Which herbs are most commonly used for Ayurvastra?
For colouring purposes, turmeric (haldi) and saffron (kesar) are commonly used to bring out a yellow colour, as are sandalwood and arubia to produce a red colour. The main herbs used in dye for treatment of arthritis are curry leaves and apocynceae. To treat skin diseases, turmeric, neem and sandalwood are used. Dyes to treat diabetes contain mimosa pudica (touch-me-not), cumin seeds, champa flower and shoe flower (hudahal). • Where do the herbs come from? 90 percent of the herbs we use in our dyes are purchased at a fair price from local tribes who gather wild herbs grown in Kerala’s rich forests. The remainder of the herbs (with the exception of one) are from other parts of India. • Where can I buy Ayurvastra products? Although we expect to be distributing to all Indian states within five years, we currently only distribute Ayurvastra to retailers in Kerala, Rajastan, Delhi, Madras, and Calcutta. We also export Ayurvastra to the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, France
