Abhishyandi · अभिष्यन्दी

A food or medicine that increases secretions and tends to block the body's channels. Curd is the classic example.

Abhyanga · अभ्यङ्ग

Applying oil to the body, as a treatment or as part of the daily routine.

Achara rasayana · आचार रसायन

Rasayana through conduct rather than medicine: a way of behaving and thinking that the texts say promotes wellbeing.

AFI

The Ayurvedic Formulary of India, the official collection of classical recipes and how to prepare them. Our formulation pages take their ingredient lists from its printed edition.

Agni · अग्नि

The Ayurvedic name for everything that digests food and transforms it in the body, from the gut to the tissues.

Ama · आम

In Ayurvedic theory, a passing state of incomplete digestion or metabolism. It is not a named toxin that a laboratory can test for.

Amla (taste) · अम्ल

Sour, one of the six tastes. Not the same word as the fruit amla, or amalaki.

Animal study

Research in animals, usually rats or mice. It can show that a question is worth asking, but it cannot tell us what happens in people.

Anupana · अनुपान

What a medicine is taken with or after, usually a liquid such as warm water, milk or honey. Shown on formulation pages only after medical review.

Anurasa · अनुरस

A secondary taste: a weaker taste noticed alongside the main one.

API

The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, the official book of standards for Ayurvedic drugs and their quality.

Arishta · अरिष्ट

A fermented medicine made from a herbal decoction and a sweetener, such as Arjunarishta. Like asavas, arishtas contain alcohol made during fermentation.

Asava · आसव

A fermented medicine made by leaving powdered herbs in a sweetened liquid to ferment. The fermentation makes alcohol, so asavas contain some.

Asthi · अस्थि

Bone, the fifth of the seven dhatus.

AUC

Area under the curve: the total amount of a drug that reaches the blood over a set time. A higher AUC means more drug exposure.

Aushadha kalpana · औषध कल्पना

The making of medicines.

Avaleha · अवलेह

A sweet, semi-solid preparation taken by licking, such as Vasavaleha. Also called leha (लेह).

Bala · बल

Strength, in the sense of both physical endurance and the body's power to resist illness. The texts describe three kinds, starting with the strength you are born with.

Bhaishajya kalpana · भैषज्य कल्पना

The branch of Ayurveda that deals with preparing medicines: Ayurvedic pharmaceutics.

Bhasma · भस्म

A fine ash made by heating a metal, mineral or animal product at high temperature (calcination). The process alone does not show that a product is free of harm.

Case report

A doctor's write-up of what happened to one patient, or to a short series of patients. It can raise an alarm, but it cannot show how often something happens or say for sure what caused it.

Churna · चूर्ण

A fine powder made from dried herbs, sometimes with minerals or sugar.

Classical text only

What the classical Ayurvedic texts say, with no modern study testing it. We report these rules as the texts give them, not as true or false.

Cmax

The highest level a drug reaches in the blood after a dose.

Confidence interval

The range in which the true result probably lies, usually written as 95% CI. A range that crosses zero means the study cannot rule out no effect at all.

Controlled trial

A trial that compares a treated group with a comparison group, without assigning people by chance. The groups may differ in other ways, so it carries less weight than an RCT.

Crossover trial

A trial in which each person takes both the treatment and the comparison, one after the other, in random order.

CYP enzymes

Cytochrome P450, a family of enzymes that break down many medicines, much of it in the liver. If a herb makes them more or less active, the level of a drug in the blood can rise or fall.

CYP3A4

One of the main CYP enzymes. It helps break down a large number of medicines.

Dhatu · धातु

One of the seven tissues that, in Ayurvedic physiology, the body is built from. They run from rasa, the nutrient fluid, to shukra, the reproductive tissue.

Dhatvagni · धात्वग्नि

The agni at work inside each dhatu, transforming nourishment at the level of the tissues.

Dinacharya · दिनचर्या

Daily routine: the texts' advice on diet, habits and work through the day.

Dosha · दोष

One of the three working forces that, in Ayurvedic theory, run the body: vata, pitta and kapha. It is a way of describing the body, not something a blood test can measure.

Double-blind

Neither the people in a trial nor the researchers know who is getting the real treatment, so expectations cannot sway the result.

Evidence grade

How much weight a finding can carry. Roughly from strongest to weakest, our grades are: systematic review, RCT, controlled trial, observational study, small clinical study, case report, animal, in vitro, theoretical by mechanism, and classical text only.

Ghana · घन

A solid concentrate made from the water extract of a herb.

Ghanavati · घनवटी

A tablet made from ghana, the dried water extract of a herb.

Ghrita · घृत

A medicated ghee: ghee boiled with set decoctions and herbal pastes, such as Brahmi Ghrita.

GMP

Good Manufacturing Practices: the rules, set for Ayurvedic medicines by Schedule T of India's Drugs Rules, on how medicines must be made and checked. A GMP licence does not show that a product works or is free of harm.

Guggulu · गुग्गुलु

As a type of medicine, one whose main ingredient is guggulu, a resin that oozes from the guggulu plant. Yogaraja Guggulu is an example.

HbA1c

A blood test that shows your average blood sugar over the past two to three months. Doctors use it to follow diabetes.

Hepatotoxicity

Damage to the liver caused by a medicine, herb or other substance.

Hima · हिम

A cold infusion: herbs soaked in cold water.

ICD-11 TM2

The traditional medicine module of WHO's international disease classification, added in its 2025 update, with codes for conditions as Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani describe them. A code records a diagnosis; it does not show that a treatment works.

In vitro

Latin for 'in glass': research on cells or enzymes in a laboratory dish or tube. It shows a possible route for an effect, not that the effect happens in people.

INR

International normalised ratio, a blood test used to monitor warfarin that shows how long blood takes to clot. A raised INR means blood takes longer to clot, which raises the risk of bleeding.

Jatharagni · जठराग्नि

The agni of the digestive tract: the power that breaks down food in the stomach and gut.

Kalka · कल्क

A medicinal paste made from herbs.

Kapha · कफ

The dosha of cohesion. The texts link it to the body's structure and to what holds it together.

Karma · कर्म

In Ayurvedic pharmacology, the action a herb or other substance is said to have on the body.

Kashaya (taste) · कषाय

Astringent, one of the six tastes. Not to be confused with kashayam, a regional name for a decoction.

Katu · कटु

Pungent, one of the six tastes.

Kwath · क्वाथ

A decoction: herbs boiled in water and strained. Also spelt kwatha.

Lavana · लवण

Salty, one of the six tastes.

Madhura · मधुर

Sweet, one of the six tastes.

Majja · मज्जा

Bone marrow, the sixth of the seven dhatus.

Mamsa · मांस

Muscle, the third of the seven dhatus.

Meda · मेद

Fat, the fourth of the seven dhatus.

Murdhataila · मूर्धतैल

Oil applied to the head.

NAMASTE

The Ministry of Ayush's National Ayush Morbidity and Standardized Terminologies Electronic portal. It lists standard terms and the codes used to record illnesses in Ayurveda and other Ayush systems.

Narrow therapeutic index

Said of a drug where small changes in dose or blood level can mean it stops working or causes serious harm. Warfarin, phenytoin and levothyroxine are examples.

Nidra · निद्रा

Sleep.

Observational study

A study that follows people who already take something, without assigning it. It can show a link, but not cause and effect, because other differences between people may explain the result.

Ojas · ओजस्

The essence of all seven dhatus, which the texts treat as vital for life.

Open-label

Everyone in a trial knows which treatment they are getting. It is simpler to run, but expectations can colour the result.

P-gp

P-glycoprotein, a protein that pumps substances out of cells. A herb that changes how it works may change how much of some drugs gets into the blood.

Panchakarma · पञ्चकर्म

Five internal cleansing procedures, including therapeutic vomiting, purgation and two kinds of enema.

Pending medical review

A page that is published and sourced, but not yet checked by our vaidya. It shows evidence of risk only, never a dose or an all-clear.

Phanta · फाण्ट

A hot infusion: herbs steeped in hot water, much like tea.

Pharmacokinetics

How the body absorbs a drug, spreads it around, breaks it down and gets rid of it, and so how much is in the blood over time. Studies that measure AUC and Cmax are pharmacokinetic studies.

Pitta · पित्त

The dosha of transformation. The texts link it to digestion, metabolism and body heat.

Placebo

A dummy treatment that looks like the real one but has no active ingredient, such as a starch capsule. Comparing against it shows how much of an effect comes from the treatment itself.

Prakriti · प्रकृति

A person's inborn constitution, described through their typical physical and mental traits.

Purvakarma · पूर्वकर्म

The preparatory steps carried out before a major treatment such as panchakarma.

Rakta · रक्त

Blood, the second of the seven dhatus.

Rasa (taste) · रस

Taste, of which Ayurveda names six: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. The same word has other meanings too, as in rasa dhatu.

Rasa dhatu · रस धातु

The first of the seven dhatus: the nutrient fluid that digestion produces and that circulates through the body.

Rasa yoga · रसयोग

A medicine whose main ingredients are minerals, sometimes made as pills. Some contain mercury or other metals, which is why we flag them.

Rasakriya · रसक्रिया

A decoction that is strained and then boiled down until it becomes thick and semi-solid.

Rasayana · रसायन

Rejuvenation. One of the eight branches of Ayurveda, and the name for the medicines and routines it uses to support long-term strength and healthy ageing.

Ratricharya · रात्रिचर्या

Night routine: the texts' advice for the evening and night.

RCT

Randomised controlled trial, the strongest kind of single study. People are assigned by chance to the treatment or to a comparison, often a placebo, so that other differences between the groups even out.

Ritucharya · ऋतुचर्या

Seasonal routine: diet, daily habits and cleansing adjusted to the time of year.

Ritusandhi · ऋतुसन्धि

The two weeks where one season meets the next, the last week of one and the first of the other. The texts advise changing your routine gradually across it.

Rule 161B

The part of India's Drugs Rules, 1945 that sets the shelf life and expiry-date labelling of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines. It is about expiry, not heavy metals.

Sadvritta · सद्वृत्त

Good conduct: the texts' guidance on a harmonious way of living.

Samagni · समाग्नि

Balanced agni: the state in which digestion and metabolism work as they should.

Sandhana · सन्धान

Fermentation, the process used to make asavas and arishtas.

Sandhigata vata · सन्धिगत वात

Vata lodged in the joints. The classical description closest to osteoarthritis.

Satmya · सात्म्य

What suits a person: food or habits that agree with their nature and constitution.

SGPT

Serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, a liver enzyme measured in routine liver tests. A raised level can be a sign of liver injury, even before any symptoms.

Shodhana (processing) · शोधन

Traditional purification of a raw drug before use, meant to remove unwanted parts or change its nature. Being processed this way does not by itself show that a product is free of harm.

Shodhana (therapy) · शोधन

Cleansing treatment meant to remove disturbed doshas from the body. Panchakarma is its best-known form.

Shukra · शुक्र

Reproductive tissue and fluids, including semen. The seventh and last of the dhatus.

Small clinical study

A small study in people, often a handful of healthy volunteers given a single dose, that measures something like a drug's level in the blood. Good for spotting an interaction, too small or short to say much about everyday use.

Snehana · स्नेहन

Oleation: treatment with ghee or oil, taken by mouth or applied to the body.

Snehapana · स्नेहपान

Drinking measured amounts of processed ghee or another fat, as a treatment.

Swarasa · स्वरस

Juice pressed out of a plant and used as a medicine.

Systematic review

A study of studies: reviewers search for every trial on a question, judge their quality and, where they can, combine the results in a meta-analysis. It is only as good as the trials it contains.

Taila · तैल

A medicated oil: oil boiled with set decoctions and herbal pastes, such as Mahanarayan Taila.

Theoretical by mechanism

A concern based on how a herb and a drug each work, with no study of the two together. Two things that both lower blood sugar could add up, for example.

Tikta · तिक्त

Bitter, one of the six tastes.

Tridosha · त्रिदोष

The three doshas taken together: vata, pitta and kapha.

TSH

Thyroid-stimulating hormone, made by the pituitary gland to tell the thyroid how much hormone to make. A high TSH usually means the thyroid is underactive; a low TSH can mean too much thyroid hormone.

Vata · वात

The dosha of movement. The texts link it to every kind of motion in the body, and to the work of the senses and the mind.

Vati · वटी

A tablet or pill made from one or more plant, animal or mineral ingredients. Also called gutika (गुटिका).

Vihara · विहार

What you do, as opposed to what you eat: the activities of the body, senses, mind and speech.

Viruddha ahara · विरुद्ध आहार

Foods the texts say should not be eaten together or in certain ways, such as milk with fish. Our food cards report these rules as the texts give them.

WOMAC

A standard questionnaire on pain and difficulty with daily activities in osteoarthritis of the knee or hip.