Bel / Bael fruit tree (Digestion tonic)
Scientific Name:
Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa
Family:
Rutaceae
Common Names:
English: Bael fruit tree, Bael
Sanskrit: Bilva, Shriphal, Pootivat, Shailpatra, Lakshmiputra, Shivesht
Hindi: Bel, Vili, Shriphal
Gujarati: Bel, Beeli
Bengali: Bel
Telugu: Bilvayu, Moredu
Arabic: Safarjale
Urdu: Bel
Tamil: Bilubam
Introduction
The Bael tree is an ancient and sacred Indian tree, mentioned in Shastra Purana and Vedic literature. It has unique characteristics such as its ability to retain quality even after long periods. The tree’s shade is cool and health-promoting, making it highly valued in traditional medicine.
External Appearance
A medium-sized tree, 25-30 feet tall, with a thick, leafy canopy.
Leaves are trifoliate and fragrant.
Fruits are spherical, 2-4 inches in diameter, with a greyish-yellow exterior.
Seeds are small, hard, and numerous.
Chemical Composition
Contains tannic acid, volatile oil, and bitter elements.
The fruit pulp has sugar-reducing elements and tannin.
The seed oil is yellow and acts as a potent purgative.
Properties
Hot in nature.
Calms phlegm and wind.
Tasty, digestive, heart-tonic, blood-stopper, and phlegm destroyer.
Useful in treating diarrhea, dysentery, diabetes, leucorrhoea, hemorrhoids, and hypermenorrhea.
Different Parts & Their Properties
Bael Fruit:
Astringent, digestive, smooth, hot, beneficial for colic, rheumatism, and dysentery.
Young or Semi-Ripe Fruit:
Astringent, light, aids digestion, and alleviates phlegm.
Ripe Fruit:
Heavy, sweet, hot, mild laxative, and strength-enhancing.
Leaves:
Astringent, digestive, anti-inflammatory, beneficial for diabetes, jaundice, fever, and wounds.
Root & Bark:
Used for fever, indigestion, diarrhea, and urinary tract issues.
Medicinal Uses
1. Headache
Apply a paste of dried root with water on the head.
Apply a bandage soaked in leaf juice for relief.
2. Lice Removal
Mix ripe fruit peel with sesame oil and camphor; apply on hair to prevent lice.
3. Eye Treatment
Apply ghee on leaves, heat, and tie on eyes to cure eye infections.
Drip fresh leaf juice in eyes to relieve irritation.
4. Night Blindness
Consume fresh bael leaves with black pepper and sugar candy.
Prepare and apply herbal antimony made from bael leaf juice, cow ghee, and camphor.
5. Deafness
Prepare an ear oil using soft bael leaves, cow urine, sesame oil, and goat milk; use daily.
6. Tuberculosis, Asthma & Vomiting
Consume a mixture of bael root, Adusa leaf, cactus fruit, dry ginger, black pepper, and long pepper with honey.
7. Heartache
Mix 5 grams cow ghee with 1 gram leaf juice and consume.
8. Abdominal Pain
Prepare syrup using bael leaves, black pepper, and sugar candy; take thrice daily.
Use a herbal decoction with asafoetida and rock salt for relief.
9. Burning Sensation, Thirst & Indigestion
Soak bael leaves in water, strain, and drink to reduce internal burning.
Drink leaf extract with sugar to ease acidity.
10. Poor Digestion & Loss of Appetite
Consume a mixture of bael fruit powder, long pepper, and ginger juice.
Roast raw bael on cow dung cakes, extract pulp, and mix with sugar candy.
11. Thirst, Vomiting, Constipation & Acidity
Mix bael pulp with sugar, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper for relief.
Consume pulp mixed with tamarind water to alleviate constipation.
12. Vatagulma (Abdominal Disorders)
Consume bael pulp with jaggery to relieve dysentery and constipation.
13. Hemorrhage
Mix bael fruit powder with cold water and sugar candy for quick relief.
Prepare a decoction of bael root and use it as a sitz bath for hemorrhoid pain.
14. Cholera & Vomiting
Boil mango kernel and bael fruit in water, mix with honey, and consume.
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