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Herb library · Herb · Embelia ribes

Vidanga

The small, dried, pepper-like fruits of a climbing shrub of India, used in Ayurveda above all against intestinal worms. Almost all research is in the laboratory or in animals; its one study in people is a small, uncontrolled 1971 test as a contraceptive.

Traditional use

Charaka's Samhita names Vidanga the foremost of all things used against intestinal worms. Dutt's 1877 compilation from Sanskrit medical works records that Susruta described the seeds as anthelmintic, alterative and tonic and paired them with licorice root to strengthen the body in age, while later Hindu writers used them, as báberang, for worms, digestion and skin complaints, giving the powdered seeds with honey. It is one of the three drugs of trimada, with chitrak root and the tubers of mustaka (Cyperus rotundus). Today it is sold as a powder and in Ayurvedic blends.

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Contraception: in a 1971 study, 48 women took a tablet of Embelia ribes extract for 10 days of each cycle for a year and the report records no pregnancies and no side effects. It had no comparison group and has not been repeated, so it cannot show the herb works.

  • Insufficient

    Worms, digestion and other uses: a 2022 review describes antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, anti-fertility and other effects in lab and animal studies, and says better studies are still needed to judge whether it works or is safe.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • PregnancyDo not use it if you are pregnant or trying to conceive: it has been studied as a contraceptive in women and shows anti-fertility effects in lab and animal work. NCCIH advises talking with your clinician before using Ayurvedic products while pregnant or nursing.
  • NoteIn a 1985 study, chicks fed the seeds or their main compound, embelin, developed dose-dependent problems with vision, and high doses damaged the retina. The authors note reports that the seeds, used against worms in Ethiopia, may be linked to damage of the optic nerve there.
  • NoteSome Ayurvedic preparations include metals. The FDA warns that this makes some Ayurvedic products potentially harmful, and a 2015 survey found high lead or mercury levels in some of the supplements tested.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

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

“Of all things used as amthelmintics, the foremost are Vidanga (the seeds of Embelia Ribes, ; syn. E. glandulifera).”
Avinash Chandra Kaviratna (translator), Charaka-Samhita (1890), Sutrasthanam, Lesson XXV, p. 279. See the page of Charaka-Samhita, Sutrasthanam, Lesson XXV, p. 279 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Charaka-Samhita, Sutrasthanam, Lesson XXV, p. 279
“Susruta describes the seeds of Embelia Ribes as anthelmintic, alterative and tonic and recommends their use along with liquorice root for the purpose of strengthening the body and preventing the effects of age.”
Udoy Chand Dutt, The Materia Medica of the Hindus (1877), p. 187. See the page of The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 187 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 187

Sources

  1. Reviewing the Traditional/Modern Uses, Phytochemistry, Essential Oils/Extracts and Pharmacology of Embelia ribes Burm. (Antioxidants, 2022) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. A study of an indigenous drug Maswin as an oral contraceptive (Curr Med Pract, 1971) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Visual deficits and retinotoxicity caused by the naturally occurring anthelmintics, Embelia ribes and Hagenia abyssinica (Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 1985) (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.