Karpasa: Benefits, Uses & Dosage

You probably know cotton from your shirts and bedsheets, not your medicine cabinet. Yet Ayurveda has long looked past the fluffy fibre to the plant's seeds and root bark, and the classical texts give cotton a place among nourishing herbs.

Tree Cotton (Karpasa) is Gossypium arboreum Linn., known in Hindi as Desi Kapas or Narma. The Bhavaprakash Nighantu (Varga 3) describes it as having properties similar to its close relative Gossypium herbaceum, but growing taller, to around 8 to 10 feet, with the seeds and root bark used in the same way.

A single cotton boll yields fibres 4 to 5 inches long, and the tree variety is the one more commonly found in Indian gardens and fields. The Sahasra Yoga, a classical formula collection, lists Karpasa under Gossypium herbaceum and notes that the seed is the part used in formulations.

The Bhavaprakash Nighantu (Varga 3) records two therapeutic actions (Karma, the classical term for what a herb does in the body) for tree cotton. Both fit its classical property profile, which is unusually nourishing in character.

Reproductive Vitality

Cotton is classed as an aphrodisiac (Vrishya, a substance that supports sexual vitality and reproductive strength). Its sweet taste (Madhura Rasa) and unctuous, oily quality (Snigdha Guna) are the kinds of properties Ayurveda associates with building and nourishing the body.

Breast Milk Support

It is also listed as a galactagogue (Stanyajanana, a substance that promotes the production of breast milk). Our sources do not give a specific recipe or dose for this use.

The Property Profile Behind These Actions

Classically, cotton is sweet in taste, unctuous in quality, heating in potency (Ushna Virya, its warming effect on the body) and sweet in its post-digestive effect (Madhura Vipaka, the taste-like effect that remains after digestion). That combination of sweet and unctuous with a warming potency is what you would expect in a tonic rather than a cleanser.

The Bhavaprakash Nighantu names the seeds and root bark as the parts used, and the Sahasra Yoga notes that the seed is used in formulations. Our sources do not record a dose, a preparation method or a vehicle (Anupana, the liquid or food a herb is taken with).

Cotton seed sold for farming or crafts is not prepared for internal use. If you want to use Karpasa, get it from an Ayurvedic supplier and let a qualified practitioner set the form and amount.

Our classical sources do not record contraindications, drug interactions or overdose signs for tree cotton. That is a gap in the record, not proof of safety.

What we can say from its property profile:

• It is heating in potency and unctuous in quality. If you already feel overheated or heavy, raise this with a practitioner before using it.
• Only the seeds and root bark are described as medicinal. Do not use cotton products made for farming, cosmetics or textiles as a herbal remedy.
• Pregnancy safety is not recorded in our sources, so avoid it in pregnancy unless a qualified practitioner advises otherwise.

If you take prescription medicines, tell your doctor and your Ayurvedic practitioner before starting any herb, including this one.

The classical record for tree cotton is short, so these comparisons stick to differences we can justify from it.

The classical sources we draw on give no dose adjustments for any group. Use the notes below as a reason to involve a practitioner, not as a prescription.

Pregnancy & Nursing

The Bhavaprakash Nighantu lists cotton as a galactagogue (a substance that promotes breast milk), so it has a classical connection to nursing. Even so, no dose or safety data for nursing or pregnancy is recorded in our sources, so use it only under a qualified practitioner's guidance and avoid it in pregnancy unless they advise it.

Children

No children's use or dose is recorded. Do not give cotton seed preparations to children without advice from a practitioner and the child's doctor.

Elderly

Its sweet, unctuous, nourishing profile is the kind Ayurveda uses for building strength, but our sources do not discuss use in older adults. If you take regular medicines, check for interactions with your doctor first.

Athletes

Our sources describe no use for exercise or recovery. Its recorded actions are reproductive vitality and breast milk support.