Triphala

Triphala is a formula from Ayurvedic medicine in India, made from the fruits of three myrobalan trees, and taken as a powder, decoction or infusion. In China, a similar fruit preparation became a fermented drink, now sold in a non-alcoholic form as a traditional herbal remedy.

History

The earliest mentions of triphala appear in Indian medical treatises. The Charaka Samhita, in the form known today, is dated to around the 1st century CE, and the Sushruta Samhita of the 6th century and the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu of the 16th century also mention it often.

The earliest Chinese record is in Li Zhao's work from the Tang period, which lists it among the alcoholic drinks sold in the capital, Chang'an, and notes that the Chinese recipe came from Persia. Han E later described a fermentation of about thirty days using honey and water, praising the result as a digestif and a mild laxative. Gao Lian, in the Ming period, copied the recipe with small changes to the proportions.

Culture

In India it remains one of the most common Ayurvedic treatments, valued for its supposed ability to balance all three doshas at once. Traditional preparations include the powder, known as churna, and the decoction, and some versions, such as the rasayana, are mixed with honey and ghee.

In China, the fermented drink has a history of over a thousand years, and today its non-alcoholic version is marketed as a traditional herbal remedy. It remains mainly part of traditional medicine and herbal product shops.

Trivia