How Sappan Wood Save Your Health – Caesalpinia Sappan

What is sappan wood? What is it used for?

Sappan wood (Caesalpinia sappan) or (su mu) in chinese also known as East Indian redwood, comes from a tree that has both ornamental and medicinal properties. It is a small thorny tree; it can reach a height of more than 30 feet. It is found in the wild throughout China, India, and in the Philippines. It is also cultivated in gardens and nurseries. The inner, or “heart,” wood of the tree is harvested by being sawn into large pieces, then cut into smaller slices.

What are the uses of  Sappan Wood?

In traditional Chinese’s medicine, sappan wood has sweet, salty, and neutral properties, and is associated with the Heart, Liver and Spleen meridians. Its main functions are to invigorate the blood, promote menstruation, and reduce pain and swelling. Sappan wood is often used to treat blood-related conditions such as dysmenorrheal and amenorrhea, and to reduce abdominal pain following childbirth. Sappan wood is also used to reduce pain and swelling caused by external injuries. In addition, sappan wood yields a natural dye (derived from the chemical Brazilian), which is used to color fabrics and handicrafts.

Other known uses of Sappan wood is to invigorate blood and promote menstruation and to stop pain and reduce swelling.

Indications & Combinations:

• Blood stagnation manifested as dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea and postpartum abdominal pain. Sappan wood (Sumu) is used with Chinese angelica root (Danggui), Red peony (Chishao) and Safflower (Honghua).
• Swellings and pains caused by external injuries. Sappan wood (Sumu) is used with Frankincense (Ruxiang) and Myrrh (Moyao).

Properties & Taste are Sweet, salty, slightly pungent and neutral.

How much sappan wood should I take?

The typical dosage of sappan wood is between 3 and 10 grams, boiled in water as a decoction. Some practitioners also recommend sappan wood powder.

What forms of sappan wood are available?

Whole slices of sappan wood can be found at some herbal shops and Asian markets. In addition, many stores sell sappan wood powders, pills and extracts.

I post some pictures of these herbal trees so that you can check if this is available in your neighborhood. Perhaps you had already seen this herbal tree, but you’re not aware of the magical power of this plant.

Sappan wood should not be administered to patients diagnosed with blood deficiency. In addition, it should not be given to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. As always, make sure to consult with a licensed health care provider before taking sappan wood or any other herbal remedy or dietary supplement.

References:

Badami S, Moorkoth S, Rai SR, et al. Antioxidant activity of caesalpinia sappan heartwood. Biol Pharm Bull November 2003;26(11):1534-7.
    Kim KJ, Yu HH, Jeong SI, et al. Inhibitory effects of caesalpinia sappan on growth and invasion of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. J Ethnopharmacol March 2004;91(1):81-7.
    Promsawan N, Kittakoop P, Boonphong S, et al. Antitubercular cassane furanoditerpenoids from the roots of caesalpinia pulcherrima. Planta Med 2003;69:776-777.
    Xu HX, Lee SF. The antibacterial principle of caesalpina sappan. Phytotherapy Research 2004;18(8):647-651.
    Zhao ZW. Treating 21 cases of traumatic hemalopia with fu yuan huo xue tang. Journal of Applied TCM 1999;15(8):11.

Another sappan wood reference or information is found at wikipedia.