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Karpasa

Gossypium herbaceum

Karpasa (Gossypium herbaceum) is a plant drug, also called Karpasah, Tundakesi and Binaula. Gossypol chelates iron and calcium, reducing both mineral and gossypol absorption. Protein-rich meals reduce gossypol absorption. Refined cottonseed oil (gossypol-free) has standard lipid bioavailability.

Key facts
Botanical nameGossypium herbaceum
FamilyMalvaceae · other entries in this family
OrderMalvales
Taxon identifiersGBIF 3152658 · Wikidata Q177615 · NCBI Taxonomy 34274
Names in other languages
Sanskritकार्पासः (kārpāsaḥ), Tundakesi
Hindiबिनौला (binaulā), कपास (kapāsa)
EnglishCotton plant seed
TamilParutti kkoottam, கற்பாசம், பருத்தி
MalayalamKarpasi, Panji Karpasam
TeluguPatti ginga
KannadaArale, Hati
MarathiSarki
BengaliBona, Kapasia
UrduHabb-ul-Qutn, Pambadana
AssameseKarpasa, Tula

Sources: Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (column alignment reconstructed); Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, KARPASA monograph (seeds devoid of lint of Gossypium herbaceum Linn., Fam. Malvaceae, api-all.txt line 9215 ff.), Tamil slot "Parutti kkoottam"; MMPND Gossypium page gives Tamil "Nattupparutti, Talipparutti, Venparutti" and Parutti/Parutthi across the genus; Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, KARPASA monograph (seeds of Gossypium herbaceum Linn.), Hindi slot "Kapasa, Binaula"; MMPND (plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Gossypium.html), Tamil names for Gossypium herbaceum "Karbasam, Karpasam, Nattupparutti, Talipparutti, Venparutti"; MMPND Gossypium page, Hindi "Kapas, Rui" for Gossypium herbaceum; API's KARPASA monograph Hindi slot gives "Kapasa, Binaula"; MMPND Gossypium page, Sanskrit "Karpasa, Karpasah, Karpasaha" for Gossypium herbaceum; the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India monograph for this species is itself headed KARPASA and its synonym block carries "Karpasa, Tula". How we source.

The evidence at a glance

12papers on this site for this drug, published 1861 to 2024, 10 with a DOI.

  • 1Other clinical studies and reviews
  • 11Laboratory and animal studies

A count is not a conclusion and a tier is a study design, not a verdict. Everything listed here is laboratory or animal work, which does not show an effect in people. Each paper is listed with what it measured on the page below. See the research index for how papers are tiered.

Names and identification

LanguageName
EnglishCotton plant

Ayurvedic pharmacology (Dravyaguna)

PropertyValueDescription
Rasa (Taste)MadhuraPrimary taste
Guna (Quality)Guru, SnigdhaPhysical quality
Virya (Potency)UshnaHeating/Cooling effect
Vipaka (Post-digestive)MadhuraPost-digestive effect

Dosage forms and preparation

Dosage Forms: Beeja Churna (seed powder), Taila (cottonseed oil), Kashayam (decoction of root bark), Capsule, Pattika (cotton wick for Varti/suppository)

Standard Dosage: 3-5 g seed powder twice daily; 5-10 mL cottonseed oil; 50-100 mL root bark decoction

Optimal Timing: Root bark decoction: after meals; seed preparations: with meals to moderate gossypol absorption

Storage: Cottonseed oil in cool, dark place (15-25°C) in amber glass or food-grade HDPE. Root bark powder in airtight containers protected from moisture. Gossypol-containing preparations require restricted storage.

Marker Compounds: Gossypol, Gossypin (flavonoid), Gossypetin, Herbacetin, Beta-sitosterol, Linoleic acid, Oleic acid

Synergistic Combinations

Published research

Literature indexed in PubMed that concerns this subject, grouped by study type. A paper appearing here is a record of what has been published, not evidence that the subject works, and laboratory or animal results do not transfer to people. Study titles link to PubMed so you can read the source rather than take our word.

Other clinical studies and reviews1

  1. 2006. Gossypium PMID 29999788

Laboratory and animal studies11

  1. Sushma, Kumar U, Tiwari VK and others. 2024. Physio-morphological and molecular characterization of ethyl methanesulfonate-derived mutant population of Gossypium herbaceum L. cv. (Wagad) for drought tolerance3 Biotech. PMID 39310032 · doi:10.1007/s13205-024-04089-1
  2. Ramaraj T, Grover CE, Mendoza AC and others. 2023. The Gossypium herbaceum L. Wagad genome as a resource for understanding cotton domesticationG3 (Bethesda, Md.). PMID 36454094 · doi:10.1093/g3journal/jkac308
  3. Yin X, Zhan R, He Y and others. 2020. Morphological description of a novel synthetic allotetraploid(A1A1G3G3) of Gossypium herbaceum L.and G.nelsonii Fryx. suitable for disease-resistant breeding applicationsPloS one. PMID 33270669 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242620
  4. Huang G, Wu Z, Percy RG and others. 2020. Genome sequence of Gossypium herbaceum and genome updates of Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium hirsutum provide insights into cotton A-genome evolutionNature genetics. PMID 32284579 · doi:10.1038/s41588-020-0607-4
  5. Wu Y, Chen D, Zhu S and others. 2017. A New Sythetic Hybrid (A1D5) between Gossypium herbaceum and G. raimondii and Its Morphological, Cytogenetic, Molecular CharacterizationPloS one. PMID 28187145 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169833
  6. Montes E, Coriton O, Eber F and others. 2017. Assessment of Gene Flow Between Gossypium hirsutum and G. herbaceum: Evidence of Unreduced Gametes in the Diploid ProgenitorG3 (Bethesda, Md.). PMID 28546386 · doi:10.1534/g3.117.041509
  7. Cui X, Liu F, Liu Y and others. 2015. Construction of cytogenetic map of Gossypium herbaceum chromosome 1 and its integration with genetic mapsMolecular cytogenetics. PMID 25628758 · doi:10.1186/s13039-015-0106-y
  8. Liu Q, Chen Y, Chen Y and others. 2015. A new synthetic allotetraploid (A1A1G2G2) between Gossypium herbaceum and G. australe: bridging for simultaneously transferring favorable genes from these two diploid species into upland cottonPloS one. PMID 25879660 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0123209
  9. Ranjan A, Sawant S. 2015. Genome-wide transcriptomic comparison of cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) leaf and root under drought stress3 Biotech. PMID 28324561 · doi:10.1007/s13205-014-0257-2
  10. Jena SN, Srivastava A, Rai KM and others. 2012. Development and characterization of genomic and expressed SSRs for levant cotton (Gossypium herbaceum L.)TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik. PMID 22038488 · doi:10.1007/s00122-011-1729-y
  11. 1861. Gossypium Herbaceum (Cotton)Atlanta medical and surgical journal. PMID 35826480

Reviewed by Dr. Awadesh Pratap Singh, BAMS, on 11 October 2026. What that review covered.

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