Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Aśvattha is the bark, leaf, fruit and latex of Ficus religiosa, the tree most people know as peepal or sacred fig. In Ayurveda it is used as a single drug, mainly as a bark powder or a water decoction (bark simmered in water and strained). Traditional healers reach for it for loose stools, mouth and throat soreness, skin complaints and wounds, and for blood sugar support.
The honest evidence verdict is that human proof is very thin. Almost all of the modern research is laboratory dishes and animal studies, not trials in people. Long traditional use tells you a plant has a place in a healing system; it does not prove the plant works for a modern diagnosis, and that difference is worth holding on to as you read the rest of this page.
This is a content library, not medical advice. Aśvattha has no established role as a replacement for any prescribed treatment, and nothing here should be used to delay care you need.
No one has shown, in people, how Aśvattha works. What follows is informed guesswork from lab and animal studies.
The bark is high in tannins, plant compounds that bind proteins and pull tissue together. That astringent action is the most believable explanation for its traditional use in diarrhoea, mouth rinses and wound washes, because it is a simple physical effect you can observe.
Animal studies have reported lower blood sugar, calmer inflammation and, in rodents, some effect on seizure activity. These are early signals in animals only. They have not been reproduced in human trials, so treat them as reasons for research interest rather than reasons to expect a result.
Common forms you may meet:
Dried bark powder (churna), the usual Ayurvedic form, taken in water or honey.
Bark decoction (kwatha), made by simmering coarse bark in water and straining it, used as a drink, a gargle or a wash.
Dried leaf or leaf powder, used in some regional practice.
Ripe figs, eaten fresh or dried in parts of India.
Modern capsules and standardised extracts, sold mainly online. These vary widely in strength and are not tied to any tested dose.
Bark ash and fresh latex appear in folk practice. The latex is the most irritating part of the plant and is not something to apply casually.
Aśvattha is one of the best known trees of the Indian subcontinent, sacred in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain tradition, and named in the Vedas. As a medicine it appears in the classical Ayurvedic compendia, the Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita, roughly two thousand years old.
It is classed there among the kashaya (astringent) drugs and grouped with other Ficus barks used for wounds, discharges and skin problems. Its standing within Ayurveda is long and unbroken. That standing is about tradition and culture, not about modern trial results.
Get emergency help straight away if you get swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, a widespread rash, or trouble breathing after taking it. That can be a severe allergic reaction.
See a doctor within a day or two if diarrhoea lasts more than two days, or comes with blood, black stools, a high fever or signs of dehydration such as very dark urine or dizziness on standing.
See a doctor if you take diabetes medicine and get shaking, sweating, confusion or faintness, which can mean low blood sugar. Also seek advice for a sore throat or mouth ulcer that lasts more than two weeks, a wound that is not healing, or any unusual bruising or bleeding.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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