"The ten tastes of crude drugs"
Different tastes of crude drugs are used to identify healing properties. There are nine distinct tastes in "Sappakun-paesat". In the royal medical text written by Phraya Phitsanu prasatwet, rot-chuet or no taste was included and made totally of ten tastes.
The findings of scientific research have revealed that each taste represents the specific groups of phytochemical constituents with corresponding pharmacological activities to the traditional uses. Researches still continue and lead to the discovery of other properties of the medicinal plants.
• Rot-pet ron or hot and spicy taste
Traditional uses: as carminative, tonic for fire element; to stimulate perspiration, relieve bloating and gas.
Active constituents: essential oils, resins, balsams, and other hot and spicy compounds.
Pharmacological activities: antimicrobial, immune stimulation, muscle relaxant.
Example: ginger, black pepper, long pepper, Indian Leadwort or chetta mun phloeng Daeng, sakhan, wild betel, cloves and chilies.
• Rot-faad or astringent taste
Traditional uses: for diarrhea, healing wounds and balancing of bodily elements.
Active constituents: polyphenol, tannin.
Pharmacological activities: bactericide, antidiarrheal, antioxidant, antimutagenicity and anticancer.
Examples: mangosteen and pomegranate fruit peel, tea leaf, unripe "namwa" banana and bael fruit.
• Rot-khom or Bitter taste
Traditional uses: for fever; as blood and bile tonic, anaphrodisiac; to stimulate appetite and improve digestion.
Active constituents: terpenes, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids etc.
Pharmacological activities: stimulate some hormonal, bile and gastric secretions; antidiabetic.
Example: heartleaf moonseed or bora pet, kradom, neem, bitter gourd and chamber bitter or yai tai bai.
• Rot-wan or sweet taste
Traditional uses: as heart tonic; to sooth the throat and invigorate the body
Active constituents: carbohydrates, sugar, glycosides.
Pharmacological activities: energy source for muscle cells, brain and red blood cells.
Example: honey, sugar cane juice, stevia (steviosides), licorice (glycyrrhizin).
• Rot-priao or sour taste
Traditional uses: for coughing and thirsty; as blood purifier for women, laxative.
Active constituents: natural organic acids.
Pharmacological activities: antimicrobial, antioxidant, laxative.
Example: tamarind, roselle, som poi, chebulic myrobalan, indian gooseberry, leech lime and lime.
• Rot-chuet or no taste
Traditional uses: for fire element imbalance symptoms, such as fever, muscular and swelling pains; as diuretic.
Active constituents: polysaccharides, pectin, mucilage.
Pharmacological activities: immune stimulant, absorb toxic substances, sugar and lipid in the digestive tract and excrete in feces.
Example: hairy basil fruit, aloe mucilage, ceylon spinach leaf and flower, lady's finger fruit.
• Rot-mun or nutty taste
Traditional uses: to nourish earth element especially lipid and restoring strength; for abnormality of muscles and tendons.
Active constituents: fixed oils, containing saturated or unsaturated fatty acids.
Pharmacological activities: moisturizing activity.
Example: coconut, sesame, castor oil plant.
• Rot-khem or salty taste
Traditional uses: for infected wounds and abscesses; as laxative, element tonic, blood purifier, mucolytic; to help digestion.
Active constituents: minerals such as sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride.
Pharmacological activities: effectively boost health, aid in metabolism, water balance, and bone health .
Example: annual seablit, wild jasmine, mangrove apple, cedar mangrove, shells burnt into charcoal, Epsom salt and salt.
• Rot-hom yen or fragrant and cool taste
Traditional uses: as heart, liver and lung tonic, tonic for pregnant women; for thirsty.
Active constituents: fragrant volatile oils. Their small molecules can soluble in oily medium, can be absorbed into human cells and also penetrated through blood-brain barrier.
Pharmacological activities: antimicrobial, heart tonic, carminative, calmative and antistress.
Example: fragrant from flowers such as bullet wood, ceylon ironwood, saraphi, jasmine, lotus, white champak, cananga and rose.
• Rot-mao buea or nauseating taste
Traditional uses: to detoxify different kinds of toxins, such as insect bites; for skin diseases, itchy rashes, inflammation and as sedative.
Active constituents: glycosides, alkaloids etc.
Pharmacological activities: various activities and may be toxic to human and animals.
Example: ringworm bush, thorn apple, Mitragyna or krathom, ma kluea.