EMBLICA OFFICINALIS

Common name: Amla, Indian gooseberry • Hindi: आँवला Aonla • Manipuri: আমলা Amla • Marathi: आँवला Amla • Tamil: Nelli • Malayalam: Nelli, Nellikka • Telugu: Usiri, Usirikaya • Kannada: Betta nelli, Amalaka • Oriya: Aonla • Gujarati: ambala • Sanskrit: Dhatri, amalaka

Botanical name: Phyllanthus emblica   

Family: Phyllanthaceae (Amla family)

Synonyms: Emblica officinalis

Introduction: Amla is a small to medium sized deciduous tree, reaching 8 to 18 m in height, which is known for its edible fruit of the same name. The tree has crooked trunk and spreading branches. The leaves are simple, nearly stalkless and closely set along slender branchlets. The leaves are often mistaken for leaflets of pinnate leaves. The genus name Phyllanthus is derived from Greek words meaning leaf-flower, an allusion to the apparent bearing of flowers on the leaves. Amla flowers are small, greenish-yellow or pinkish. The flowers have six segments, but no real petals. Male and female flowers are carried separately on the same branch. The fruit is nearly spherical, light greenish yellow, quite smooth and hard on appearance, with 6 vertical stripes or furrows. Ripening in autumn, the berries are harvested by hand after climbing to upper branches bearing the fruits. The taste of Amla is sour, bitter and astringent, and is quite fibrous. In India, it is common to eat gooseberries with salt and water to make the sour fruits palatable.

Geographical distribution

The plant occurs throughout India in tropical and subtropical forest and also being cultivated

commercially.

Chemical composition

The fruit is a rich source of Vitamin C. Seeds contain fixed oil, phosphatides and an essential oil. Fruit bark and leaves are rich in tannin.

Therapeutic uses

The fruits are one of the three constituents of the well-known Indian preparation Triphala (the other two constituents being Bahera-Terminalia bellirica and Harra- T.chebula) Triphala is used as laxative and in treatment of enlarged liver, piles, stomach complaints and pain in eyes. Amla fruits are a good liver tonic, raw fruits are cooling and mild laxative. The fruits are refrigerant, tonic, antiscorbutic, astringent, diuretic, laxative and stomachic. Useful in anaemia, diarrhoea, dysentery, dyspepsia, haemorrhage, inflammation of eyes, irritability of bladder, jaundice, leucorrhoea, menorrhagia and discharge of blood from the uterus. Liquor fermented from fruit is good for indigestion, anaemia, jaundice and heart complaints.

Folk medicinal uses

The most useful part of the tree is the fruit; it is one of the richest sources of Vitamin C. A decoction of the dried fruits is given in gonorrhoea. 20 gm. paste of fresh leaves of Amla is mixed with cow’s milk and given thrice daily to cure the diarrhoea in cattles. 1 green fruit is given twice daily for 2-3 months to cure scurvy.

Preparations

Chavyanprash, brahma-rasayan, dhatri-louha, triphala, amlakyadi-churna, sudarshan-chruna.

Flowers : March-May Fruits : Cold Season