Punarnava in sanskrit means that which rejuvenates or renews the body.
It is also known as red spiderling,spreading hogweed, boerhavia diffusa or tarvine.
Its leaves are used to prepare medicines and also in regular cooking in India.
Boerhavia diffusa is widely dispersed, occurring throughout India, the Pacific, and southern United States.
It is called mookirattai in Tamil and tellagalijeru in Telugu, Ambatimadu in Kannada, Lalsabuni in Hindi, Tellagalijeru in Telugu is a small flowering shrub plant used as a herbal medicine.
It is rightly called Punarnava (punar = re + nava = new/young), because it can bring back lost vigour and vitality.
It is a blood purifier it treats many diseases from skin allergies to constipation.
Punarnava is a real detox plant that removes all the toxins from the body very effectively.
Health Benefits and Medicinal Usages of Punarnava
For Kidney and Liver Disorders : Punarnava plant is useful for treating all the disorders of the kidneys as it reduces the urea levels in the body very effectively.
Take the decoction with the whole plant(with washed roots) by boiling in water.
This decoction can be consumed (3 spoons morning and evening each) safely even while taking other medications for kidney problems.
It also acts as a liver tonic and can be used to treat all the disorders of the liver.
To Cure Voice or Speech Problems : Take ½ kg punarnava leaves and ¼ kg sesame seeds oil.
Boil the sesame oil by mixing punarnava leaves in it. Boil until entire juice from leaves get mixed into oil.
Apply this oil in luke warm condition to throat and neck are and gently massage to cure irregular voice problems.
Alternately for children to rectify throat and speech problems, take 250 ml of Punarnava leaves juice and mix with 125 gms candy sugar and boil them together to make a thick syrup.
Dosage will be ½ spoon Syrup with ½ glass water for children two times a day.
For Eyes : Regular consumption of Punarnava treats all the disorders of the eyes like night blindness, glaucoma, gradually reducing vision and persistent irritation in the eyes. You can either take the root decoction (by boiling only washed roots in water) or the dried root powder (available in ayurvedic shops in tablets form as Punarnavadi Mandoor) mixed with honey daily with breakfast.
Curing Constipation : Regular consumption of Punarnava in any form (decoction or tablets or powder) treats constipation as it is a mild laxative. It also treats anemia as Punarnava is rich in iron.
For Skin : Start including it in the diet at least weekly once. The best way to cook it is to add it along with lentils. Extract juice from roots of Punarnava and consume it as often as you can by mixing with drinking water.
Regular use of this herb gives natural glow and youthfulness to the skin as it purifies the blood.
The punarnava root water also can be used for treating skin allergies like itching, rashes, etc.
Curing Edema : Punarnava is excellent natural herb for treating edema as it is a very good diuretic.
Try taking it in either one of the ways mentioned above (decoction or tablets) until you get relief. Punarnava also prevents Cancer and UTI(Urinary Tract Infections) with regular use.
For Asthma:
Take 20 grams of raw root of Spreading hogweed, 10 grams of dry root of Spreading hogweed and 3 grams of pepper. Grind all of them together and roll into small pills and dry them. Consume 1 pill twice a day with lukewarm water. This will gradually cure asthma disease.
For Urinary calculi:
Obtain some Spreading hogweed roots and wash them thoroughly. Mix some salt in it and grind together. Make small pills out of this mixture and consume with water twice a day. Doing this regularly for 40 days will cure urinary calculi.
For Jaundice:
Take 10 grams of Spreading hogweed (tellagallijeru) leaves and crush them into a juice. Mix this juice with a cup of curd (yoghurt) and eat twice a day. During this treatment avoid all oily foods and eat only curd rice without salt. This will cure jaundice gradually.
For all types of Swellings and pain:
Take equal quantities of Spreading hogweed roots, deodar tree bark, dry ginger and vetiver bunch grass. Grind all of them together and store in a glass bottle. Get half a liter of water and add one tea spoon of the prepared powder to it. Boil this water till only 1/4 of the water remains. Filter this water and add cow urine to it. Consuming this medicine regularly will cure swelling in the legs and all other swelling in any part of the body.
For White jaundice with enlarged liver:
Obtain 3 grams of Spreading hogweed (tellagallijeru) roots powder and 6 pepper cloves powder. Mix them well and keep aside. Consume this medicine thrice a day with water. This will cure white jaundice gradually.
For Impotency and Premature ejaculation:
We all know that a healthy sexual life leads to a happy and everlasting marriage. But some men suffer from impotency and premature ejaculation which is a real fun killer. Such men can try the following remedy. Get a whole
Spreading hogweed plant, and dry it in the shade in lots of air. Grind this dry plant into a powder and store in a bottle. Take a tea spoon of this powder and add an equal quantity of candy sugar to it. Eat half or full tea spoon of this medicine twice a day. This will cure impotency and premature ejaculation. You can make love for a long time.
For Vitiligo and white spots on skin:
Take equal quantities of Spreading hogweed leaves and bay leaves. Grind them together and extract the juice. Apply this juice extract on the Vitiligo and white spots on the skin to cure them gradually.
Other uses of Spreading hogweed
It can be called the elixir of life and youth. It revitalizes and rejuvenates the body and restore youth. It is an excellent medicine to revitalize and heal the liver.
Precautions and Side effects of Punarnava or Boerhavia Diffusa
As it contains excess Iron and also being laxative, this herb should be avoided by pregnant women.
Reference : Boerhavia Diffusa