Age Ayurveda Nighantu Ayurvedic practitioner? List or verify your practice

Palasha

Butea monosperma

Palasha (Butea monosperma) is a plant drug, also called Brahmavriksah, Kimsukah and Palasa.

Key facts
Botanical nameButea monosperma
FamilyFabaceae · other entries in this family
OrderFabales
Taxon identifiersGBIF 8234570 · Wikidata Q942203 · NCBI Taxonomy 56060
Names in other languages
Sanskritब्रह्मवृक्षः (brahmavṛkṣaḥ), किंशुकः (kiṃśukaḥ)
Hindiपलाश (palāśa), ढाक (ḍhāka)
Tamilபுரசு, பலாசம்

Sources: Flowers of India, Butea monosperma: Sanskrit "ब्रह्मवृक्ष Brahmavrksha, पलाश Palasha"; efloraofindia adds ब्रह्मपादप, मेघनाद; efloraofindia and Flowers of India, Butea monosperma Hindi lists: ढाक dhak, टेसू tesu; efloraofindia and Flowers of India, Butea monosperma Tamil lists: பலாசம் palasam, கிஞ்சுகம் kincukam, முருக்கன்மரம் murukkan-maram; efloraofindia and Flowers of India, Butea monosperma: Hindi "ढाक dhak, पलाश palash, टेसू tesu" (FoI adds किंशुक); efloraofindia, Butea monosperma Sanskrit list: किंशुक kimshuka, पलाश palasha; Flowers of India also gives किंशुक as Hindi; efloraofindia, Butea monosperma Tamil list includes புரசு (puracu); corroborated by Nizhal (Chennai tree-conservation group) documenting "Purasu maram" in Tamil for Butea monosperma, and by the Chennai place name Purasawalkkam. How we source.

The evidence at a glance

12papers on this site for this drug, published 1993 to 2025, 11 with a DOI.

  • 2Other clinical studies and reviews
  • 10Laboratory 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
EnglishPalasha

Ayurvedic pharmacology (Dravyaguna)

PropertyValueDescription
Rasa (Taste)Tikta, KatuPrimary taste
Guna (Quality)Laghu, RukshaPhysical quality
Virya (Potency)UshnaHeating/Cooling effect
Vipaka (Post-digestive)KatuPost-digestive effect

Dosage forms and preparation

Dosage Forms: Churna (seed/bark powder), Kwatha (bark decoction), Capsule, Tablet, Lepa (paste), Kshara (alkali preparation), Eye drops (traditional)

Standard Dosage: 1-3 g seed powder daily (anthelmintic dose); 3-6 g bark powder daily; 20-40 mL bark decoction twice daily; Palasha Kshara 500 mg - 1 g with honey

Optimal Timing: Anthelmintic seed powder: early morning on empty stomach for 3-7 days. Bark decoction: between meals. Kshara: with honey or warm water after meals.

Storage: Powders and extracts: airtight containers, below 25 deg C, RH <55%, protected from light (especially flower preparations). Kshara: airtight glass or HDPE container, protected from moisture absorption. Seeds: cool, dry, pest-free storage.

Marker Compounds: Butrin, Isobutrin, Butein, Palasitrin, Monospermin, Gallic acid, Lupeol, Beta-sitosterol, Butin

Synergistic Combinations

  • Vidanga (anthelmintic synergy)
  • Palasha Kshara + Gomutra (traditionally used for urinary calculi)
  • Haridra (traditionally combined for inflammation and wounds)
  • Kutaja (anti-diarrheal and anti-dysenteric)
  • Triphala (digestive and detoxification combination)

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 reviews2

  1. Hiremath KY, Veeranagoudar DK, Bojja KS. 2024. Butea monosperma as a collective phytomedicine and environmentally sustainable, conservative, and beneficial plantArchives of Razi Institute. PMID 39736959 · doi:10.32592/ARI.2024.79.3.465
  2. Khan AU, Akram M, Daniyal M and others. 2020. Awareness and current knowledge of epilepsyMetabolic brain disease. PMID 31605258 · doi:10.1007/s11011-019-00494-1

Laboratory and animal studies10

  1. Mondal S, Ganguly A, Nandi A and others. 2025. Network pharmacology and molecular docking reveal multi-target mechanisms of Butea monosperma stem bark extract in ulcerative colitisScientific reports. PMID 41249410 · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-24091-8
  2. Behera BP, Mishra SR, Mahapatra KK and others. 2024. SIRT1-activating butein inhibits arecoline-induced mitochondrial dysfunction through PGC1α and MTP18 in oral cancerPhytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology. PMID 38723523 · doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2024.155511
  3. Sudhakar Rao SVD, Ryntathiang I, Behera A and others. 2024. Comparative In Vitro and In Silico Analyses of Phytochemicals From Butea monosperma for Wound-Healing Potential in Human CellsCureus. PMID 38989336 · doi:10.7759/cureus.62078
  4. Mankotia P, Sharma K, Sharma V and others. 2023. Curcumin-loaded Butea monosperma gum-based hydrogel: A new excipient for controlled drug delivery and anti-bacterial applicationsInternational journal of biological macromolecules. PMID 37141967 · doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124703
  5. Farooq MU, Mumtaz MW, Mukhtar H and others. 2020. UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS based phytochemical characterization and anti-hyperglycemic prospective of hydro-ethanolic leaf extract of Butea monospermaScientific reports. PMID 32103043 · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-60076-5
  6. Karia P, Patel KV, Rathod SSP. 2018. Breast cancer amelioration by Butea monosperma in-vitro and in-vivoJournal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 29366766 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2017.12.026
  7. Singh A, Kaur M, Choudhary A and others. 2015. Effect of Butea monosperma leaf extracts on cyclophosphamide induced clastogenicity and oxidative stress in micePharmacognosy research. PMID 25598640 · doi:10.4103/0974-8490.147215
  8. Harish M, Ahmed F, Urooj A. 2014. In vitro hypoglycemic effects of Butea monosperma Lam. leaves and barkJournal of food science and technology. PMID 24493888 · doi:10.1007/s13197-011-0496-8
  9. Choedon T, Shukla SK, Kumar V. 2010. Chemopreventive and anti-cancer properties of the aqueous extract of flowers of Butea monospermaJournal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 20307637 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2010.03.011
  10. Chaudhury RR. 1993. The quest for a herbal contraceptiveThe National medical journal of India. PMID 8241931

Reference lists that include it

Gallic acid, Lupeol

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

Consult a qualified vaidya before acting on anything here. Ayurvedic practice is prescribed to a person, not to a condition: the same dravya is given, withheld or substituted depending on your constitution, your agni, the season and what else you are already taking. A page cannot know any of that. Self-prescribing from a reference is how the wrong preparation, the wrong dose or the wrong anupana gets used.

Educational reference only. Nothing on this page is medical advice, a diagnosis, or a recommendation to take anything. Traditional uses and research findings are reported as published, not as claims about what any product does. If you take prescribed medication, raise any interaction with the prescriber rather than acting on a page. See our editorial standards.