Ayurvedic Herbs Information

Medicinal Herbs For Nervous System

Welcome to Ayurvedic herbs information - The Ayurveda medicinal plants are described in a holistic way to inform you about the areas in which they are being used in India for thousands of year. This page would deal with two functions of these ayurveda medicinal plants - the memory enhancing effect and the potential narcotic effect.

Nervous system is the central organ system in our body. It is the controller of all the organs. Along with Endocrinal system, it regulates all the functions of our body. Several ayurveda medicinal plants have great actions on nervous system.

Some of the actions of herbs that are described in Ayurveda, are quite new for conventional medical system. The chief actions of herbs on nervous system are:

  1. Medhya or Brain Tonic
  2. Narcotic effects
  3. Restoration of Consciousness
  4. Hypnotic
  5. Anti-hypnotic
  6. Analgesic or Anodyne
  7. Convulsant or producing convulsions
  8. Anti-convulsant action

All of these functions and the ayurvedic herbs information about them is given below.

Ayurvedic Herbs Info For Memory Enhancement Or Medhya Herbs:

The herbs that promote the intelligence are called Medhya herbs. This action is related to our mind and mind resides in brain and nervous system - especially the higher cortical centers of brain.

What Is Medha Or Intelligence?

According to Ayurveda the intelligence is a triad of three powers of the mind - the acquisition, the retention and the recollection.

  1. The Power of Acquisition: It is the capacity to grasp some topic or something new. It is the capacity to understand or analyze.
  2. The Power of Retention: It is the capacity to retain what has been grasped or understood. This capacity also deals with short-term memory.
  3. The Power of Recollection: This is the capacity to retrieve the information after some time. It can be compared to long-term memory.

Ayurvedic Herbs Information For Intelligence Or Memory Promoting Plants:

Ayurveda presents ayurvedic herbs information and the health and the disease according to three humors - Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The Pitta humor is responsible for acquisition and in memory. Kapha factor is responsible for retention and stabilizing that information.

So both types of herbs that act through Pitta or Kapha are found to help in Intelligence. Some of the herbs are having sweet taste, sweet vipaka and cold active principle. These act through Kapha principle e.g. Yastimadhu (Liquorice or Licorice).

Another type of herbs are bitter in taste and hot in active principle. They act through Pitta principle e.g. Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) and Shankhapushpi (Convolulis pluricaulis). According to Ayurveda, the effect of promoting the intelligence is due to the specific effects of the herb.

Charaka described some intelligence promoting herbs - Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), Mandukaparni (Centella asiatica), Shankhapushpi (Convolulis pluricaulis), Yastimadhu (Liquorice or Licorice).

Sushruta also described some herbs for promoting intelligence -  Chitrak root, Mandukaparni (Centella asiatica), Brahmi (Bacopa or Bacopa monnieri), Vacha (Sweet flag or Acorus calamus). Some other herbs are also described as Medhya as Apamarga (Prickly Chaff flower or Achyranthes aspera), Vidanga (Embelia ribes), Haritaki (Chebulic myrobalan or Terminalia chebula), Kustha (Kuth or Costus or Saussurea lappa), Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus).

Ayurvedic Herbs Information For Narcotic Effect:

The herbs that derange the mind are called narcotic herbs. These are addictive like Vijaya (Indian hemp or Cannabis sativa), Ahiphen (Opium or Papaver somniferum).

Ayurveda Point Of View For Narcotic Effect:

According to Ayurveda, the narcotic herbs have two dominant elements - The Wind and The Fire. Plus the qualities of narcotic herbs are opposite from the ten qualities of Ojas - the essence form of energy of all of our tissues. These narcotic herbs derange the Ojas and then alter the mind and intellect.

Four Stages Of Narcotic Effect:

Ayurveda explains the effects of narcotic herbs as producing four clinical stages.

  1. The Stage Of Exhilaration: This is the first stage where both the activities of Wind and Fire elements are clearly seen - general excitement and wellbeing, enthusiasm, happiness and some alertness. The therapeutic dosage of such herbs in ayurveda are far below even from the dosage that could produce this stage when they are used.

  2. The Second Stage Of Delirium: In this stage the activity of Wind element becomes stronger. The subject enters the stage of delirium and starts to talk and behave under the control of intoxication.
  3. The Third Stage Of Depression And Coldness: On further intoxication the subject enters the stage where the nervous system become depressed and skin become cold.
  4. The Fourth Stage Of Loss Of Consciousness Or Death: Gradually the person losses the consciousness and death is the final consequence.

Two Facets Of Modern Medical Controversy:

There are two streams of thought in this regard. The one maintains that the nervous system is first stimulated and then depressed later. They base their position on the observations in the persons.

The second stream maintains that the nervous system is depressed from the onset. They argue that the so called excitement is due to initial depression of the higher centers of the brain. Then the higher cortical inhibitions give way and the person sheds his inhibitions. On further intoxication, the further depression of the central nervous system produces the above mentioned effects.

The conclusion is same in both the streams. The first uses the observed state of the person and the second explains the observed state of the person based upon the condition of the nervous system.



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