Herbs for Digestion

42 Sri Lankan medicinal plants traditionally used for this purpose. Open a herb to see its Sinhala, English and botanical names, the parts used, how it is prepared, the research behind it and safety notes.

Use with care: Traditional use does not prove that a herb works or that it is safe for you. Talk to a doctor or a registered Ayurveda practitioner before using herbs to treat a condition, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medicines, or treating a child. Read our disclaimer

Fruits & Seeds

Asamodagam (Trachyspermum ammi): The Spice-Box Seed for Wind and Indigestion

(Trachyspermum ammi)

Most Sri Lankan spice boxes hold a small packet of asamodagam: tiny, ridged, greyish-brown seeds wit

Succulents

Komarika (Aloe Vera): Excellent on Skin, Complicated to Swallow

(Aloe vera)

Komarika (Aloe vera) sits in a pot by countless Sri Lankan kitchen doors for one very good reason: w

Fruits & Seeds

Alu Puhul (Benincasa hispida): The Cooling Ash Gourd of Sri Lankan Homes

(Benincasa hispida)

Alu puhul (Benincasa hispida) is the big, pale gourd dusted with chalky white bloom that is piled up

Fruits & Seeds

Beli (Aegle marmelos): The Sacred Bael Tree for Digestive Health

(Aegle marmelos)

Beli (Aegle marmelos) may be the only medicine in Sri Lanka that works in both directions. The unrip

Leaves

Bulath (Piper betle): The Betel Leaf, Honoured Guest and Misunderstood Medicine

(Piper betle)

No plant is woven deeper into Sri Lankan life than bulath (Piper betle). A sheaf of forty betel leav

Fruits & Seeds

Karawila (Momordica charantia): Bitter Gourd and the Diabetes Trials That Disagree

(Momordica charantia)

Karawila (Momordica charantia) is the vegetable Sri Lankan children are bribed to eat and Sri Lankan

Fruits & Seeds

Gammiris (Piper nigrum): Black Pepper, Ceylon's Other Great Spice

(Piper nigrum)

Cinnamon gets the fame, but gammiris (Piper nigrum) built empires too — and Sri Lankan black pepper

Fruits & Seeds

Kaluduru (Nigella sativa): Black Seed and the 82-Trial Verdict

(Nigella sativa)

Kaluduru (Nigella sativa) arrived in Sri Lanka along the spice routes and settled into two places at

Fruits & Seeds

Abba (Brassica juncea): Mustard Seed, the Tempering Spice With Hidden Chemistry

(Brassica juncea)

Abba (Brassica juncea) is the tiny brown seed that crackles in hot coconut oil at the start of almos

Fruits & Seeds

Cardamom (Enasal): The Queen of Spices for Digestion

(Elettaria cardamomum)

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is expensive for a reason: the pods must be picked by hand, slightly

Bark & Wood

Ceylon Cinnamon (Kurundu): True Cinnamon, Coumarin and the Evidence

(Cinnamomum verum)

Kurundu (Cinnamomum verum) is Sri Lanka's most famous export and the reason European fleets once fou

Fruits & Seeds

Godapara (Dillenia retusa): Sri Lanka's Endemic Natural Shampoo

(Dillenia retusa)

Godapara (Dillenia retusa) is endemic to Sri Lanka — it grows wild nowhere else on earth. Before sha

Fruits & Seeds

Aralu (Terminalia chebula): Haritaki and the Triphala Tradition

(Terminalia chebula)

Aralu (Terminalia chebula) carries an unusual reputation: Tibetan medical texts depict it in the han

Flowers

Karabu Nati (Syzygium aromaticum): Cloves and Eugenol for Toothache

(Syzygium aromaticum)

Karabu nati (Syzygium aromaticum) is one of the few household remedies whose active ingredient your

Leaves

Aruda (Ruta graveolens): Rue — Potent, Traditional, and Not for Children

(Ruta graveolens)

Aruda (Ruta graveolens) sits in pots outside Sri Lankan homes and in the pages of Sri Lankan paediat

Fruits & Seeds

Koththamalli (Coriander): Sri Lanka's Classic Fever and Cold Remedy

(Coriandrum sativum)

If there is one remedy every Sri Lankan household reaches for at the first sign of a fever, it is ko

Leaves

Thebu (Costus speciosus): The "Insulin Plant" and What the Evidence Really Says

(Costus speciosus (syn. Hellenia speciosa))

Ask any Sri Lankan gardener about thebu and you will hear the same instruction: "one leaf a day for

Fruits & Seeds

Suduru (Cuminum cyminum): Cumin, the Digestive Seed With Metabolic Trials

(Cuminum cyminum)

Suduru (Cuminum cyminum) is the warm, earthy backbone of Sri Lankan curry powder and of the digestiv

Leaves

Karapincha (Murraya koenigii): Curry Leaves Are Not Just Flavour

(Murraya koenigii)

Karapincha (Murraya koenigii) suffers a peculiar fate: it is put into almost every Sri Lankan dish a

Fruits & Seeds

Uluhal (Trigonella foenum-graecum): Fenugreek for Blood Sugar — and the Breast Milk Question

(Trigonella foenum-graecum)

Uluhal (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is the small, amber, maple-scented seed that goes into the temper

Roots & Rhizomes

Sudu Lunu (Allium sativum): Garlic, the Kitchen Medicine With 80 Clinical Trials

(Allium sativum)

Sudu lunu (Allium sativum) is the rare traditional medicine that modern science has tested to exhaus

Roots & Rhizomes

Inguru (Ginger): The Universal Medicine, and What It Is Proven To Do

(Zingiber officinale)

Inguru (Zingiber officinale) earns its Ayurvedic title vishwabhesaj — universal medicine — more hone

Fruits & Seeds

Masan (Ziziphus mauritiana): Indian Jujube, the Childhood Fruit

(Ziziphus mauritiana)

Masan (Ziziphus mauritiana) is a fruit most Sri Lankans meet as children, scrumped from a thorny tre

Succulents

Thotila (Oroxylum indicum): The Indian Trumpet Tree of Dasamula

(Oroxylum indicum)

Thotila (Oroxylum indicum) is unmistakable once you have seen it: a slender tree hung with enormous

Fruits & Seeds

Madan (Syzygium cumini): Jambul, the Fruit With 125 Years of Diabetes Research

(Syzygium cumini)

Madan (Syzygium cumini) stains your tongue purple and your fingers with history. Before insulin exis

Leaves

Sera (Cymbopogon citratus): Lemongrass, Citral and a Calming Cup

(Cymbopogon citratus)

Sera (Cymbopogon citratus) is the stalk you bruise and drop into a curry, and the tea you make when

Fruits & Seeds

Dehi (Citrus aurantifolia): Lime, the Sour Fruit in Every Sri Lankan Remedy

(Citrus aurantifolia)

Dehi (Citrus aurantifolia) is squeezed into more Sri Lankan remedies than any other plant: into the

Fruits & Seeds

Thippili (Piper longum): Long Pepper for Digestion and Breathing

(Piper longum)

Thippili (Piper longum) looks like a small grey catkin rather than a pepper, but one taste settles t

Fruits & Seeds

Goraka (Garcinia gummi-gutta): The Sour Spice, the Diet Pill, and the Liver Warning

(Garcinia gummi-gutta (syn. G. cambogia))

Goraka (Garcinia gummi-gutta) leads a double life. In Sri Lanka it is a kitchen staple: the smoky, s

Roots & Rhizomes

Kalanduru (Cyperus rotundus): Musta, the World's Worst Weed

(Cyperus rotundus)

Kalanduru (Cyperus rotundus) has a genuine claim to being the most troublesome weed on earth — it is

Fruits & Seeds

Nutmeg (Sadikka): The Calming Spice That Must Be Measured

(Myristica fragrans)

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is a rare thing among kitchen spices: one where the difference between a

Leaves

Gaslabu (Carica papaya): What Papaya Leaf Can and Cannot Do for Dengue

(Carica papaya)

Almost every Sri Lankan home garden has a gaslabu, or papol, tree (Carica papaya): a tall, unbranche

Roots & Rhizomes

Rathnithul (Plumbago indica): Chitraka, the Fiery Root

(Plumbago indica)

Rathnithul (Plumbago indica) is a handsome shrub with scarlet flower spikes, and beneath it a root t

Flowers

Nelum (Nelumbo nucifera): The Sacred Lotus, From Temple Offering to Pharmacology

(Nelumbo nucifera)

Nelum (Nelumbo nucifera) is the national flower of Sri Lanka and the offering laid before every Budd

Bark & Wood

Kothala Himbutu (Salacia reticulata): The Diabetes Vine Science Took Seriously

(Salacia reticulata)

Kothala himbutu (Salacia reticulata) is that rare thing in herbal medicine: a Sri Lankan folk remedy

Fruits & Seeds

Dummella (Trichosanthes cucumerina): Snake Gourd, the Cooling Vegetable

(Trichosanthes cucumerina)

Dummella (Trichosanthes cucumerina) hangs from village trellises like a bundle of pale green snakes,

Roots & Rhizomes

Kohila (Lasia spinosa): The Spiny Marsh Vegetable That Fights Inflammation

(Lasia spinosa)

Kohila (Lasia spinosa) is the vegetable that bites back: a marsh plant whose leaf stalks and rhizome

Roots & Rhizomes

Vada Kaha (Acorus calamus): Sweet Flag, and Why Dosage Matters

(Acorus calamus)

Vada kaha (Acorus calamus) sits awkwardly between reverence and risk. Ayurveda classes it as a medhy

Fruits & Seeds

Siyambala (Tamarindus indica): Tamarind, the Sour Fruit With a Sweet Pharmacology

(Tamarindus indica)

Siyambala (Tamarindus indica) shades half the temple courtyards and village junctions of the dry zon

Flowers

Heen Undupiyaliya (Desmodium triflorum): The Cooling Groundcover

(Desmodium triflorum)

Heen Undupiyaliya (Desmodium triflorum) carpets Sri Lankan lawns and is mown down weekly by people w

Fruits & Seeds

Thibbotu (Solanum torvum): Turkey Berry, Food First

(Solanum torvum)

Thibbotu (Solanum torvum) turns up on Sri Lankan tables as a slightly bitter curry of small green be

Fruits & Seeds

Divul (Limonia acidissima): Wood Apple, the Hard-Shelled Fruit of the Dry Zone

(Limonia acidissima)

Divul (Limonia acidissima) is the fruit you crack open with a stone. Behind its grey, wooden shell l

Other uses

Coughs and Colds (22) Skin Conditions (22) Blood Sugar and Diabetes (18) Fever (16) Urinary and Kidney Health (16) Cooling the Body (14) Joint Pain and Arthritis (13) Wound Healing (12) Sleep and Stress (9) Immunity (8) Diarrhoea (8) Oral and Dental Health (8) Constipation (7) Cholesterol and Heart Health (7) Hair Care (7) Liver Health (6) Asthma and Breathing (5) Women's Health (4) Inflammation and Swelling (4) Memory and Brain Health (4) Eye Health (4) Weight Management (3) Piles (Haemorrhoids) (3) Intestinal Worms (3)