Tabasheer (Hindustani: तबाशीर or طباشیر) or Banslochan (बंसलोचन, بنسلوچن), also spelt as Tabachir or Tabashir, is a translucent white substance, composed mainly of silica and water with traces of lime and potash, obtained from the nodal joints of some species of bamboo.[1] It is part of the pharmacology of the traditional Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine of the Indian subcontinent.[2] It is also an ingredient in many traditional Iranian[3] and traditional Chinese medicines.[4]
Purported benefits
Tabasheer is claimed to provide a variety of health benefits. It is variously regarded as an antipyretic, antispasmodic, antiparalytic, restorative and aphrodisiac.[5]
Varieties
Tabasheer that has a blueish tint (usually called neel or neelkanth) is considered superior to tabasheer that has the "more plain" yellow or white color.[6]
Extraction
Not all bamboo stems contain tabasheer. Likely candidates are found by shaking bamboo stems, which can make the mineralized tabasheer inside produce a rattling sound. These stems are split open to extract the tabasheer.[6][7]
History
Although a part of the ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine, it has been postulated that the use of tabasheer originated in the Adivasi aboriginal tribes of India.[1] Tabasheer was extensively exported from India for thousands of years, including through Arab traders during the medieval period.[1] The town of Thane, close to the west coast of India, was famous as a clearing center for tabasheer in the twelfth century CE.[8] It was called σάκχαρον in the writings of Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek pharmacologist who practiced in Rome in the time of Nero.[5]
Etymology and alternative names
Tabasheer is referred to as Tvaksheera (त्वक्षीर) in Sanskrit, which means bark milk.[5][9] Other Sanskrit-derived names have been applied to tabasheer as well, including bamboo sugar (vans-sharkar), bamboo camphor (vans karpoor) and bamboo manna.[8] It is called Tian Zhu Huang in Mandarin, which means "heavenly bamboo yellow."[4]