Shirish Chaal - Shireesh Chhal - Shirish Chal - Siris Bark

What is Shirish Chaal (Siris Bark):

Siris is a deciduous tree found in cities. It's a medium-sized tree with high-quality wood. Ayurvedic medicine makes use of all components of the plant. The tree appears frequently in ancient Sanskrit literature.

The medium to large tree has gray-brown bark and leaves with a bipinnate structure similar to tamarind leaves but larger. The primary leaflets are rectangular, with 6–8 pairs of opposing ultimate leaflets and 6–8 pairs of smaller secondary leaflets. These leaflets are 2.5 to 4 cm long, asymmetric, and blunt. Flowers are mimosa-like clusters on stalks near leaf tips, 5-6 cm across, cream or yellowish-white in colour, and have numerous long filaments; each bloom also has several long stamens. The fruit consists of flat, linear pods with many seeds inside; these pods endure after leaf fall and often rustling in the wind when they fall from the tree. 

USES:

Shirisha bark has been used for centuries for medical purposes, most notably as an astringent in Chinese medicine and an anti-inflammatory substance in Ayurvedic medicine.

Because of its anti-inflammatory characteristics, Albizia lebbeck bark and seed astringent are used to treat diarrhoea. It kills microorganisms that cause illness by stopping their reproduction or growth process.

BENEFITS:

It also contains antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-allergic, antidermatosis, and antidysenteric effects. These qualities make it extremely beneficial in the treatment of bronchitis. This plant's bark is used as an astringent to treat boils and coughing. To effectively treat boils, the root is applied as a poultice.

It also relieves diarrhoea and dysentery due to its high astringent property, which kills bacteria present in these ailments by limiting their growth or absorbing water from inside the cells of microorganisms, hence stopping their reproduction or growth process.