What is Iklil-ul-Malik?

Iklil-ul-Malik is a single drug (one plant, not a mixture) used in Persian and Unani medicine. Its Latin name is Melilotus officinalis, and in English it is called sweet clover or melilot. The dried flowering tops are the part used.

Tradition uses it two ways. On the skin it is made into a warm paste for swellings, boils and aching joints. By mouth it is given for heavy, swollen legs, for wind and griping in the belly, and as a mild calming herb.

Here is the honest verdict up front: the traditional record is long and wide, but there are no human trials of the whole herb that we can point to. Long traditional use tells you people valued a remedy; it is not proof that it works, and we do not treat it as proof anywhere on this page.

How does Iklil-ul-Malik work?

The plant contains coumarin, the compound that gives dried sweet clover its hay-like smell. Coumarin is thought to act on small blood vessels and on lymph flow (the drainage of fluid from the tissues), which is why it has been used for puffy, heavy legs.

This is a proposed idea, not a settled fact for the whole herb. Most of the work behind it used purified coumarin in a lab or in animals, not the dried plant.

One point matters for safety. If sweet clover is damp, mouldy or badly stored, moulds turn its coumarin into dicoumarol, a strong blood thinner. This is a real chemical change, not a theory, and it has killed cattle that ate spoiled hay.

What forms does Iklil-ul-Malik come in?

Common forms are:

Dried flowering tops, loose or cut, for a tea or infusion.

A warm poultice or plaster, where the softened herb is laid on the skin over a swelling.

A powder, sometimes pressed into Unani tablets or mixed into compound formulas.

European products based on purified coumarin, often blended with troxerutin, sold for leg swelling. These are drug-style products, not the same as the traditional herb.

Where it comes from:

Melilot appears in Greek writing from Dioscorides onward, mainly as a plaster for swellings and pain. Persian and Arabic physicians carried it forward under the name Iklil-ul-Malik, meaning roughly crown of the king.

It entered Unani practice in South Asia and stayed there, listed for swellings, colic and heaviness of the legs. European herbals kept it too, for much the same jobs.

So the traditional standing is strong and spread across several systems. The trial record is a separate matter and is thin.

What does Iklil-ul-Malik help with?

• Heavy, aching, swollen legs (poor vein drainage): This is the use with the most research behind it, but the research used purified coumarin rather than the dried herb. Results have been mixed, and one large trial of coumarin for arm swelling found no benefit and liver injury in some people. Unani practice gives the herb by mouth for heaviness and puffiness of the legs. We cannot say the dried herb helps, because it has not been tested that way.
• Puffy swelling of an arm or leg (lymph fluid build-up): Coumarin products were once promoted for this in Europe and Australia. The human evidence did not hold up well, and liver safety became a serious concern. Standard care for this problem is compression and trained massage. Do not swap those for a herb.
• Boils, bruises and local swellings, used on the skin: This is the oldest use and runs from Greek texts through to Unani manuals. A warm paste of the softened herb is laid over the sore area. No controlled human trial supports it. It is a comfort measure, and spreading redness or fever means you need a doctor, not a poultice.
• Wind, bloating and griping pain in the belly: Unani texts class the herb as warming and softening and use it for trapped wind and cramping. It is often given as part of a compound formula rather than alone. There is no human trial evidence for this use.
• Restlessness and trouble settling to sleep: European folk use treated melilot tea as a mild calming drink, and the hay-like smell of coumarin is part of its appeal. This rests on tradition only. No sleep trial of the herb has been published that we can find.
• Sore, tired eyes, as a traditional eye wash: Old texts describe a strained infusion used to bathe the eyes. We do not recommend copying this. Home-made eye washes carry a real risk of infection, and there is no evidence of benefit.

Which foods are rich in Iklil-ul-Malik?

1. Sweet woodruff: a related plant used to flavour May wine; it carries coumarin too
2. Tonka bean: very high in coumarin, and barred as a food additive in some countries
3. Cassia cinnamon: the common supermarket cinnamon, which contains coumarin
4. Some traditional herb cheeses: dried melilot has been used as a flavouring

Practical Tips:

Food amounts of coumarin are small, but they add up if you take a coumarin-rich herb at the same time.

What are the side effects of Iklil-ul-Malik?

• Nausea or an upset stomach
• Headache
• Dizziness or feeling dull and sleepy
• Easy bruising, nosebleeds or gums that bleed when you brush
• Liver injury, which is rare but serious: yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, pain under the right ribs, deep tiredness
• Skin rash or itching where a poultice was applied

Good to know:

Most people who take small amounts for a short time have no trouble, and mild stomach upset or headache is the usual complaint.

Two problems are rare but serious. Coumarin can injure the liver in people who are sensitive to it, and spoiled or mouldy herb can cause dangerous bleeding.

Stop taking it and get medical help if you notice yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, or bleeding that will not settle.

How much Iklil-ul-Malik should you take?

• Recommended daily: There is no safe dose established for the dried herb by modern standards. Traditional Unani use of the powder sits in the range of 3 to 7 grams a day, usually inside a compound formula. As a tea, about 1 to 2 grams of dried tops is steeped in a cup of hot water. European guidance for internal use was written around coumarin content rather than herb weight, allowing roughly 3 to 30 milligrams of coumarin a day. You cannot work out the coumarin content of loose dried herb at home, which is a good reason to keep internal use low and short.
• Best time of day: Split the daily amount between morning and evening. If you use it mainly to settle down at night, take it about an hour before bed. A skin poultice is usually applied warm, once or twice a day.
• With or without food: Take it with or just after food. That lowers the chance of nausea and stomach upset, which are the most common complaints.
• Time to effect: There is no reliable timeline, because the herb has not been tested in people. Tradition suggests a skin poultice feels soothing within a day or two. For leg heaviness, older coumarin products were used for weeks to months before judging any change, so do not expect a quick result.
• How long to take it: Keep internal use short: two to four weeks, then stop and take stock. Long, continuous use raises the concern about liver harm. If swelling, pain or belly symptoms have not improved after a few weeks, stop and get checked rather than pushing on. Skin use should also be reviewed. If the area is no better in a week, or is getting worse, see a doctor.