# Myrobalans (Terminalia chebula)

**Myrobalani**

**Known today as.** The dried fruits of *Terminalia chebula*, *T. bellirica*, and *Phyllanthus emblica*.

Kind: Plant  
Poisoning: The anthranoid purgatives (https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/poisons/anthranoid)

## What was it used for?

Arabic purges “for every humor,” each kind for its own; see [the confection of hamech](https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/hamech-confection-of).

## What does modern science say?

Astringent and mildly laxative; the three fruits are still combined as triphala in Ayurvedic medicine.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **chebulagic and chebulinic acids**: ellagitannins, in chebulic myrobalan
- **gallic acid**: 
- **corilagin**: 
- **anthraquinones**: in the black myrobalan, the purgative

**Mechanism.** The dried fruits of several *Terminalia* species and the emblic (*Phyllanthus emblica*): the tannins astringe and the anthranoids of the unripe black fruit purge, which gave the Arabs a purge “for every humour” from one family. Chebulic myrobalan (haritaki) has broad antimicrobial and antioxidant activity in the laboratory.

**Dose.** Safe at pharmacopoeial doses; large doses purge and the tannins bind iron.

**Standing.** The three myrobalans make triphala, among the most used Ayurvedic preparations, with small trials for constipation and gum disease; no European monograph.

## What lore surrounds it?

Folkard's myrobalan is “a fruit similar to a Cherry, but containing only a juice of so disagreeable a flavour that the very birds refuse to feed upon it: the fruit, however, is much employed in Indian medicines.” He adds a Hindu tradition that “the wife of Somaçarman struck twice with a wand a Myrobalan-tree, whereupon the tree rose from the earth with her, and carrying her away, at last placed her on a golden hill in a golden town.”

## Sources

- Mesue (attributed), *Antidotarium*.
- Folkard, R. (1884). *Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics*, “Myrobalan.” Project Gutenberg #44638.
- Bag, A., et al. (2013). “The development of *Terminalia chebula* Retz. (Combretaceae) in clinical research.” *Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine* 3.
- Peterson, C. T., et al. (2017). “Therapeutic uses of triphala in Ayurvedic medicine.” *Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine* 23.

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*Myrobalans.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-01. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/myrobalans

Historical description, not medical advice.