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Sarja

Vateria indica

Sarja (Vateria indica) is a plant drug, also called Sarjakah and Sapheda damara. Oleoresin components are lipophilic and require lipid-based carriers for optimal absorption. Tannins reduce bioavailability of co-administered iron and proteins.

Key facts
Botanical nameVateria indica
Identity sourceAyurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, Part I, Vol. IV: SARJA (Exudate)
Also calledShorea robusta (attribution recorded without a cited source)
FamilyDipterocarpaceae
OrderMalvales
Taxon identifiersGBIF 3189688 · Wikidata Q2576684 · NCBI Taxonomy 1260927
Names in other languages
Sanskritसर्जकः (sarjakaḥ)
Hindiसफेद डामर (sapheda ḍāmara)
Tamilதுருளக்கம், வெள்ளைக்குங்கிலியம்

Sources: eFloraofIndia / Names of Plants in India, Vateria indica, Hindi: कहरुबा, सफेद डामर. Corroborated by API SARJA Hindi 'Sandras, Safed Damar'; eFloraofIndia / Names of Plants in India, Vateria indica, Sanskrit: सर्जकः (sarjakah); eFloraofIndia / Names of Plants in India, Vateria indica, Tamil: துருளக்கம் (turulakkam); eFloraofIndia / Names of Plants in India, Vateria indica, Tamil: துருளக்கம், வெள்ளைக்குங்கிலியம். Corroborated by API SARJA (Exudate) = Vateria indica Linn., Tamil: 'Kungiliyam, Vellai Kuntarakam, Vellai Kundarakam'. How we source.

The evidence at a glance

12papers on this site for this drug, published 2003 to 2024, every one with a DOI.

  • 12Laboratory 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.true See the research index for how papers are tiered.

Names and identification

LanguageName
EnglishSarja

Ayurvedic pharmacology (Dravyaguna)

PropertyValueDescription
Rasa (Taste)Kashaya, TiktaPrimary taste
Guna (Quality)Laghu, SnigdhaPhysical quality
Virya (Potency)SheetaHeating/Cooling effect
Vipaka (Post-digestive)KatuPost-digestive effect

Dosage forms and preparation

Dosage Forms: Churna (powder), Kwatha (decoction), Taila (medicated oil), Lepa (external paste), Ghana vati (tablet), Resin preparations

Standard Dosage: 3-6 g bark/resin powder per day; 50-100 mL kwatha twice daily; external application of oleoresin as needed

Optimal Timing: After meals for internal use; externally as needed for wound care

Storage: Below 25 deg C in airtight containers. Oleoresin in glass or coated metal containers. Protect from light and oxidation.

Marker Compounds: Alpha-amyrin, Beta-amyrin, Ursolic acid, Gallic acid, Ellagic acid, Bergenin

Synergistic Combinations

  • Sala (astringent-wound healing synergy)
  • Lodhra (hemostatic formulations)
  • Arjuna (cardiovascular and wound healing combinations)
  • Shallaki (anti-inflammatory resin formulations)

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.

Laboratory and animal studies12

  1. Vinayagam R, Nagendran V, Goveas LC and others. 2024. Machine learning, conventional and statistical physics modeling of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) herbicide removal using biochar prepared from Vateria indica fruit biomassChemosphere. PMID 38185425 · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141130
  2. Selvaraj R, Nagendran V, Murugesan G and others. 2024. Synthesis of magnetic biochar composite using Vateria indica fruits through in-situ one-pot hydro-carbonization for Fenton-like catalytic dye degradationEnvironmental research. PMID 38365050 · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118414
  3. Alshabi AM, Shaikh IA, Asdaq SMB. 2022. The antiepileptic potential of Vateria indica Linn in experimental animal models: Effect on brain GABA levels and molecular mechanismsSaudi journal of biological sciences. PMID 35844388 · doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.02.059
  4. Isaq M, Somu P, Acharya D and others. 2022. Phytochemical Screening and Bioactivity Studies of Endophytes Cladosporium sp. Isolated from the Endangered Plant Vateria Indica Using In Silico and In Vitro AnalysisApplied biochemistry and biotechnology. PMID 35522363 · doi:10.1007/s12010-022-03933-5
  5. Kodate SV, Raju PS, Yadav AK and others. 2022. Effect of fuel preheating on performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with Vateria indica methyl ester blends at various loadsJournal of environmental management. PMID 34915387 · doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114284
  6. D'Souza JN, Nagaraja GK, Prabhu A and others. 2022. AgVI and Ag/ZnOVI nanostructures from Vateria indica (L.) exert antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic efficacy on triple negative breast cancer cells in vitroInternational journal of pharmaceutics. PMID 35041912 · doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.121450
  7. D'Souza JN, Prabhu A, Nagaraja GK and others. 2021. Unravelling the human triple negative breast cancer suppressive activity of biocompatible zinc oxide nanostructures influenced by Vateria indica (L.) fruit phytochemicalsMaterials science & engineering. C, Materials for biological applications. PMID 33641895 · doi:10.1016/j.msec.2021.111887
  8. Malipatil MB. 2017. Indopamphantus makutaensis, a new genus and species, and Indopamphantini, a new tribe of Pamphantinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Geocoridae), as the first representative of the subfamily from the Oriental RegionZootaxa. PMID 28610184 · doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4242.2.4
  9. Ito T, Masuda Y, Abe N and others. 2010. Chemical constituents in the leaves of Vateria indicaChemical & pharmaceutical bulletin. PMID 20930407 · doi:10.1248/cpb.58.1369
  10. Riviere T, Natarajan K, Dreyfus B. 2006. Spatial distribution of ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycete Russula subsect. Foetentinae populations in a primary dipterocarp rainforestMycorrhiza. PMID 16180039 · doi:10.1007/s00572-005-0019-4
  11. Reddy MS, Singla S, Natarajan K and others. 2005. Pisolithus indicus, a new species of ectomycorrhizal fungus associated with Dipterocarps [corrected] in IndiaMycologia. PMID 16457353 · doi:10.3852/mycologia.97.4.838
  12. Mishima S, Matsumoto K, Futamura Y and others. 2003. Antitumor effect of stilbenoids from Vateria indica against allografted sarcoma S-180 in animal modelJournal of experimental therapeutics & oncology. PMID 14696625 · doi:10.1111/j.1533-869x.2003.01102.x

Reference lists that include it

Ellagic acid, Gallic acid, Ursolic acid

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.