Herb Arni

Arni is also known as Agnimantha in Ayurveda. It is called so because of the properties of this herb. The leaves of this tree were rubbed together in ancient days to produce fire. “Agni” means fire and “Mantha” means generation.

This is most befitting explanation for this tree. The Latin name of this tree is Clerodendrum multiflorum and it belongs to Verbenaceae family. Premna mucronata is another name given to this plant.

The leaves of this herb are elongated, glossy and dark green in color. Flowers are small round whitish or pinkish in color which bloom in August to February. The fruits of this herb is round in shape measuring about 5mm in width. Seeds turn into blackish from green when ripen.

Classification

Kingdom
Plantae

Family
Verbenaceae

Order
Lamiales

Genus
Clerodendrum

Properties

Rasa (Taste): Tikta (Bitter), Katu (Pungent), Kashaya (Astringent), Madhura (Sweet)
Guna (Qualities): Laghu (Lightness), Rooksha (Dry)
Vipaka: Katu (Undergoes pungent taste conversion after digestion)
Veerya: Ushna (Hot Potency)
Effect on Tridosha: Balances Vata and Kapha dosha

Uses

Arani is a digestive herb which helps stimulate the digestive fire and also helps to bring down the Ama levels in body. In this way it works to detoxify the body by getting rid of all the accumulated wastes inside it. It is also good for the heart and the Liver.

The detox effect supports the Liver giving it time to recover from any damage done due to overuse. Going by the quality of food that we eat nowadays.