Varuna benefits and side effects

Making varuna a part of your daily diet can be helpful in improving your appetite. As per Ayurveda, loss of appetite occurs because of agnimandya or poor digestion: aggravation of pitta, kapha and vata doshas results in improper digestion of food, which results in the loss of appetite. Varuna medicinal plant can help in stimulating the digestion of food and improving appetite. Deepan or appetiser property of the plant is responsible for this.

You can simply add store-bought varuna powder and honey in your daily diet to avail this benefit. However, people with high blood pressure should use varuna plant only under medical supervision. The diuretic (increases urine production) activity of the plant is the reason for this.

The anti-inflammatory properties of varuna medicinal plant can be helpful to patients with arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. It can be helpful in reducing joint stiffness and joint pain.

The bark of the varuna plant may have anti-diabetic properties. It may help to reduce the extra secretion of insulin and blood sugar levels.

Varuna plant helps in treating pitta dosha (metabolic disorders). It enables the liver to work properly and helps in restoring extra bilirubin levels. A healthy metabolism can facilitate proper digestion of food and also aid weight loss.

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An ethanolic extract of varuna plant’s stem bark can help in reducing the severity and frequency of diarrhoea and intestinal transit produced by castor oil, a study showed.

Varuna flower can be useful for the management of bleeding disorders like rectal bleeding, nasal bleeding and menorrhagia (heavy periods). Ayurveda suggests that all body processes are regulated by equilibrium among vata, pitta and kapha. Varuna plant has been found to be helpful in balancing vata (blood flow, waste elimination, breathing), pitta (fever and metabolic disorders) and kapha (joint lubrication, skin moisture, wound healing).

Varuna can help in quicker healing of wounds. Bark powder can be applied on the affected area of the skin, and it can help in reducing swelling and reviving the normal texture of the skin. Ropan or healing properties of varuna are responsible for this. Make a paste by adding 1.5 tsp of varuna bark powder in coconut oil, and apply on the affected area.

The laxative properties of varuna plant can be helpful in offering relief from constipation. It helps in loosening stools and regularising bowel movement. Deepan (appetiser) and pachan (digestion) properties of varuna medicinal plant promote better digestion and prevent the formation of toxins in the body.

An abscess is a buildup of pus in the tissues of the body. It causes redness, pain and swelling. Ayurveda suggests that an abscess occurs because of an imbalance of the vata and pitta doshas, which results in inflammation and pus formation. The sothhar (anti-inflammatory), kashaya (astringent) properties and vata-balancing properties of varuna plant can help in the management of abscess. It can reduce inflammation and also prevent abscesses in future. You can apply varuna bark powder and coconut oil paste on the affected area.

Varuna medicinal plant has anti-inflammatory properties that can be helpful in the management of gout. Ayurveda says that gout occurs because of the imbalance of vata dosh, which results in inflammation and swelling in the affected area. Varuna helps in balancing vata dosha and also reducing inflammation.

Read more: What to eat, what not to eat to reduce uric acid

Varuna medicinal plant has a snigdha or oily nature. It can help in reducing aggravated vata dosha, which results in dry skin, lack of moisture, wrinkles and other symptoms of premature ageing.

You can make a paste of varuna bark powder and coconut oil and apply on the affected area to control your wrinkles.

Due to its kashaya or astringent property, varuna can be helpful in purifying the blood and preventing skin conditions like acne or boils.

The plant has been found to be effective in combating infections of the urinary tract (UTI). The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of the plant could be responsible for this. The plant can help in controlling the burning sensation (vaginal burning and penile burning sensation) caused by a UTI. It also helps in increasing urine flow. The traditional recommendation is to have 1.5 teaspoons of varuna powder with honey after meals, if you have a UTI.

Please note that this remedy is not a substitute for a doctor's visit. If you have itching or burning sensation in the genitalia while urinating, frequent urination, fever or other symptoms of a UTI, see a doctor on an urgent basis and only take herbal remedies if your doctor allows it.

Urolithiasis is a term used to describe stones that form the urinary tract. Clinical studies conducted at the Banaras Hindu University show that the varuna plant can be effective in the management of urolithiasis, chronic urinary infections, prostatic hypertrophy (benign growth in the prostate that may lead to urinary tract obstruction) and neurogenic bladder (loss of bladder control due to a problem with the nervous system or spine).

A decoction of the varuna bark, when administered to urolithiasis patients, helped in reducing the urinary excretion of calcium. It also altered proportions of urinary magnesium and sodium, which are also involved in the formation of urinary stones.

The bark of varuna tree may help in the passage of urinary stones. In a study with 46 people with kidney stones, ureter stones and bladder stones, 26 were able to pass the stones within four months of treatment with a decoction of varuna bark. The reason: varuna is a known diuretic. It increases the production of urine in the body, thereby increasing the chances of passing the smaller stones naturally.

According to research published in the Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants in 2008, the root bark of varuna also contains "lupeol, a pentacyclic triterpene" which can reduce the chances of kidney stones by limiting the deposition of the minerals that cause them.