping wound or inflamed joint in a warm, swollen patient, where a cooling bark paste is applied while the bowel is quietly toned

Safety

The record lists 5 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.

In practice

Kadamba belongs on the astringent shelf beside Udumbara, Nyagrodha and Lodhra, and the classical texts group it with the fig barks for the same purposes: it binds the bowel, checks bleeding and cools inflamed tissue.

In Ayurveda

Rasa: kashaya (astringent), tikta (bitter), madhura (sweet, the fruit). Virya: sheeta (cooling). Vipaka: katu (pungent). Guna: guru (heavy), ruksha (dry). Dosha: pacifies kapha and pitta; heavy and astringent, so it can aggravate vata if used long in a dry patient. Karma: stambhana (astringes, checks discharge); grahi (binds the bowel); raktastambhana (stops bleeding); vranaropana (heals wounds); shothahara (reduces swelling); jvaraghna (relieves fever); krimighna (anthelmintic); dahaprashamana (relieves burning); vishaghna (counters poison, topical). Classical indications: atisara (diarrhea); pravahika (dysentery); raktapitta (bleeding disorders); jvara (fever); vrana (wounds and ulcers); mukhapaka (stomatitis); shotha (inflammatory swelling); prameha (urinary disorders including diabetes); kushtha (skin disease); netraroga (eye inflammation, as a wash). The stem bark is the principal drug, given as churna, as kwatha for internal use and as a gargle or wash, and ground with water as a kalka for wounds and swellings. The ripe fruit is eaten and its juice taken for thirst and fever; the leaf is warmed and applied to painful joints. Classical formulations: Kadamba kwatha, Kadamba twak churna, Kadambadi lepa, Nyagrodhadi gana kwatha, Kadamba phala swarasa. Described in: Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Ashtanga Hridaya, Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, Dhanvantari Nighantu, Raja Nighantu, Kaiyadeva Nighantu.

Dosing as the sources wrote it

PreparationAs writtenMetric
Churna3-6 g powdered stem bark twice daily with honey or rice water3000-6000 mg
Kwatha50-100 mL bark decoction twice daily50-100 mL
Swarasa10-20 mL fresh fruit juice once or twice daily10-20 mL
Kalka, topical5-10 g bark paste applied to wounds or swollen joints once daily5000-10000 mg
Gargle50-100 mL bark decoction used as a mouth rinse twice daily50-100 mL

Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.

From the sources

Overview. Neolamarckia cadamba is the tall, straight-trunked kadam tree of the coffee family, native to the moist forests of the Himalayan foothills, Bengal, Assam, the Western Ghats and the eastern states, and widely planted along roads and in temple compounds for its fragrant orange ball-shaped flowers. Ayurveda uses the stem bark, and to a lesser degree the fruit and leaf, as a cooling astringent for diarrhea, bleeding, fever and wounds. The tree is loved in poetry and devotional literature, and the bark has held a modest but steady place in the classical nighantus and in village medicine.

Clinical Notes. Kadamba belongs on the astringent shelf beside Udumbara, Nyagrodha and Lodhra, and the classical texts group it with the fig barks for the same purposes: it binds the bowel, checks bleeding and cools inflamed tissue.

Ayurvedic Profile. Rasa: kashaya (astringent), tikta (bitter), madhura (sweet, the fruit). Virya: sheeta (cooling). Vipaka: katu (pungent). Guna: guru (heavy), ruksha (dry). Dosha: pacifies kapha and pitta; heavy and astringent, so it can aggravate vata if used long in a dry patient.

In formulas

Kadam stands in 2 documented formulas in the library, among them Grahaṇīmihira Taila, Abhraka Bhasma.

Often paired with

nut grassCyperus rotunduslodh treeSymplocos racemosachebulic myrobalanTerminalia chebulaguduchiTinospora cordifoliaIndian valerianValeriana jatamansifalse daisyEclipta prostrata

Nearby on the shelf

JivantiLeptadenia reticulataJob's TearsCoix lacryma-jobiJujubeZiziphus jujubaJuniperJuniperus communisKadsura pepperPiper kadsuraKakanasaPentatropis capensisKakoliRoscoea proceraKamalaMallotus philippinensis

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