Ancient practitioners of the science of Ayurveda and Chinese and Native American Indians healers knew that herbs were the repositories of the most concentrated form of nature’s intelligence. Today, researchers confirm that herbs contain the richest mixtures of phytochemical-natural chemicals such as bioflavonoids that offer medicinal and nutritional value.
Calamus has been used in Ayurveda for thousands of years and prescribed in many formulations as one of the top ten herbal medicines.
Pure Calamus Powder is also used in Ayurvedic Yoga Massage (Kusum Modak method) as it brings excellent effects. For massage, the roots of the Calamus after sun-dried and then ground to obtain a powder. Other mixes made of different Indian herbal powders are also used for Ayurvedic Massage. They can contain Sandalwood, Shatavari, Ananta powders or others ground medicated and scented plants.
In Brazil, Indigenous plants like Mesocarpo de Babacu and Guarana powders are used to replace Calamus powder to give Ayurvedic Yoga Massage treatment.
Calamus is mainly used internally in Ayurvedic or Chinese Medicine and other holistic medical systems, prescribed by physicians or practitioners. People have been using Calamus powder, especially in India and Asia, North America, Europe, and Russia for thousands of years. Calamus, for them, is always associated with health and longevity. Nevertheless, note that Calamus is currently under F.D.A (Federal Drug Administration) restrictions in US and not recommended for internal usage as it is held to be toxic. Perhaps the study does yield a pertinent caution if you plan on eating several pounds of the fresh roots for months at a time. Otherwise, please don’t lose any sleep over it. Also, Beta-Asarone is not the active ingredient (both strains with and without Beta-Asarone may be used similarly), nor is it converted into TMA-2 in the body. Whoever first asserted that is an idiot, as it led to all sorts of erroneous misinformation. Jonathan Ott first suggested that other ‘unidentified’ compounds were likely the active ingredients back in the seventies, but I can say that the effects of the plant are due to the combined effects of all of its ingredients and that it can’t be reduced to one or two. Most plants are this way, and only a very few have single, powerful ingredients (usually – but not always – these are alkaloids)…
