The fruit of the emblic myrobalan is one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C available in India, and is commonly described as containing twenty times the amount of vitamin C to be found in a glass of fresh orange juice. Ayurveda recommends taking a tonic made from the fruit throughout the winter months. The fresh fruit’s high concentrate of vitamin C has been shown by recent clinical tests on patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis to be more quickly assimilated than the synthetic vitamin. Because it is also cooling, an excellent liver tonic, and assists the body in excreting urinary waste, Ayurvedic physicians recommend drinking the juice during the summer months when the body’s functions become sluggish with the heat.
One of the virtues of the fruit to Ayurvedic medicine is that it can be used both fresh and dried. Together with the chebulic and belleric myrobalans, the emblic myrobalan forms the classic three fruits which are used as the basis of almost every Ayurvedic tonic, and Ayurveda’s claims for the tonic properties of the myrobalans have attracted much scientific attention in India. A series of clinical tests on the emblic myrobalan have found the fruit contains elements which are antiviral, raise the total protein level in the body, activate the adrenaline response, and which protect against tremors and convulsions. |
