Terminalia chebula

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Redirect|Hēzǐ|similarly named topics|Hezi (disambiguation){{!}}Hezi}} {{Speciesbox |image = Harra (Terminalia chebula) leafless tree at 23 Mile, Duars, WB W IMG 5905.jpg |image_caption = A leafless ''T. chebula'' tree |genus = Terminalia |species = chebula |authority = Retz. |synonyms = {{Plainlist | style = margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; | *''Buceras chebula'' (Retz.) Lyons *''Combretum argyrophyllum'' K.Schum. *''Myrobalanus chebula'' (Retz.) Gaertn. *''Myrobalanus gangetica'' (Roxb.) Kostel. *''Myrobalanus tomentella'' Kuntze *''Terminalia acutae'' Walp. *''Terminalia argyrophylla'' King & Prain *''Terminalia gangetica'' Roxb. *''Terminalia glandulipetiolata'' {{au|De Wild.}} *''Terminalia parviflora'' Thwaites *''Terminalia reticulata'' Roth *''Terminalia tomentella'' Kurz *''Terminalia zeylanica'' Van Heurck & Müll. Arg. }} |synonyms_ref = <ref name="Powo"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2431324 |title=The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species|access-date=7 August 2015}}</ref> }}

'''''Terminalia chebula''''', commonly known as '''black-''' or '''chebulic myrobalan''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | ''Terminalia chebula'' Retz. | 36335 | access-date = 6 Aug 2016 }}</ref> is a species of ''Terminalia'', native to South Asia from India, Pakistan and Nepal east to southwest China (Yunnan), and south to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Vietnam.<ref name=GRIN/><ref name=foc>Flora of China: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014747 ''Terminalia chebula'']</ref>

==Taxonomy== Swedish naturalist Anders Jahan Retzius described the species in Observ. Bot. 5: 31 in 1788.<ref name="Powo">{{cite web |title=''Terminalia chebula'' Retz. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:171037-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=16 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

Many varieties are known, such as:<ref name=foc/> *''T. c.'' var. ''chebula'' – leaves and shoots hairless, or only hairy when very young *''T. c.'' var. ''tomentella''  – leaves and shoots silvery to orange hairy

== Description== thumb|left|Haritaki (''Terminalia chebula'') fruits ''Terminalia chebula'' is a medium to large deciduous tree growing to {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}} tall, with a trunk up to {{convert|1|m|abbr=on}} in diameter. The leaves are alternate to subopposite in arrangement, oval, {{convert|7|-|8|cm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4.5|-|10|cm|abbr=on}} broad with a {{convert|1|-|3|cm|adj=on|abbr=on}} petiole.<ref name=foc/> They have an acute tip, cordate at the base, margins entire, glabrous above with a yellowish pubescence below.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} The dull white to yellow flowers are monoecious, and have a strong, unpleasant odour. They are borne in terminal spikes or short panicles. The fruit is drupe-like, smooth ellipsoid to ovoid, {{convert|2|-|4.5|cm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1.2|-|2.5|cm|abbr=on}} broad, blackish, with five longitudinal ridges.<ref name=foc/> They are yellow to orange-brown in colour, with a single angled stone.<ref name="Axe"/>

==Distribution and habitat== ''Terminalia chebula'' Is found throughout southern and southeast Asia including in India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand. In China, it is native in western Yunnan and cultivated in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi (Nanning), and Taiwan (Nantou).<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Terminalia+chebula | title = Terminalia chebula }}</ref><ref name=efloras>{{cite web | url = http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014747 | title = Terminalia chebula | publisher = efloras.org}}</ref>

In India, it is found in the sub Himalayan region from Ravi, eastwards to western Bengal and Assam, ascending up to an altitude of {{cvt|1500|m|ft|-3}} in the Himalayas. This tree is wild in forests of northern India, central provinces and Bengal, common in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S2221-1691(13)60059-3| pmid = 23620847| title = The development of Terminalia chebula Retz. (Combretaceae) in clinical research| journal = Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine| volume = 3| issue = 3| pages = 244–252| year = 2013| last1 = Bag| first1 = Anwesa| last2 = Bhattacharyya| first2 = Subir Kumar| last3 = Chattopadhyay| first3 = Rabi Ranjan| pmc=3631759}}</ref>

Its habitat includes dry slopes up to {{convert|900|m|ft|abbr=on}} in elevation.<ref name='toddcaldecott'>{{cite web |url=http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/herbs/learning-herbs/361-haritaki |title=Todd Caldecott | Haritaki |access-date=2014-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001654/http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/herbs/learning-herbs/361-haritaki |archive-date=2013-12-03 }}</ref>

==Cultivation and uses== thumb|left|''T. chebula'' This tree yields smallish, ribbed and nut-like fruits which are picked when still green and then pickled, boiled with a little added sugar in their own syrup or used in preserves. The seed of the fruit, which has an elliptical shape, is an abrasive seed enveloped by a fleshy and firm pulp. Seven types of fruit are recognized (vijaya, rohini, putana, amrita, abhaya, jivanti, and chetaki), based on the region where the fruit is harvested, as well as the colour and shape of the fruit. Generally speaking, the'' vijaya'' variety is preferred, which is traditionally grown in the Vindhya Range of west-central India, and has a roundish as opposed to a more angular shape.<ref name='toddcaldecott' /> The fruit also provides material for tanning leather and dyeing cloth.<ref name=efloras/>

''Terminalia chebula'' (called ''Haritaki''<ref name="Axe">{{cite web |title=The Ayurvedic Herb that Supports Immune & Gut Health |url=https://draxe.com/nutrition/haritaki-benefits/ |website=Dr. Axe |access-date=16 November 2023}}</ref>) is a main ingredient in the Ayurvedic formulation of ''triphala''.<ref name=Tewari>{{cite journal | pmc = 5554347| year = 2017| last1 = Tewari| first1 = D| title = Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part II. Highly Used Plant Species from Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Combretaceae, and Fabaceae Families| journal = Frontiers in Pharmacology| volume = 8| pages = 519| last2 = Mocan| first2 = A| last3 = Parvanov| first3 = E. D| last4 = Sah| first4 = A. N| last5 = Nabavi| first5 = S. M| last6 = Huminiecki| first6 = L| last7 = Ma| first7 = Z. F| last8 = Lee| first8 = Y. Y| last9 = Horbańczuk| first9 = J. O| last10 = Atanasov| first10 = A. G| doi = 10.3389/fphar.2017.00519| pmid = 28848436| doi-access = free}}</ref>

Kakatiya dynasty-era ‘sandbox’ technique of laying foundation to make a building earthquake-resistant. The technique involved filling the pit — dug up for laying foundation — with a mixture of sand lime, jaggery (for binding) and karakkaya (black myrobalan fruit), before the buildings were constructed on these ‘sandboxes(https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2018/Oct/25/did-kakatiya-rulers-hold-the-secret-to-earthquake-proof-buildings-1889809.html)

==Chemical composition== A number of glycosides have been isolated from ''haritaki'', including the triterpenes arjunglucoside I, arjungenin, and the chebulosides I and II. Other constituents include a coumarin conjugated with gallic acids called chebulin, as well as other phenolic compounds including ellagic acid, 2,4-chebulyl-β-D-glucopyranose, chebulinic acid, gallic acid, ethyl gallate, punicalagin, terflavin A, terchebin, luteolin, and tannic acid.<ref name='toddcaldecott' /><ref name=Saleem>{{Cite journal | last1 = Saleem | first1 = A. | last2 = Husheem | first2 = M. | last3 = Härkönen | first3 = P. | last4 = Pihlaja | first4 = K. | title = Inhibition of cancer cell growth by crude extract and the phenolics of ''Terminalia chebula'' retz. Fruit | doi = 10.1016/S0378-8741(02)00099-5 | journal = Journal of Ethnopharmacology | volume = 81 | issue = 3 | pages = 327–336 | year = 2002 | pmid = 12127233}}</ref> Chebulic acid is a phenolic acid compound isolated from the ripe fruits.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Lee | first1 = H. S. | last2 = Jung | first2 = S. H. | last3 = Yun | first3 = B. S. | last4 = Lee | first4 = K. W. | title = Isolation of chebulic acid from ''Terminalia chebula'' Retz. And its antioxidant effect in isolated rat hepatocytes | doi = 10.1007/s00204-006-0139-4 | journal = Archives of Toxicology | volume = 81 | issue = 3 | pages = 211–218 | year = 2007 | pmid = 16932919| s2cid = 25751621 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Lee | first1 = H. S. | last2 = Koo | first2 = Y. C. | last3 = Suh | first3 = H. J. | last4 = Kim | first4 = K. Y. | last5 = Lee | first5 = K. W. | title = Preventive effects of chebulic acid isolated from ''Terminalia chebula'' on advanced glycation endproduct-induced endothelial cell dysfunction | doi = 10.1016/j.jep.2010.07.039 | journal = Journal of Ethnopharmacology | volume = 131 | issue = 3 | pages = 567–574 | year = 2010 | pmid = 20659546}}</ref> Luteic acid can be isolated from the bark.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Nierenstein | first1 = M. | last2 = Potter | first2 = J. | title = The distribution of myrobalanitannin | journal = The Biochemical Journal | volume = 39 | issue = 5 | pages = 390–392 | year = 1945 | pmid = 16747927 | pmc = 1258254 | doi=10.1042/bj0390390}}</ref>

''Terminalia chebula'' also contains terflavin B, a type of tannin, while chebulinic acid is found in the fruits.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Han | first1 = Quanbin | last2 = Song | first2 = Jingzheng | last3 = Qiao | first3 = Chunfeng | last4 = Wong | first4 = Lina | last5 = Xu | first5 = Hongxi | year = 2006 | title = Preparative isolation of hydrolysable tannins chebulagic acid and chebulinic acid from ''Terminalia chebula'' by high-speed counter-current chromatography | url = http://www.tautobiotech.com/download/%E6%96%87%E7%8C%AE/%E5%BA%94%E7%94%A8%E9%A2%86%E5%9F%9F/%E4%B8%AD%E8%8D%AF%E9%A2%86%E5%9F%9F/%E5%85%B6%E4%BB%96/%E8%BF%90%E7%94%A8%E9%AB%98%E9%80%9F%E9%80%86%E6%B5%81%E8%89%B2%E8%B0%B1%E6%B3%95%E4%BB%8E%E8%AF%83%E5%AD%90%E4%B8%AD%E5%88%86%E7%A6%BB%E5%8F%AF%E6%B0%B4%E8%A7%A3%E9%9E%A3%E8%B4%A8%E8%AF%83%E5%AD%90%E9%85%B8%E5%92%8C%E8%AF%83%E5%B0%BC%E9%85%B8.pdf | journal = J. Sep. Sci. | volume = 29 | issue = 11| pages = 1653–1657 | doi=10.1002/jssc.200600089| pmid = 16922284 }}</ref>

The fruit extracts of ''Terminalia chebula'' also have antibacterial activity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prathibha |first1=S. |last2=Jenitta |first2=E.P.E. |last3=Rama Bhat |first3=P. |last4=Jayadev |first4=K. |last5=Shetty |first5=Shrinidhi |title=Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from fruit extracts of ''Terminalia chebula'' Retz. and their antibacterial activity. |journal=International Journal of Research in Biosciences |date=2015 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=29-35.}}</ref>

== Gallery == <gallery> A green Terminalia Chebula 1.jpeg|A green fruit File:Terminalia Chebula in Bangladesh 2.jpeg|A dried ''T. chebula'' by the side of a scale Terminalia chebula - flowers.JPG|Flowers Harado (Prakrit- हरडओ) (3309176804).jpg|Trunk </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

chebula Category:Flora of the Indian subcontinent Category:Flora of Indo-China Category:Indian spices Category:Taxa named by Anders Jahan Retzius Category:Plant dyes