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Herb library · Herb · Sida cordifolia

Bala (country mallow)

A small, velvety mallow whose root is a classic Ayurvedic strengthening herb. It contains ephedrine, the stimulant behind the U.S. ban on ephedra supplements, and what is sold as bala in Indian markets is often another plant.

Serious warning

Bala contains ephedrine. The FDA banned dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids in 2004; NCCIH says ephedra has been linked to high blood pressure, heart attack, seizure, stroke and psychosis, even at low doses. Avoid bala products taken by mouth for weight loss or energy.

Traditional use

Dutt's 1877 compilation of the Sanskrit medical writers records four kinds of bala, whose roots were regarded as cooling, astringent and tonic and were used in nervous diseases, urinary diseases and fevers. For paralysis, facial palsy and stiff neck, physicians gave a decoction of the root with other drugs, and prepared Balataila, an oil of the root boiled with milk and sesame oil, to rub on the body. Bala oil and bala root are still staples of Ayurvedic massage and tonic preparations.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Strength, nerves and the other traditional uses: no study of bala on its own in people was found. The trials that include it test multi-herb formulas.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteWhat is sold as bala is often not bala. When market samples in India were DNA-tested, none was Sida cordifolia; 36% were Sida acuta, which contains about six times more ephedrine than bala root.
  • ConditionDo not take it by mouth if you have high blood pressure or heart disease; NCCIH names people with heart and blood vessel disease among those at particular risk from ephedra.
  • InteractionNCCIH notes that ephedra may interact with other stimulants such as caffeine.
  • PregnancyDo not use it in pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using any bala product, including oils, if you take prescription medicines or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“The roots of all these species, are regarded as cooling, astringent, tonic and useful in nervous diseases, urinary diseases and disorders of the blood and bile.”
Udoy Chand Dutt, The Materia Medica of the Hindus (1877), pp. 120–121. See the page of The Materia Medica of the Hindus, pp. 120–121 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Materia Medica of the Hindus, pp. 120–121
“In diseases of the nervous system, such as insanity, paralysis, facial palsy, etc. the root of Sida cordifolia is used alone or in combination with other medicines”
Udoy Chand Dutt, The Materia Medica of the Hindus (1877), p. 121. See the page of The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 121 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 121

Sources

  1. Ephedra (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. DNA barcoding for species identification from dried and powdered plant parts: a case study with authentication of the raw drug market samples of Sida cordifolia (Gene, 2015) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Quality by design-based optimization of Soxhlet extraction and identification of ephedrine by a HPTLC method for Sida rhombifolia and Sida Cordifolia (Biomed Chromatogr, 2022) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Ayurvedic Medicine: In Depth (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.