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Sal

Shorea robusta

Also calledSal tree (English) · Shal / salwa (Hindi) · Sal (Bengali) · Dammar de l'Inde (French) · Salharzbaum (German)

A timber tree of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and the eastern Himalaya, whose resin, bark and leaves are used in Ayurveda, Unani and tribal medicine for wounds, bleeding, dysentery and piles. Resin extracts sped wound healing and eased pain in rodents, but there are no clinical trials.

What it is used for

  • Indian tribal communities use the resin on infected wounds and burns and apply bark paste to stop bleeding from cuts. In rats, 10% resin-extract or resin-oil ointments healed incision and excision wounds faster than plain base and the antibiotic framycetin; an ethanol extract (10 and 30%) also sped healing. No human trials.2,3,1

  • An ethanol extract of the resin (100 and 300 mg/kg by mouth) reduced pain responses in several mouse and rat models, including heat, chemical and post-surgical pain. Animal work only.1

  • A methanol bark extract (500 mg/kg by mouth) restored liver enzymes and liver tissue in rats given the tuberculosis drug isoniazid. No human data.6

  • Diarrhoea
    Traditional

    Indian traditional use gives the resin with honey or sugar for dysentery and the fruits for diarrhoea; the bark is described as astringent and constipating. Untested.1,4

  • Haemorrhoids
    Traditional

    The resin, taken with honey or sugar, is a traditional Indian remedy for bleeding piles.1

  • Earache
    Traditional

    A bark decoction is used as ear drops in Indian folk medicine; the Baiga of Chhattisgarh place warm drops of the decoction near the outer ear for ear pain.1,5

  • Leaves are a traditional Indian remedy for itching, and the Baiga apply a cooled bark decoction twice daily to itchy or inflamed skin.1,5

  • Heavy periods
    Traditional

    In Unani medicine the resin is used for menorrhagia.1

How it is prepared

decoction

Bark boiled in water until reduced to about one cup, cooled to lukewarm and applied to the skin with a clean cloth (Baiga practice).

Baiga practice (Sci Rep 2025): applied twice daily for 3–5 days for inflammation and itching; warm drops near the outer ear once or twice daily for 2–3 days for ear pain.

Itching and hives · Earache

powder

Resin taken with honey or sugar (Indian traditional use).

Diarrhoea · Haemorrhoids

Amounts are as recorded by the named source, not a recommendation.

Safety

Pregnancy
Insufficient data
Breastfeeding
Insufficient data

Toxicity

No human safety studies were found. The asiatic acid isolated from the resin is spermicidal in the test tube.

In the healing traditions

  • Ayurveda

    Sal

    Leaves used as an anthelmintic; bark described as astringent, cooling, constipating, a urinary astringent and a 'union promoter' (for healing), used for dysentery, ulcers, jaundice, wounds, gonorrhoea and leprosy.

    As summarised by Wani et al. 2012 and Kalaiselvan et al. 2015

  • Unani

    Sal resin

    Resin used for menorrhagia, enlarged spleen and eye irritation.

    As summarised by Wani et al. 2012

  • Indian tribal medicine

    Sal (Baiga, Chhattisgarh); bark paste (Kondh, Odisha)

    Baiga healers boil the bark down to about a cup and apply it to inflammation and itching, or as warm drops for ear pain; among tribes of southern Bihar and the Kondh of Odisha, powdered bark or bark paste is applied to stop bleeding and heal cuts.

    Ethnobotanical survey of the Baiga, Sci Rep 2025; Wani et al. 2012

Active compounds

asiatic acid
triterpene isolated as a major metabolite of the resin; immobilised rat sperm and moderately inhibited vaginal pathogens in vitro
polydatin, ellagic acid, alpinetin
among 68 compounds identified in a bark methanol extract
flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, phenols
major constituent classes reported for the plant

History

Sal is an ecologically dominant tree in the forests of central India and is woven into the timber economy, medicine and religious rituals of forest peoples such as the Baiga. Indian tradition used the resin to fumigate the rooms of the sick; since 2012 laboratory studies have tested resin extracts in animal models of wounds and pain.

Sources

  1. 1.Wani TA, Kumar D, Prasad R et al. Analgesic activity of the ethanolic extract of Shorea robusta resin in experimental animals. Indian J Pharmacol 2012
  2. 2.Yaseen Khan M, Ali SA, Pundarikakshudu K. Wound healing activity of extracts derived from Shorea robusta resin. Pharm Biol 2016 (abstract)
  3. 3.Wani TA et al. Wound healing activity of ethanolic extract of Shorea robusta Gaertn. f. resin. Indian J Exp Biol 2012 (abstract)
  4. 4.Kalaiselvan A, Anand T, Gokulakrishnan K et al. Modulatory role of Shorea robusta bark on glucose-metabolizing enzymes in diethylnitrosamine induced hepatocellular carcinoma in rats. Pharmacogn Mag 2015
  5. 5.Ethnobotanical secrets of the Baiga tribe in Chhattisgarh Central India. Sci Rep 2025
  6. 6.Samantaray B et al. Hepatoprotective mechanism of Shorea robusta against isoniazid-induced hepatotoxicity. Cell Biochem Biophys 2026 (abstract)
  7. 7.Bharitkar YP et al. Search for a potent microbicidal spermicide from the isolates of Shorea robusta resin. Contraception 2013 (abstract)
  8. 8.GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Shorea robusta (IUCN category via GBIF)

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.