Some fabulous health benefits of red sandalwood which we must know
Posted on: 21/May/2021 6:16:15 PM
Red sandalwood is also known by various other names such as heartwood, lal chandan, agaru, rubywood, red sanders etc. Belonging to the family ‘Fabaceae’, red sandalwood is found in South Eastern Ghats mountain range belonging to south India. The colour of the wood is reddish and hence the name red sandalwood. The scientific name of red sandalwood is Pterocarpus Santalinus.
Phyto chemicals like glycosides plus others like essential oils, flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acid etc are present in the wood. Therefore, red sandalwood has got antioxidant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Various health benefits of red sandalwood are
Treats headache:
It is believed that the red sandalwood paste could act as a cooling agent and when applied on the head it could cure headaches. Truth is that it could relax and calm the mind by balancing the paitta of the body. It is known that pitta imbalance could lead to headaches.
Wounds get healed:
Diabetes could lead to acute wounds in a person and these wounds could be treated by applying red sandalwood. Healing of wounds would take place faster due to the angiogenesis activity of the wood. New blood vessels and new skin cells get generated and they help in wound healing.
Treats many skin issues:
Various skin based issues like psoriasis, oily skin, tanned skin, acne, hyper-pigmentation etc could be treated by red sandalwood. By mixing red sandalwood with lemon juice, curd and oils and then applying it over the skin, we could be free from the above said issues.
Reduces cholesterol:
By lowering the bad cholesterol or LDL and increasing the good cholesterol or HDL, red sandalwood or heartwood lowers cholesterol levels in us.
Act as aphrodisiac:
It is known that aphrodisiacs are substances that would increase the sexual desire of a person. It is believed that red sandalwood would improve the blood flow in the genitals and boosts mood and calms nervous system etc.
Controls diabetes:
The blood glucose levels would get lowered by the presence of poly-phenols that are present in red sandal wood. Secretion of insulin gets improved.
Liver issues get treated:
Free radicals present could result in many liver problems in us and it is said that red sandalwood with tannins and phenolic acids could scavenge free radicals and protect them.
Cures cougugh, sore throat etc:
Inflammation in the respiratory tract due to pathogens could lead to coughing. The pathogens get killed due to the antimicrobial properties of red sandalwood. Anti-inflammatory property of red sandalwood could reduce inflammation. By this, we could be free from coughs, sore throats etc.
Has chemopreventive effect:
It must be taken into note that the presence of lignins, phenolic acids, stilbenes, flavonoids etc in red sandalwood could target multiple pathways related to carcinogenesis, inflammation, cell proliferation etc that would lead to cancer.
