Lohasav

Lohasav is  an Ayurvedic  bhaishajya preparation which is helpful in many conditions and has a really great effect in anemia as well relieves many types of swelling too. Aasav are the Ayurvedic preparations which are prepared by the technique of fermentation. Fermentation is done using coarse powder of various herbs and Saccharum officinarum (Gur). After adding gur the mixture is left for a month inside a mud pot.  In  that mud pot  the process of fermentation can be easily carried out. The aasav preparation does not involve the formation or decoction of various herbs with the help of heat. In this article we will discuss the main action, ingredients, action of each ingredient, method of preparation and dosage of  Lohasav.

Introduction

Asav and arishta both are alcoholic preparations or therapeutic alcoholic preparations which have self generated or naturally generated alcohol. The Usual difference between both is the involvement of heat which is present in one case and is absent in another case. The self-generated ethyl alcohol which is present in asava arishta is harmless and does not cause any kind of side effect in patients. But it facilitates absorption of active ingredients and thus is very safe. These two types of preparations are also very quick in absorption and have very quick effects. They are given in a really low dosage but have a very great impact.

Ingredients

1. Loha Bhasma (Calx of Iron) – 1 Part
2. Sonth (Zingiber officinale) – 1 Part
3. Kali Maricha (Piper nigrum) – 1 Part
4. Pippali (Piper longum) – 1 Part
5. Badi Harad (Terminalia chebula) – 1 Part
6. Bahera (Terminalia belerica) – 1 Part
7. Amla (Emblica officinalis) – 1 Part
8. Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi) – 1 Part
9. Vaividang (Embelia ribes) – 1 Part
10. Nagarmotha (Cyperus rotundus) – 1 Part
11. Chitrak (Plumbago zeylanica) – 1 Part
12. Gur (Saccharum officinarum) – 25 Part
13. Madhu (Mel) – 16 Part
14. Dhatki (Woodfordia fruticosa) – 5 Part
15. Water (Aqua) – 128 Part

Reference – Sharangdhar Samhita / Ayurvedic Formulary of India (Part – 1)

Ingredients Description

1. Loha Bhasma (Calx of Iron) – Loha bhasma has a sheet or cold potency, tikta (bitter) and kashaya (astringent) taste. It is madhur pakki, heavy to digest and aggravates vata dosha in the body due to its ruksha guna. Moreover, it also has a very good effect on memory, helpful in managing abdominal diseases or disorders, has a digestive effect and is considered as an excellent formulation as a rasayan. The bhasma is considered as tridosha nashak which means it is capable of pacifying all three dosha Vata, pitta and kapha. The bhama also behaves as an aphrodisiac and has a very good effect as a skin complexion enhancer too.
2. Sonth (Zingiber officinale) – Sonth is a dry form of ginger and belongs to the scitamineae family and haridra kula. When Ginger is in fresh form it has guna or inherent properties like tikshna (sharp), guru (heavy) and ruksha (dry). But in dry form it has laghu (light) and snigdha (unctuous) properties. The rasa (taste) in both states is the same, which is katu (pungent), veerya (potency) is ushna (hot) and vipaka (after digestion taste) is madhur (sweet). On internal use it stimulates nerves and improves impulse transmission and has an excellent effect as an appetizer, antiflatulent and antispasmodic herb.As it has kapha pacification properties it works greatly on the body as it opens the blockage in micro-channels.
3. Kali Maricha (Piper nigrum) – Kali mircha is also known by the name maricha and is kept under deepniya, shulaprashmana and krimighna gana. The kula to which it belongs is pippali kula and it has the piperaceae family. The inherent properties are laghu and tikshna which are easy to digest and are sharp in nature, katu rasa that is pungent in taste and ushna or hot potency. Due to this hot potency it is vata nashak and dueto its laghu and tikshna guna it is a kapha pacifier as well. But as it has hot potency it also has a pitta aggravation effect. It works on the body by opening various srotas called narrow channels and helps in removal of deep rooted kapha as well.
4. Pippali (Piper longum) – Pippali is called pepper in Greek and is kept under kasahr, hikka nigrahan kula. It has the pippali kula and piperaceae family. In Sanskrit it is called as magadhi as it is found in magadh, krishna due to its black color, vaidehi as it belongs to north bihar by origin. It is light to digest, unctuous, sharp in nature and has a pungent taste. It also has kapha shamak properties. It is also a very effective herb when used in rasayana therapy the most useful part of pippali is it’s fruit. It works on rakta vaha srotas, has impact on the liver as well on the spleen and also is an aphrodisiac agent. It is called as rasayani and is also having a purgative effect.
5. Badi Harad (Terminalia chebula) – Harad or badi harad, also known as haritaki, is kept under the harataki kula and has a combretaceae family. The English name of this is myrobalans or chebulic myrobalan. In Sanskrit it is called haimamati, shiva, pathya and rohini. Harataki has seven varieties and mostly the fruit of these seven varieties is used. Haritaki is a tridosha shamak by the virtue of its prabhav but yet is more effective in vata dosha pacification. Ithas its impact on rasa dhatu, majja dhatu, rakta dhatu and also works as a rasayan. Haritaki is also pancha rasatmak which means it has five tastes except lavana, which is a salty taste.
6. Bahera (Terminalia belerica) – Bahera is also called as bibhitaki and belongs to jawahar, virechnopag gana according to aacharya charak. In sanskrit name suggests that its regular use eliminates fear of diseases, it is also called as karsha phala which means its fruit weighs around 12 grams each and due to the fact that its seeds are used in gambling it is also called as aksha. It has dry and light inherent properties, has pungent taste and is having madhur vipaka along with hot potency. It has its effect on all three doshas and helps in pacification of all three doshas, on majja dhatu it has an intoxication effect and on rakta it has hemostatic effect. On shukra dhatu it has an aphrodisiac effect and also has a tendency to show a laxative effect.
7. Amla (Emblica officinalis) – Amla is called as Emblic myrobalan in English and in Sanskrit it is called shriphal, dhatrika, amrita and vrushya. It has an inherent property like it is light to digest, dry and cold. It has five tastes except salty. The herb is very much capable of the pacification of tridosha which means it pacifies vata, pitta and kapha very efficiently. Externally it is a hair tonic, a refrigerant as well as a skin complexion enhancer too. It has a hemostatic effect and also works as a cardiac tonic. The herb is included under rasayan in ayurveda which means it has rejuvenating properties. The mostly used parts of this herb are fruits, leaf juice and seeds.
8. Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi) – Ajwain in Sanskrit is called yavani and in English it is called king’s cumin. It belongs to sheeta prashaman gana, shatapushpa kula and umbelliferae family. Its Sanskrit names are deepika, deepya, vatari and shoolhantri. The gana to which it belongs is laghu and ruksha which means it is easy to digest and has drying properties. Its seeds contain aromatic oil which solidifies on cooling and is called thymol crystal. It is pungent and bitter in taste and has a hot potency. Due to all these properties it is pitta vardhak which means it increases pitta dosha and is vata and kapha shamak, that indicates it pacifies vata and kapha dosha. It has its effect on shukra, indicating its aphrodisiac effect and rakta dhatu indicating its role in liver ailments as well.
9. Vaividang (Embelia ribes) – Vidang is a member of krimighna, truptighna and shiro virechana gana. It has vidanga kula and myrsinaceae. In Sanskrit the herb is known by names like chitra tandul which means its fruit has white spots and jantu nashak which stands for its antibacterial effect. It is also called krishna tandul and vatari. Vatari is a synonym for its effect on vata dosha. It has vata dosha pacification properties. It has a pungent taste and hot potency due to which it is a very reliable kapah pacifier too. Mostly a year old fruit of vidang is used in the formulations. It has effect on rakta and thus is used in skin disorders, on purisha or feces it has an anthelmintic effect and is best known for this effect.
10. Nagarmotha (Cyperus rotundus) – Nagar motha is commonly known as mustak and is kept under truptighna, trushanigrahan, lekhaniya and kandungan gana. The kula of this herb is mustak kula and the family is cyperaceae. Mustak is very well known to enhance the muscular strength of the uterus and is also a breast milk purifier. In Sanskrit it is calle as jalad, nagarmusta, ghanshishira, bhadra and varied. The herb has kapha ghana and pitta ghana properties which means it pacifies increased kapha and pitta levels. The mustak has an effect on rakta dhatu,rasa dhatu, meda dhatu and stanya by increasing its secretion and also by purifying it.
11. Chitrak (Plumbago zeylanica) – Chitrak is kept under depaniya, trupti ghana and shoolaprashaman gana. It is also a member of bhediya, arshoghna, mushkakadi and varunadi gana. The kula to which it belongs is chitrak kula. In English it is called as leadwart and its Sanskrit name is chitrak (due to its blister making effect on skin), agni, shardul, chitrapati, vyal and jyoti. It has sharp, light and dry as its inherent properties along with a pungent and bitter taste. The potency of this herb is hot and is excessively hot. It alleviates vata dosha, kapha dosha and also eliminates pitta. It also has its effect on vitiligo.
12. Gur (Saccharum officinarum) – Gur is the key ingredient for fermentation and also helps in the enhancement of digestion. It aids glucose control and weight loss.
13. Madhu (Mel) – Madhu has sandhana property that is the property of the union. The tropical or local application of honey over the wounds and mouth ulcers is really beneficial as it has healing properties too. It is really useful in the common cold, shodhana (purification), roopana (healing) and manages a sore throat as well as cough as well.
14. Dhatki (Woodfordia fruticosa) – Dhataki belongs to purishasangrahaniya gana and mutravirajniya gana. It has the madayantika kula and lythraceae family. In English it is called as downy griselda and in Sanskrit it has dhataki, vahnipushpi, tamrapushpi, dahani and parvati as its synonyms. It has astringent, sweet and bitter taste along with hot potency and madakari prabhav; the herb is having both vata pacification and avat dosha aggravation effect when given in different doses. It is also a potential kapha shamak too and has a very good effect as an aphrodisiac. It works on various dhatus but mostly on rasa dhatu and hence reduces fever, rakta dhatu and is potentially used in all skin disorders. The herb is also known for its intoxicant effect on the central nervous system. As an aphrodisiac, its seeds are mainly used.
15. Water (Aqua) – Water here as an ingredient is basically the medium. As mentioned before, aasav is in liquid form, so no liquid can be there without water.

Main Action

Manages pandu, effective in all kinds of Swelling, inflammation over the liver and is also effective in spleen disorders. Partially it also has an effect on digestion.

Method Of Preparation

• All the herbs mentioned above along with loha bhasma are taken in powdered form in a quantity of one part each.
• Five parts of dhataki pushpa are taken.
• Now 16 parts of honey is added and 25 parts of gur is added to the mixture.
• After this 128 parts of water are added and then the liquid is added to a mud pot whose inner walls are painted with ghrita.
• The pot is closed and is kept for one month for fermentation.
• After fermentation the liquid is filtered and kept in an airtight glass jar.
• This is called lohasava and such lohasava is to be consumed by humans.

Medicinal Properties

• Lohasava is effective in dealing with digestion related problems.
• It is really effective in the management of all types of anemia including mritika bhakshan janiya pandu.
• The formulation is really effective in treating various kinds of liver and spleen ailments.
• It also has very good results in diabetes, skin disease, asthma and cough.
• Lohasava is also very beneficial in weak jatharagni (weak digestion), aruchi (tastelessness), and agnimandya (digestive impairment).
• It is a suggestive medicine for the management of grahani (intestinal malabsorption syndrome) and gulma (abdominal lump).
• Also works as a useful remedy for piles and anal fistula.
• Has a great benefit in relieving various types of swelling.
• It manages accumulated fluids inside the body.

Dosage

3 teaspoon twice a day with an equal amount of water or as directed by your physician.

Contraindications

• This syrup may have minor effects on overdose so it is better to take this medicine under the physician’s advice.
• Keep it away from the children
• In Children, pregnant and lactating women to be administered under the guidance of Expert Ayurvedic physicians.
• Not be taken more than the prescribed dose.

Conclusion

In the above mentioned article we have discussed all the main actions, ingredients along with their description, medicinal uses and dosage of  lohasava. The formulation as mentioned before in the article is really effective and does not have any kind of side effects. It helps in the management of anemia, different kinds of swelling, various types of liver ailments and spleen ailments as well.  The ingredient of this formulation also has healing properties and is very well capable for the pacification of kapha dosha and vata dosha.  Moreover, arishta are more palatable or easy to consume as they have good taste and are more effective as they are easily digestive.