The Ayurvedic route to great health involves two simple steps: Doing less and being more.” ― Shubhra Krishan
Also known as Chitrakadi Gutika, this wondrous Ayurvedic medicine was first mentioned in the renowned Vedic text, “Charaka Samhita Chikitsa Sthana 15/96-97.”
Stripped down to its essence, Chitrakadi literally translates to “Digestive Fire” in Sanskrit. So, this medicine is primarily used to treat a variety of digestive issues and restore intestinal health by stimulating probiotic and prebiotic activities. Which is why perhaps the best part about this medicine is that it acts as an appetizer pre-meals and as a digestive stimulant post-meals.
Chitrakadi Vadi’s Ingredients: A Poly-Herbal Medicine
Around 10 gm of Chitrakadi Vati contains the following ingredients and its related benefits:
1. Chitraka (Plumbago Zeylanica): This is the star-ingredient which helps to treat issues such as intestinal problems, dysentery, leucoderma, inflammation, piles, bronchitis, itching, diseases of the liver etc.
2. Pippali Moola/Long Pepper Root (Piper Longum): It lends the following healing properties to the medicine: digestion strength, anti-ageing, and rejuvenation.
3. Yava Kshara/Kshara of Barley (Hordeum Vulgare): It helps to treat urinary calculi, bloating, abdominal pain, and ascites.
4. Swarjika Kshara: It helps to treat abdominal colic pain and abdominal lumps.
5. Sauvarchala Lavana/ Sochal Salt: It comes in handy when treating abdominal tumours, bloating, and abdominal colic.
6. Saindhava Lavana/Rock Salt: A potent aphrodisiac, it strengthens the digestive system.
7. Vida Lavana/Vida Salt/Ammonium Salt: One of the five salts mentioned in Ayurveda, it strengthens the digestive system.
8. Samudra Lavana/Common Salt: If experiencing sore throat (due to a throat infection, dry cough, etc.), common salt can be a life saviour.
9. Audbhida Lavana: This earthen salt helps to treat indigestion.
10. Shunti/Ginger Rhizome (Zingiber Officinalis): Helps to treat dyspepsia, flatulence, vomiting, spasms, colic and other stomach problems.
11. Maricha/Black Pepper (Piper Nigrum): It cures a host of diseases such as flatulence, indigestion, dysentery, skin/liver disorders, common cold, cough, asthma, toothache, dental caries, night blindness, eye diseases, etc.
12. Pippali/Long Pepper Fruit (Piper Longum): A wonder ingredient that addresses concerns such as low appetite and digestion, stomach ache, heartburn, intestinal gas, diarrhoea, and cholera, among others.
13. Hing/Asafoetida (Ferula Assa-foetida): Hing offers a powerhouse of therapeutic benefits such as antiepileptic, antimicrobial, laxative, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, antispasmodic, and anti-flatulent.
14. Ajamoda/Ajowan (fruit) (Trachyspermum Roxburghianum): It contains Thymol an essential oil which offers anaesthetic, antibacterial, and antifungal properties.
15. Chavya/Java Long Pepper (Piper Chaba): A helpful ingredient in treating neuralgia, paralysis, constipation, bloating, etc.
16. Matulunga Swarasa/Lemon Juice/Dadima Rasa: Primarily used as a binding agent to form a paste.
17. Pomegranate Juice: Primarily used as a binding agent to form a paste.
How Chitrakadi Vati Medicine Is Made?
Step 1: All the ingredients are ground to a powder form
Step 2: Pomegranate and lemon juices are added to this powder to form a paste.
Step 3: This paste is then rolled into a tablet form and is dried further.
Voila, it is ready to consume!
Chitrakadi Vati’s Multi-Dimensional Uses
If you’re suffering from indigestion issues or are anorexic, this herbal medicine is a God-send for you. Offering the dual benefits of digestion and detoxification, it balances all the three doshas in the body. In fact, it is also known as a “Deepana Pachana,” or an invigorating digestive drug.
Plus, it helps in cases of loss of appetite due to spleen/liver disorders such as Hepatitis. That’s not all. If you experience discomfort and heaviness after a heavy meal, you can consume this medicine for immediate relief.
Did You Know?
Studies suggest that the methanol extract of Chitrakadi Vati was found to be active on gram-negative bacteria E. coli.
Chitrakadi Vati’s Medicinal Properties in Action
Chitrakadi Vati comes power-packed with a host of therapeutic and detoxifying benefits such as:
- Detoxifier
- Antiseptic
- Carminative
- Digestive Stimulant
- Antispasmodic
- Immune-booster
Recommended Dosage:
- Children: 1/2 – 1 tablet (125 – 250 mg)
- Adults :1 to 2 Tablets (250 to 500 mg)
- Geriatric (Old age): 1/2 – 1 tablet (125 – 250 mg)
It is not advisable for infants. For adults, you can take 1-2 tablets (250-500 mg) twice a day with warm water or as directed by your doctor. You can consume it pre- or post- food consumption, or even on an empty stomach.
Note: The maximum dosage for Chitrakadi Vati is 2000 mg within a 24-hour period.
Important: Please consult your doctor before self-prescribing this tablet for any unknown allergies or side effects it may have on your body. It’s better to be safe than sorry, right?
Chitrakadi Vati’s Comprehensive Benefits
To put it simply, Chitrakadi Vati is a boon for everything digestion-related: from strengthening your digestive power and removing AMA toxins to increasing your appetite and stimulating digestive enzymes and promoting bile secretion in the liver. That said, it is helpful in treating the following conditions:
- Anorexia
- Indigestion
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome/Constipation with Sticky Stool and Mucus
- Abdominal Gas/Flatulence
- Obesity by improving the body’s metabolism
- Diarrhoea with Mucus Discharge
- White coating on the tongue
- Malabsorption
Where to Buy It Online?
If you’re wondering about Chitrakadi Vati’s price and where you can buy it, keep reading. A number of renowned brands sell it today such as:
- Chitrakadi Vati Patanjali: Priced at mere INR 47, this herbal medicine comes in handy if you’re suffering from indigestion, low appetite, and suppressed gas and related discomfort.
- Sri Sri Tatva Chiktrakadi Gulika: Priced at INR 70, contains 60 tablets helpful for digestive impairments.
- Chitrakadi Vati Baidyanath: Priced at INR 73, this tablet-form medicine helps to cure digestive distress.
Other brands such as Dabur, Zandu, Tansukh also sell this medicine.
Chitrakadi Vati’s Side-Effects
- If consumed in excess amounts, it can cause:
– A burning sensation in the abdomen and after a bowel movement
– Heartburn
– Hyper-acidity and gastritis
- Pregnant women should avoid consuming it altogether.
- People suffering from high blood pressure, renal diseases, diabetes insipidus should consume this tablet only under expert advice as it contains salt.
- People experiencing mouth ulcers, heartburn, and ulcerative colitis should not consume it as it is known to boost acid production in the stomach.
Important: For everyone else as well, it is highly recommended that you follow your doctor’s advice with respect to the recommended dosage and frequency of medicine consumption.