The short answer
Lavan Bhaskar Churna is a digestive powder of four salts and about a dozen spices, including pippali, cumin, black pepper, dry ginger and pomegranate seed. The Ayurvedic Formulary of India lists it for weak digestion, abdominal pain, grahani (a long-standing digestive disorder), constipation, piles, swelling and other complaints.
By weight it is about 41% salt: 204 g of salts in a 492 g batch, mostly sea salt and black salt (kala namak). That matters if you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, or have been told to cut down on salt. We found no clinical trial of it. Tell your doctor you take it.
What is in it
The official recipe is in the Ayurvedic Formulary of India, Part I, entry 7:27, as Bhaskara Lavana Churna (2003 printed edition, page 114).[1]
| Ingredient | Botanical name | Part used | Proportion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samudra lavana (sea salt) | - | - | 96 g |
| Sauvarcala lavana (black salt, kala namak) | - | - | 60 g |
| Vida lavana | - | - | 24 g |
| Saindhava lavana (rock salt, sendha namak) | - | - | 24 g |
| Dhanyaka (coriander) | Coriandrum sativum | Fruit | 24 g |
| Pippali (long pepper) | Piper longum | Fruit | 24 g |
| Pippalimula | Piper longum | Root | 24 g |
| Krishna jiraka (black cumin) | Carum carvi | Fruit | 24 g |
| Patraka (tejapatra) | Cinnamomum tamala | Leaf | 24 g |
| Nagakeshara | Mesua ferrea | Stamen | 24 g |
| Talisa | Abies webbiana | Leaf | 24 g |
| Amlavetasa | Garcinia pedunculata | Fruit | 24 g |
| Marica (black pepper) | Piper nigrum | Fruit | 12 g |
| Jiraka (shveta jiraka, cumin) | Cuminum cyminum | Fruit | 12 g |
| Vishva (shunthi, dry ginger) | Zingiber officinale | Rhizome | 12 g |
| Dadima (pomegranate) seed | Punica granatum | Fruit or dried seed | 48 g |
| Tvak (cinnamon) | Cinnamomum zeylanicum | Stem bark | 6 g |
| Ela (sukshmaila, cardamom) | Elettaria cardamomum | Seed | 6 g |
Quantities for one batch, from the 2003 printed edition. Products on sale may differ, so check the label.[1]
Classical source
The formulary takes the recipe from the Sharngadhara Samhita, Madhyamakhanda, chapter 6, verses 138 to 141. The verse opens with eight karshas of sea salt.[1]
What it is used for
- Digestion: the formulary lists it for agnimandya (weak digestion), ajirna (indigestion), shula (colicky pain), grahani, vibandha (constipation), udara (enlargement of the abdomen) and vata-kaphaja gulma (abdominal lumps).[1]
- Other uses: pliha (spleen disorders), arsha (piles), bhagandara (fistula-in-ano), shopha (swelling), amavata (a joint disease), hridruja (chest or heart pain), shvasa (breathlessness), kasa (cough), kshaya (wasting) and kushtha (skin disease).[1]
What the evidence says
From the classical textsWe found no clinical trial of Lavan Bhaskar Churna in people. Its listed uses come from the formulary and the Sharngadhara Samhita, not from modern testing.[1]
Safety notes
- About 41% of the powder by weight is salt (204 g of 492 g), from sea salt, black salt, vida salt and rock salt. This matters if you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, or are on a low-salt diet.[1]
- Contains pippali and black pepper. In a small study of people with epilepsy, a single dose of piperine, a compound in pippali and black pepper, raised blood levels of phenytoin. That study used isolated piperine, not this powder. See Pippali and phenytoin.[2]
Who makes it
Sold in India by makers including Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath. We list names so you can match your bottle to this page. We do not recommend or sell any brand.
Withheld until review
Questions people ask
Does Lavan Bhaskar Churna help acidity?
The formulary lists it for weak digestion, indigestion and colicky pain, not for acidity by name. We found no trial of it for acidity or reflux, and its salt content is high.[1]
Related
Hingvashtak Churna
Eight spices in equal parts, including hing and rock salt, for gas and weak digestion. Clinical evidence has not been fully reviewed; one US-sold sample held mercury.
FormulationAvipattikar Churna
A classical acidity powder that is half sugar and one third trivrit, a purgative root. Its only study we found was in rats.
ConditionAcidity, acid reflux and gastritis: what Ayurveda offers
Curcumin eased indigestion more than placebo in one small trial. We found no trial of Ayurveda for reflux disease or gastritis itself.
ConditionIBS (irritable bowel syndrome): what Ayurveda offers
The one placebo-controlled trial of an Ayurvedic herbal mix in IBS found no benefit. A whole-system programme beat a single powder in another.
Sources
- Ayurvedic Formulary of India, Part I, 2nd revised English edition, 2003. Bhaskara Lavana Curna (synonym Lavanabhaskara Curna), 7:27, printed page 114.
- Pattanaik S, Hota D, Prabhakar S, Kharbanda P, Pandhi P. Effect of piperine on the steady-state pharmacokinetics of phenytoin in patients with epilepsy. Phytother Res. 2006;20(8):683-686. PMID 16767797.
Updated 4 November 2026
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