Acacia Nilotica

Definition/Short Discription: 

The Acacia or Babul Tree is an average size tree that is common to India and Africa. It is quite easily distinguishable by the dark brown or black, longitudinally fissured bark. It belongs to the plant family, Mimosaceae. The leaves are bipinnately compound and 5-10 cm. long. The plant has a good defensive mechanism in its V-shaped thorns that are white or light gray in color. The globose flowers are yellow and the pods are light gray in color. The pods, 7.5-15 cm. long are compressed and constricted at the sutures between the seeds, which range from 8-12 in a single pod.

Medicinal Use:

1. Burns
2. Wounds
3. Anaemia
4. Stained teeth
5. Blood dysentery
6. Gum diseases, loose teeth, and ulcers in the mouth
7. Cough
8. Eczema.
9. Cough, diabetes, excessive urination, impotency, and throat infection
10. Conjunctivitis and sore eyes

How to Use:

1. To take care of burns, mix the gum that oozes from the tree with equal quantities of powdered turmeric (Curcuma domestica) and coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) and apply.

2. For superficial wounds, boil some crushed bark in water and use the decoction for washing the wounds. Grind the tender leaves of the tree into a very fine paste. Apply over the wounds. You could also dust the wounds with some finely powdered bark.

3. For cases of anemia, fry one teaspoon each of the gum from the tree along with sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) and purslane (Portulaca oleracea) in an adequate quantity of olive oil or gingilee oil for 10 minutes. Remove and soak in 1-cup of rose-water for one hour. Use one teaspoon three times a day.

4. To remove the yellow stains from your teeth, grind the following items into a fine powder and brush the teeth regularly with it: 5-7 tablespoons of the charred bark of Acacia, two tablespoons of Aluminum sulfate or Alum and one tablespoon of Sodium chloride or common salt.

5. For dysentery, soak a teaspoon of pounded roots in a tumbler containing water for 3-4 hours. Make it warm and drink this water frequently.

6. To take care of gum diseases, loose teeth, and ulcers in the mouth, boil half a handful of the tender leaves of Acacia in two cups of water. When warm, use the water as a gargle, 4-6 times a day.

7. For common cough, make a paste with a handful of the tender leaves of Acacia, take one teaspoon of this paste, along with one teaspoon of honey and a little warm water.

8. To treat Eczema, boil 3-5 tablespoons each of the powdered bark of Acacia and Mango (Mangifra indica) in 4-5 cups of water. Foment the affected parts with this water. Apply rarefied butter or ghee on the affected skin.

9. For Cough, Diabetes, Excessive urination, Impotency, and Throat infection, chew a small portion of the Acacia gum everyday until the ailment disappears.

10. To treat Conjunctivitis and sore eyes, grind a handful of the tender leaves of Acacia with some water into a fine paste. Fold the paste in a sterilized piece of cloth or bandage and wrap it over the closed eyes at bedtime.

Parts Used: Bark, gum, tender leaves, and root.

Dosage: As recommended above.

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By Anonymous on 16 June 2011