Guggulu

What is Guggulu?

Guggulu is not a leaf or a root but a resin, the dried gum that weeps from the bark of a small thorny tree, Commiphora mukul, growing in the dry lands of western India. When the bark is cut, or simply cracks in the heat, a pale sticky liquid seeps out and hardens in the air into amber-brown lumps. Those lumps are gathered, cleaned and used.

The tree is a close relative of the myrrh trees, and Guggulu carries the same warm, bitter, resinous smell. Ayurveda has used it for thousands of years, and counts it among its most important substances, not so much as a herb taken alone but as the backbone of many classical formulas.

What Ayurveda uses it for

Guggulu’s great work, in the tradition’s eyes, is scraping. The texts call this quality lekhana: the action of clearing away what the body has let settle and grow heavy, the dense, sluggish accumulation the tradition links to Kapha and to stalled, blocked channels. Where the body feels clogged, stiff and stagnant, Guggulu is the herb the classical writers reach for to lighten and move it.

It also has a second, almost more prized quality: yogavahi, the carrier. Guggulu is said to take the action of whatever it is combined with and drive it deeper into the body. This is why it sits at the centre of so many named formulas rather than being taken on its own. It settles both Vata and Kapha, and the tradition links it especially to the joints, the bones and the channels of circulation.

Its qualities, in plain words

Ayurveda describes every substance by a short list of qualities, and Guggulu’s explain its restless, moving nature.

It is bitter and pungent, the tastes that cut through heaviness and stir things into motion. It is light, penetrating and subtle, so it reaches into the fine channels and does not sit still. It is warming, which is why it suits the cold, dense, stagnant quality the texts oppose. And it finishes pungent after digestion, keeping that warming, clearing action going. Put together: a substance that warms, lightens and moves, scraping away what has settled. Because it is so warming, the tradition uses it more carefully in people who already run hot.

How it is taken

Guggulu is almost always taken inside a named formula rather than alone, usually pressed into tablets. The classical group of Guggulu preparations is large and well known. Yogaraja Guggulu and Kaishore Guggulu are among the most used, each pairing the resin with its own set of herbs for a different purpose. Triphala Guggulu joins it to the three fruits of Triphala, and Kanchanara Guggulu to the bark of the Kanchanara tree.

Before any of this, the raw resin must be purified. Raw Guggulu is full of bark and grit, and the tradition insists it be cleaned and cooked in herbal liquids first, into what is called Shuddha Guggulu, purified Guggulu. The texts hold that this purifying both removes the impurities and softens the resin’s harshness.

Good to know

Guggulu works slowly and is usually taken as a course over weeks or months, inside a formula chosen for the person. Because it is warming and penetrating, the tradition watches its use carefully in those of a hot, Pitta make-up.

This entry describes the classical Ayurvedic understanding of the substance. It is not medical advice, and anyone with a health condition should speak to a qualified practitioner.

Frequently asked

What is the difference between raw and purified Guggulu? Raw Guggulu still holds bark, sand and other bits, and the tradition considers it harsh. Purified Guggulu, Shuddha Guggulu, has been cleaned and cooked in herbal liquids first. Only the purified form is used in classical preparations.

Why is Guggulu put into so many formulas? Because of its carrier quality, yogavahi. The tradition holds that Guggulu drives the action of the herbs it is combined with deeper into the body, so it is used to strengthen and carry a whole formula rather than to act alone.

Is it related to myrrh? Yes. Guggulu comes from a close relative of the myrrh trees, which is why it shares that warm, bitter, resinous smell. The two are used differently, but they belong to the same family.