Experience with Akarkara for severe toothache

[Guest guest]

hi vinod

 

this is one of my favorites herbs too - with many more properties

beyond its analgesic effects

i particularly enjoy the effects of the herb upon the oral mucosa,

and also like to watch the expression of others when they haven't

tried it before - for those who haven't tried it before the effects

cannot be accurately described

it is a much under utilized herb, and interestingly enough, i have

just developed a mouthwash with it as major ingredient

 

over here we call it "toothache plant," which is descriptive of its

use in almost every place its found

i would like to know more about the etymology of the word

"arkarkarva" - do you know?

 

both S. acmella and the smaller S. oleracea are found throughout the

tropics

in brazil they are the only peoples i know to eat the fresh leaves,

usually in salads

in portuguese its called "agriao" (pronounced "agri OW")

 

thanks for sharing this...

Caldecott

www.toddcaldecott.com

 

> I wanted to share with the group a unique experience we had with

> use of fresh Akarkarva (Spilanthes acmella). ........One such

> volunteer.....had a severe toothache which did not subside with a

> pain killer. He did not get relief even from double dose of a pain

> killer. We gave him two fresh flowers of Akarkarva to chew on and he

> was relieved of all pain in just about 10 minutes. He could also get

> good sleep that night which he could not get the previous night.

[Guest guest]

Dear Vinod Haritwal,

It is indeed very heartening to hear of your experience.

Akarkara has been indicated for danta-shoola (tooth-ache) and more

specifically Krumi-danta which indicates that the pain is caused by

specific reason namely krumi (literal translation is worms, but this

needs research). This explains why the pain had not subsided with pain

killers but did after the chewing of akarkara. If it had been normal

shoola (pain) caused by doshas (namely vata), it would have subsided

with pain killers. In krumi-danta, the causative factors are krumis

and hence till they are neutralised the pain won't subside.

Another positive factor in your case is that the herb was used fresh.

Maybe if it is used in powdered form it won't show the same result.

Since you have easy access to both you could try whether powder is as

effective.

 

Do keep the group posted about other such wonderful experiences.

 

Cybervaidya.

 

> I wanted to share with the group a unique experience we had with

> use of fresh Akarkarva (Spilanthes acmella). ........One such

> volunteer.....had a severe toothache which did not subside with a

> pain killer. He did not get relief even from double dose of a pain

> killer. We gave him two fresh flowers of Akarkarva to chew on and he

> was relieved of all pain in just about 10 minutes. He could also get

> good sleep that night which he could not get the previous night.

[Guest guest]

Dear

The exact Sankrit name is "Akaara-karabha"

In Hindi it is "akar-kara" which is obtained from "akkal-kara".

In Gujrathi it is "akkal-karo". In Marathi again it is "akkal-kara".

Kannada - "akkal-kara", Malayalam - "akkik-karuka", Tamil "akkal-

kara", Telugu - "akara-karam".

For more variations see http://www.medicinalplants.in/index.php?

searchname=akarkara&plantid=173#view

 

Basically in most Indian languages the meaning is akkal which means

intellect and kara which means to induce. So akkal-kara means

inducing intellect. Apart from the use which was obtained by Mr.

Vinod Haritwal, it is commonly used in cases of stuttering and in

cases where there are delayed milestones especially those associated

with speech. Ofcourse there the root of the palnt is used.

 

The Sanskrit nomenclature is interesting. "Akaara" is shape

and "karabha" could mean either trunk of elephant, or young elephant

or young camel. This means either the roots or some other part

(maybe flowers) resemble these shapes. maybe Mr. Vinod could

elaborate on that. Since there is no mention of this palnt in the

brihatrayi but we find it in later texts and in vies of the fact

that many books mention the fact that this plant has its origin in

the area of present day Iran or Afghanistan, the name "shaped like a

young camel" seems more appropriate. This of course is my

interpretation. Maybe someone who has worked more with this plant

could have a different explanation.

 

Cybervaidya

 

> i would like to know more about the etymology of the word

> "arkarkarva" - do you know?

[Guest guest]

the active ingredients in Spilanthes acmella (Akarakarva) are the

lipid/alcohol-soluble

isobutylamides (e.g. spilanthol), similar to what is found in Echinacea and some

species of

Zanthoxylum (especially the seeds) - this class of compounds promotes a

distinctive

tingling sensation in the oral mucosa, that is accompanied by a profound

antimicrobial

and analgesic property - spilanthes has the highest amount of these compounds of

these

3 spp

 

i have used the powder of zanthoxylum bungeanum seed as a dentifrice to good

end, and

as i mentioned, i have recently developed a commercially available oral rinse

with

spilanthes that is lot of fun to use, and has all the traditional benefits

associated with this

important plant

 

please note that water-extracts, or alcohol-based solvents less than 50% alcohol

will not

extra the active ingredients well enough - this is similarly true for

zanthoxylum and

echinacea

 

best... todd caldecott

 

 

 

> Dear Vinod Haritwal,

> It is indeed very heartening to hear of your experience.

> Akarkara has been indicated for danta-shoola (tooth-ache) and more

> specifically Krumi-danta which indicates that the pain is caused by

> specific reason namely krumi (literal translation is worms, but this

> needs research). This explains why the pain had not subsided with pain

> killers but did after the chewing of akarkara.