Health Benefits & Medicinal Uses of Arjuna Bark (Terminalia)

Arjuna is an effective medicinal herb that has been widely used in Ayurvedic medicine since ancient times. It is mainly used to treat heart diseases because it has powerful cardio-strengthening and cardioprotective properties. 

It strengthens your heart muscle and regulates the heartbeat. Arjuna is a rich source of minerals that helps to prevent bone loss and enhances the mineral density in bones. 

It is an effective remedy for ulcer treatment, especially for peptic ulcers due to its ulcer protection action. It controls bleeding, so it is effective in bleeding diseases. 

It decreases the frequency of urination, so it is more beneficial in frequent urination and polyuria. It contains powerful astringent action, so it helps to manage leucorrhea.

About Arjuna

Arjuna is a medicinal plant that belongs to the Combretaceae family. Botanically it is known as Terminalia Arjuna, and the reddish bark of this tree has various medicinal values to treat many diseases. 

Arjuna is one of the sacred trees in India because the flowers and leaves are provided to Lord Ganesha and Lord Vishnu. 

Arjuna is a deciduous riparian tree that can grow up to 20-27 meters in height. It is native to India, and it can be found in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, and many other Asian Countries. It contains oblong leaves that grow opposite to its branches. 

Arjuna tree contains whitish cream flowers that grow in the clusters and blossoms in the month of May to July. The fruit of Arjuna is green in color, and it turns to woody brown when it ripes. 

It contains numerous bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, cardenolide, ellagic acid, tannins, gallic acid, and triterpenoid saponins that provide excellent medicinal properties. 

Arjuna is recommended in Ayurvedic medicines to treat diseases caused because of the deficiency of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Arjuna is an effective cardiac tonic that helps to promote insulin sensitivity, delays the aging process, and improves digestion.

Energetics

Rasa (taste): Bitter and Astringent
Virya (actions): Cooling
Guna (qualities): Dry, Light
Vipaka (post-digestive effects): Pungent
Effect on doshas: Tridoshic, not indicated for Kapha-pitta

Common Names of Arjuna Bark

Botanical Name: Terminalia Arjuna
English Name: Arjuna Bark
Tamil Name: Thiraviya Pattai
Malayalam Name: Poomaruthu, Manimaruthu
Telugu Name: Tella Maddi
Kannada Name: Neer matti
Hindi Name: Arjun
Marathi Name: Sadaru
Gujarati Name: Sadad

Medicinal Properties of Arjuna Bark

• Antiarrhythmic
• Anti-thrombotic
• Anti-osteoporotic
• Anti-atherogenic
• Antihypertensive
• Antianginal
• Antioxidant
• Anti-herpes virus
• Antihemorrhagic
• Anti-arthritic
• Antacid
• Anti-ischemic
• Anti-obesity
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antitumor
• Antihyperlipidemic
• Antiulcerogenic
• Antitoxin
• Antihyperglycemic
• Urinary Astringent
• Wound healing
• Cardiac Stimulant
• Mucolytic
• Cardioprotective
• Cardiac tonic
• Inotropic

Health Benefits & Medicinal Uses of Arjuna Bark

Arjuna Bark is mainly used to treat heart diseases and works as a heart tonic in Ayurveda. Moreover, it also used to treat many diseases due to its effective medicinal properties.

Improves Cardiovascular Health

Arjuna bark helps to promote the functions of the left ventricle of your heart. It strengthens your heart muscles and improves the capacity of blood pumping. 

The cardioprotective action of Arjuna bark helps to protect the optimum functions of your heart and increases the speed of the recovery process in cardiac injury. Arjuna provides beneficial results for many cases such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar that affects the heart health. 

Many researches and studies found that Arjuna bark contains positive effects on any kind of heart problems and diseases related to the heart. 

According to studies, Arjuna bark has the capacity to cure congestive heart failure, which is a condition that occurs when your heart can’t be able to pump enough blood to your body. 

It is mainly used to prevent Myocardial Infarction due to its anti-atherogenic property that helps to decrease the buildup of plaque in coronary arteries and promotes the blood flow to heart tissue. Arjuna bark is very effective for people who suffer from Myocardial ischemia. 

It enhances the blood flow to your heart and decreases coronary arteries blockage. The cardiac action of Arjuna bark enhances the tone and strengthens the heart muscles. 

It also effectively improves the capacity to pump blood to the heart and increases left ventricular ejection fraction for people who suffer from heart diseases. 

Moreover, the antioxidants present in Arjuna bark helps to manage your cardiovascular health. Arjuna bark is mainly recommended for preventing heart diseases in people who suffer from hypertension and diabetes mellitus in Ayurveda.

Treats Heart Failure

Arjuna decreases the manifestations of heart failure. It improves the stroke volume index of the left ventricular and the ejection fraction of the left ventricular. 

According to many studies, it helps to enhance effort tolerance and exercise performance. The extract of Arjuna bark increases the cardiac output and cardiac contractility index. 

It decreases and prevents cardiac dysfunction and helps to relieve myocardial injury in congestive heart failure. According to Ayurveda, the powder of Arjuna bark provides effective treatment for many cardiovascular conditions such as heart failure, coronary heart diseases, myocardial infections, etc. 

Moreover, the regular consumption of Arjuna bark lowers the risk of many heart diseases and also improves the function and overall health of the heart. Many studies found that Arjuna bark acts as an antioxidant, and it prevents lipid peroxidation. 

The action of Arjuna bark is similar to the FLUVASTATIN that is a standard modern medicine. The combination of Arjuna and Ashwagandha helps in strengthening your heart. 

Arjuna bark is used as Arjuna Ksheera Pak or Ashwagandha Arjuna Ksheera Pak to treat congestive heart failure in Ayurveda. 

It helps to decrease edema, and basically, it is recommended to take with Punarnava formulations such as Punarnavasava, Punarnavadi Kashayam, or Punarnava Mandur, Punarnavarishta to get better results. The powder, juice, extract, or decoction of Arjuna bark can be used for treating people who have chronic heart failure.

Treats Shortness of Breath

The narrow coronary arteries reduce the oxygen supply to the heart in heart patients so that it may cause shortness of breath. 

Arjuna decreases the narrowness of blood vessels by treating low-grade inflammation and decreasing plaque deposited in the blood vessels, so it helps in the treatment of breathing troubles in heart patients. To get better results, take the combination of other herbs.

Controls High Blood Pressure

Arjuna bark contains powerful astringent action that helps to control the blood pressure. According to studies, it is also effective for systolic blood pressure. 

Moreover, it decreases atherosclerotic lesions, deposits of plaque in blood vessels, increases lipids, reduces cholesterol, and treats dyslipidemia, so it inhibits narrowing the blood vessels. 

Thus, the regular usage of Arjuna bark is more beneficial in managing the level of blood pressure caused due to narrowing blood vessels, or atherosclerosis or hypertension is related to high cholesterol. 

High levels of blood pressure can increase the risk of many diseases associated with the heart, such as heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, and stroke. Various researches found that Arjuna bark is very effective in decreasing blood pressure level. 

According to Ayurveda, the combination of Arjuna bark with various herbs provides effective results in maintaining blood pressure. 

It is widely used as a heart tonic in Ayurveda to enhance the functions and cardio-vascular endurance of high blood pressure. 

The combination of Arjuna bark, Praval pishti, Sarpagandha churna, Mukta pishti, Jahar mohra pishti is an effective remedy to control the blood pressure. Take three gms of this mixture two times per day with milk.

Treats Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery diseases may occur due to the plaque, sticky substance narrows, or prevents, and it reduces the blood flow. 

This decreased blood flow may lead to many symptoms such as chest pain and sign of major heart problems like a heart attack. The plaque can suddenly block the coronary artery and trap small blood clots that may cause a heart attack. 

Therefore, Coronary artery is the main reason for heart failure and also uncontrollable hypertension. Arjuna bark helps to decrease the low-grade inflammation in coronary arteries and blood vessels, so it prevents the development and deposition of plaque. 

It effectively decreases the level of low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, serum cholesterol, and atherogenic index. Moreover, the combination of various herbs such as Triphala, Kutki, Trikatu churna, Shuddha Guggulu, Tamara bhasma, and Pushkarmool effectively treat coronary artery disease and clears the blockage due to the cholesterol deposits.

Treats Lipid Disorders

High levels of cholesterol and triglyceride can increase the risk of heart problems and atherosclerosis. If you are suffering from lipid problems, Arjuna bark is an effective remedy. Research conducted on people who have been affected by coronary heart diseases for 30 days. 

According to this research, the extract of Arjuna bark provides effective results in reducing the level of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. 

Lipid peroxidation is the degradation of lipids that damages the cells. According to the studies of animals, it is found that Arjuna has the capacity to control the level of triglyceride and cholesterol. Consuming the extract of Arjuna can reduce Atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta. 

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Arjun bark helps to improve cholesterol metabolism.

Protects Your Liver And Kidneys

Arjuna contains effective compounds and powerful antioxidant properties that help to fight against cancer. The excessive exposure of chemical toxins can cause damage to your liver and kidney. Arjuna is an effective remedy to cure this damage. 

According to animal studies, it is found that Arjuna bark contains a protective effect that fights against harmful chemical carbon tetrachloride that causes damage to your kidney and liver and stimulates oxidative stress. 

Arjuna promotes the antioxidative effect of your body, so it prevents oxidative stress. Therefore, it prevents the damage and dysfunction of the liver and kidney.

Also Read: Herbs For Kidney Stone

Prevents Heart Attack

Many studies found that the pre-treatment of Arjuna bark and α-tocopherol can help to prevent heart attack injury. 

Arjuna bark contains prophylactic values that help to treat heart attack and Myocardial Ischemia. The prophylactic value of Arjuna bark increases the antioxidants in heart tissue that protects your heart from the shock or injury of a heart attack.

Prevents Damage Of Free Radicals And Inflammation

Arjuna bark contains many bioactive compounds like flavonoids that provide powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. 

The strong antioxidants present in Arjuna allow your body to fight against the free radicals that cause damages. Generally, Free radicals produce energy from the food particles, so it is developed from your body. 

It is also an addition when our body exposes many external agents such as environmental pollution, alcohol, cigarette smoke, toxins, processed food, etc. Free radicals can cause damage to your cells and DNA. 

They have also contributed to the aging process and various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases. Moreover, Arjuna contains powerful analgesic properties that act as a painkiller. 

Arjuna helps to improve the defense of your body and also helps the antioxidant capacity. The antioxidant activity of Arjuna bark is similar to vitamin E and other powerful antioxidants. 

Moreover, it also fights against chronic inflammation that occurs due to food, lifestyle, and diseases like diabetes. Due to these dual effects, Arjuna is an excellent remedy to improve your overall health.

Manages Diabetes

According to many studies, the Arjuna herb can effectively reduce the blood sugar level because it helps in correcting the glucose breakdown caused by the kidney and liver. 

Many researchers found that the Arjun bark contains many bio-active compounds such as flavonoids, tannins, and saponins that provide powerful anti-diabetic effects by helping the modulation of enzymes that are involved in glucose metabolism.

There are some other scientifically proved herbs also used in ayurvedic treatment for diabetes. Here you can see the best herbs for diabetes.

Treats Angina Pectoris

The powdered form of Arjuna bark contains powerful Cardioprotective and Antianginal actions. According to many studies, it is found the Arjuna bark provides effective treatment for stable angina pectoris. 

Moreover, Arjuna bark also decreases the systolic pressure and increases the level of good cholesterol. It doesn’t cause any noted side effects on the liver and kidney. Thus, Arjuna is an effective remedy to treat stable angina pectoris significantly.

Treats Diarrhea And Ulcers

Arjuna is an effective traditional medicine used in Ayurveda to treat dysentery and diarrhea. Many studies have recommended this herb because it contains powerful anti-microbial properties, and it fights against bacteria such as Escherichia coli that cause diarrhea. 

Arjuna is also an effective remedy to treat gastric ulcers. The research found that Arjuna bark has the capability to fight against ulcers and can cure existing ulcers. 

The gastroprotective effect of Arjuna bark is able to manage the integrity of gastric mucosa or lining, and it prevents oxidative damage. Arjuna bark helps to strengthen the gastric mucosal barrier that protects from acid attacks and prevents the ulcer formation. 

Many traditional medicines are recommended to chew fresh Arjuna bark and swallow the bark juice because that helps to fight against indigestion, heartburn, and acidity, and it acts as an antacid. 

In traditional medicines, the decoction of Arjuna bark is combined with milk or ghee to provide effective treatment for various stomach related diseases.

Improves Energy

Arjuna bark can improve your energy and endurance during exercise. Many studies found that consuming the extract of Arjuna bark for two weeks increases the consumption of oxygen during exercise. 

It is a sign of cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance. While exercising, the muscles need enough oxygen, and the heart needs enough blood pumping to the requirements of aerobic exercise. 

Actually, the amount of energy you produce will depend on the oxygen you use during exercise. According to many researches, it is recommended to consume Arjuna bark with Ashwagandha, which is another powerful herb that improves the speed and strength of muscles.

Speed Up Wound Healing

Arjuna bark contains powerful wound-healing properties that are widely used to cure wounds quickly. Studies found that the active compound tannin of Arjuna bark helps to decrease the size of the wound and effectively increases the tensile strength of tissues. 

Arjuna herb can cure wounds quickly by increasing the speed of collagen that is a protein that strengthens your bones, ligaments, and tendons, and it also acts as scaffolding during healing skin wounds. This herb can be applied as a paste on the wound areas to improve the healing process.

Cures Bone Fracture

The Arjuna bark is effectively used to cure bone fractures. It can be applied as a paste on the fracture area after alignment. Repeat this remedy two times per day until it recovers. 

Additionally, consume 3-4 gms of Arjuna bark powder with two gms of Cissus Quadrangularis with Desi Khand and cow’s ghee. It helps to increase the speed of the proliferative physiological process that improves the healing of the fracture.

Treats Damage Caused By Smoking

Smoking is the major reason for many diseases, and it damages your heart, lungs, and overall health. For smokers, it affects the function of the lining cells insides of the blood vessels due to the oxidative stress. 

This dysfunction is the beginning symptom of atherosclerosis, and it leads to many problems with blood flow that can cause heart diseases. The antioxidant property of Arjuna bark helps to provide effective results.

Dosage of Arjuna Bark

Dosage of Arjuna bark can vary from person to person based on the condition, age, and severity of the individuals. It is better to consult your doctor or Ayurvedic practitioner before taking this dosage because they will check the condition of your health and prescribe the dosage. Arjuna bark can be taken in different formulations and dosages as follows.

Arjuna Bark Powder Dosage

Children	1 to 3 grams
Adults	3 to 6 grams
Maximum Possible Dosage	24 grams Per Day (in divided doses)

Take this along with Milk, Sugar, or Jaggery 2 hours after food.

Arjuna Ksheera Pak Dosage

Children	40 to 80 ml
Adults	160 ml
Maximum Possible Dosage	320 ml Per Day (in divided doses)

Drink Arjuna Ksheer 2 hours after food or anytime but avoid food 30 minutes before drinking it and 60 minutes after drinking.

Arjuna Bark Decoction Dosage

Children	25 to 50 ml
Adults	50 to 100 ml
Maximum Possible Dosage	200 ml Per Day (in divided doses)

Consume this decoction on an empty stomach in the morning and in the late afternoon or early evening, 30 minutes before food or 2 hours after food.

Arjuna Bark Juice Dosage

Children	5 to 10 ml
Adults	10 to 20 ml
Maximum Possible Dosage	40 ml Per Day (in divided doses)

Drink Arjuna juice in the morning on an empty stomach and in the late afternoon or early evening.

Arjuna Bark Water Extract Dosage

Children	125 to 250 mg
Adults	250 to 500 mg
Maximum Possible Dosage	1500 mg Per Day (in divided doses)

Drink it in the morning on an empty stomach and in the late afternoon or early evening or 2 hours after the food.

Side Effects of Arjuna Bark

Arjuna bark can be used in many formulations such as powder, juice, decoction, etc. It is safe to consume with all these formulations when taken in the proper dosage under the consultation of your doctor. 

According to many studies, Arjuna bark is safe to consume in the proper dosage, and it does not have any harmful side effects on your liver and kidney functions. The long-term consumption of Arjuna bark is also safe and doesn’t provide any side effects.

Pregnancy & Lactation

According to the studies, Arjuna is not recommended for pregnant women. Thus, you should consult your doctor before taking formulations of Arjuna bark.

Arjuna bark is considered as safe to consume for lactating mothers. There are no side effects that occur when consuming Arjuna bark in lactating mothers and breastfeeding babies.

Bottom Line

In Ayurveda, arjuna bark is used to treat heart problems. The limited research and animal studies about arjuna bark say it has a good level of anti-oxidant properties that support heart health, control blood sugar level, and other potential benefits.

Only limited research is done on the arjuna bark, so breastfeeding women, pregnant women, and children should avoid the consumption of this herb. It also naturally has a small amount of alcohol. You should consult with your ayurvedic doctor before add as a dietary supplement.