Introduction
The plant Giloy, also called Guduchi or Tinospora cordifolia, has been used in Ayurvedic healing for a long time. It is said to make people live longer and boost their immune systems; it is a Rasayana plant (Kumar et al., 2020). Giloy grows organically in warm places and climbs trees and bushes. All parts of the giloy plant can be used for medicine, from the stem to the leaves to the root. Arora et al. (2023) say that Giloy is full of active chemicals that are good for your health. Alkaloids, steroids, glycosides, and carbohydrates are some of these parts. This post will discuss how giloy can help your health and be used in medicine.
Ayurveda says that Giloy is known for being very hot and has a bitter and sour taste. It balances out pitta and kapha, but it calms all three doshas. According to Dalve and Salve (2023), giloy helps eliminate toxins and cleans the blood. It also builds ojas, or energy, and ensures the liver and spleen work correctly. It makes the body’s cells stronger and helps the stomach and metabolism. Giloy helps the body deal with stressful events and nervous thoughts because it is an adaptogen. It lessens stress and makes thinking more transparent. Generally, giloy strengthens the body and gives you more energy (Kumar et al., 2020).
Researchers have been most interested in how Giloy can help lower fevers, inflammation, and high blood sugar and weaken the immune system. Arora et al. (2023) also say it can help with allergies, stress, heart health, and cancer. As a natural treatment, giloy is most often used for the following.
Uses of Giloy
Gilovey has been shown in several studies to help lower fevers, which means it may work. The chemicals that raise body temperature are called pyrogenic cytokines, according to Dalve and Salve (2023), and it looks like Giloy stops them from working. According to Ayurveda, inflammation in the body is mainly caused by too much pitta dosha. Giloy lowers this dosha because it is a potent anti-inflammatory. Kumar et al. (2020) say that giloy can control inflammatory markers like c-reactive protein and monitor enzymes and cytokines that worsen inflammation. Giloy eases inflammation by lowering heat and balancing pitta.
Because it changes the immune system, geology makes you healthier. Arora et al. (2023) say that macrophages, dendritic cells, and T cells in the immune system become active, and antibody levels rise. According to Dalve and Salve (2023), giloy protects the immune system by increasing phagocytic activity, which helps eliminate dangerous antigens and germs from the body. It helps the immune system even more by lowering oxidative stress because of its antioxidant characteristics. Numerous studies confirm Giloy’s ability to improve immune response.
Giloy helps balance blood sugar and manage symptoms of diabetes. It improves the efficacy of insulin receptors and facilitates better glucose uptake and utilization by cells (Kumar et al., 2020). Giloy also stimulates insulin secretion by regenerating functional pancreatic beta cells. Reducing excess kapha is key in the Ayurvedic treatment of hyperglycemia, and giloy is particularly effective at pacifying kapha while also eliminating toxins that can contribute to blood sugar imbalances. For these reasons, giloy is considered a valuable therapeutic in Ayurvedic diabetes protocols.
Poor digestion is the root of many imbalances according to Ayurveda. Giloy enhances digestive fire without aggravating pitta. It improves assimilation and absorption of nutrients while also eliminating toxins (Arora et al., 2023). Giloy increases gut motility and has anti-microbial effects especially against Helicobacter pylori, combatting factors that can lead to indigestion and abdominal discomfort (Dalve & Salve, 2023). By removing accumulations of ama and balancing doshas, giloy improves conditions characterized by slow digestion like IBS.
Giloy is traditionally used as a detoxifying herb because of its ability to clear toxins and heat from tissues and neutralize free radicals. It cleanses the liver, blood and urinary tract of excess pitta, kapha and ama (Kumar et al., 2020). By improving digestive power and metabolism, giloy creates a cleaner internal environment. Giloy enhances urination and elimination of wastes through the kidneys while also soothing and protecting the mucous membranes. With its alterative action, giloy gradually restores balance at deep tissues levels.
Giloy enhances neurological function and improves symptoms of cognitive disorders. It calms the nervous system by modulating neurotransmitters like acetylcholine and GABA (Arora et al., 2023). Giloy increases cerebral blood flow and improves cognition and memory formation. Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the brain and nervous tissue are neuroprotective. Giloy is used in Ayurvedic treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, psychological disorders and epilepsy due to its medhya or intelligence-enhancing properties (Dalve & Salve, 2023).
Conclusion
As a medicine, the giloy plant is very important in Ayurveda. As a strong rasayana and adaptogen, it makes the brain work better, digestion better, cleansing better, and defense better. Giloy balances the body’s pitta and kapha energies by lowering inflammation heat. It helps with diabetes by increasing glucose intake and insulin action. Giloy is safe, non-toxic, and well-tolerated, so it can be used with natural health plans and plant medicine stores. Gilog has many different drug-like effects that make it a strong weapon in the fight for swasthya and ojas.
References
Kumar, P., Kamle, M., Mahato, D. K., Bora, H., Sharma, B., Rasane, P., & Bajpai, V. K. (2020). Tinospora cordifolia (Giloy): phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology, clinical application and conservation strategies. Current pharmaceutical biotechnology, 21(12), 1165-1175. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cpb/2020/00000021/00000012/art00005
Arora, S., Goyal, A., Rawat, D. S., & Samantha, K. (2023). Giloy: a potential anti-COVID-19 herb with propitious pharmacological attributes: a short review. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, 41(14), 7001-7008. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07391102.2022.2110157?casa_token=AU_uodh_Dm8AAAAA:cu6BfL05sUKNex17YcX3qt1_3jBZ_31dUPYepLg-iQRhsJY8_otzwyPEhuJFYjUcx6l0Y05_758qjXen9Q
Dalve, K., & Salve, R. (2023). Development and evaluation of confectionary food product based on Giloy (Tinospora cordifolia). https://www.thepharmajournal.com/archives/2023/vol12issue9/PartAC/12-9-189-747.pdf
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