NALA Adventures

Botanical Name: Arundo donax. Linn.

Classification:
According To Modern
Kingdom -Plantae
Family - Poaceae
According To Ayurveda
Charak- Not included in Varga
Sushruta- Trinapancamula
Bhavprakash- GuducyadiVarga

Other Names :
Marathi- Devnal
Hindi - Narsal, Narakat
Gujrat - Nali
Tamil - Kattupugaiyillai
Telgu -Adaviyogaku
Kannad- Kadahogesoppu, Laladakaddi
English - Wild tobacco.

General Information :
Habit- Gigantic tufted grass. Grows 5 meter high. Stem- Glabrous, smooth with very long internodes. Leaves- Blade reaching 1.8 m. in length and 5 cm in breadth, ribstout. Upper cauline leaves are folded and filiform. Leaf sheaths are glabrous. Inflorescence- Panicle, 60 cm to 1 mtr. Long, pink, white or silver. Spikelets are 2.5 to 3.5 mm long. Spikelet sometimes 2 to 3 followed with 1 to 2 additional paleate glumes inside the floral glumes.

Properties (Gunadharma)
Rasa- Madhura, Kasaya, Tikta
Vipak- Madhura
Virya- Sheeta
Guna-Laghu, Snigdha
Specific Parts :
Root (Mula)
Doshaghnata :
Tridoshashamak.

Shloka's :
देवनलोतीमधुरो वृश्यो ईषतकशायाक |
नल:स्यादधिको वीर्य शस्यते रसकर्मणि ||

Benefits :In raktapitta and raktadushtija diseases; for stanyavriddhi being stanyajanana.Being vrishya in shukradushti and in shukralpata. Being mootrala it is used in mootrakrichchhra also used in bastishotha and as dahashamana.

Jwara(Fever)
In case of jwara (Fever) decoction of Nala (Arundodonax) vetasa(Salix caprea), Murva (Marsedeniatenacissima) and Devadaru (Cedrusdeodara) is very useful.
Mutraghata (Distended Urinary Bladder)
In taking of cooled decoction of Nala (Arundo donax) Kusa (Desmostachyabipinnata) Kasa(Saccharumspontancum) Aksu (Saccharumofficinarum) and Bala (Sidacordifolia) with sugar is a good remedy in Mutraghata.
Formulation (Kalp):
Trinapanchamoolaquatha, panchatrinaksheera.

Dosage :
Quatha- 40 to 80 ml.

Research Corner :
The impact of pH coupled to process design for the conversion of the energy crop Arundo donax to ethanol was assessed in the present study under industrially relevant solids loadings. Two main process strategies were investigated, i.e. the traditional simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) and a HYBRID design, where a long high-temperature enzymatic hydrolysis step was carried out prior to continued low-temperature SSCF, keeping the same total reaction time.