REVIEW ARTICLE ISSN 2456-0170

MODERN AND AYURVEDIC ASPECTS OF GUDA WITH SPECIAL

REFERENCE TO JAGGERY
1
Dr Ashwini Deshmukh 2Dr Meenakshi Amrutkar 3Dr Shardul Chavan
1&2
Reader, 3PG Scholar, Dept. of Rasashastra & Bhaishajya Kalpana Y.M.T.
Ayurvedic Medical College, Navi Mumbai-Maharashtra

ABSTRACT
Jaggery is a natural sweet substance produced by sugar cane plant and from some
palm trees, is one of the most valued as well as appreciated natural substance known
to mankind since ancient times. Of all the natural foods rich in carbohydrates jaggery
is the most wholesome and delicious. The medicinal quality, taste, texture, color and
aroma of jaggery differs according to the geographical area and the species of plants
from which it has been made. Jaggery is called as guda in Ayurveda. Properties and
Type of guda is related to time bonding as navinaguda is freshly prepared and after 1
year of preparation this guda is known as puranaguda. In modern technology
properties of jaggery differs from their origin as one is from sugar cane and other are
from different types of palm and date trees. Etymology, synonyms, varieties, method
of collection, chemical constituents, properties, adulterants, chemical tests, and the
usages of jaggery are gathered from text books, experienced ayurvedic physicians and
from internet. In Ayurveda, guda is used for external as well as for internal use.
Externally guda is mainly used in agnikarma and internally for many formulations.
Guda is used in many preparations of Ayurveda like it used as binding material in
gutivati i.e. tablets. It's also used as prakshepakadravya in kwatha, used in churna, for
preparation of asava and arishta it is a main mediator and also act as a preservative.
The present work aims at the review of jaggery or guda as explained in Ayurveda &
biomedical science.
Keywords: Jaggery, Guda, Ayurveda, Palm-jaggery, Date-jaggery

INTRODUCTION
For many centuries, sugar has been (Panchamrita)1. In temples, guda is poured
used in vital alternative medicine of over the deities in a ritual called
Ayurveda and is one among the foods Gudabhisheka. The Vedas and other ancient
having religious significance. In hindu literature describe jaggery as a great
religion shadrasa bhojana is important and in medicinal and health food. Guda is also one
which madhura rasa is one of the main rasa. important ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine
In some auspicious days guda also given as preparations, gudapaka is one of them.
divine food Hindus consider guda as one of Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane
the five elixirs of immortality sugar consumed in Asia, Africa and some
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countries in America. It is a concentrated Genus Saccharum

product of date, cane juice, or palm sap Species S. Officinarum
without separation of the molasses and
crystals, and can vary from golden brown to PRODUCTION
dark brown in colour. It contains up to Manual Manufacturing7
50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and Historically, the sugar cane cultivators used
up to 20% moisture, with the remainder crushers which were ox-driven. Nowadays
made up of other insoluble matter, such all the crushers are power-driven. These
as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibers. crushers are located in fields near the sugar
SYNONYMS2 crop. The cut and cleaned sugar cane is put
Sanskrita Guda into the crusher. The extracted sugar cane
Bengali Guda juice is collected in a big vessel. A certain
English Jaggery quantity of the juice is transferred to a
Hindi Guda smaller vessel for heating on a furnace.
Kannada Bella The vessel is heated for about one hour.
Malayalam Sharkara Dried wood pulp from the crushed sugar
cane is used as fuel for the furnace. While
Marathi Gula
boiling the juice, some lime is added to it so
Punjabi Guda
that all the wood particles are collected on
Tamil Vellam
top of the juice in froth during boiling which
Telugu Bellam
is skimmed off. Finally the juice is
Urdu Guda
thickened and reduced to nearly one- third
of the original volume. This hot liquid is
Gana mentioned in Ayurvedic text -
golden in colour. It is stirred continuously
Charaka samhita3 - Ikshuvarga,
and lifted with a spatula to observe whether
Sushruta samhita4- Ikshuvarga
it forms a thread or drips drop wise while
AshtangaHridaya5 -Ikshuvarga
falling. If it forms many threads, it has
Scientific classification6: Guda is the
completely thickened. Now it is poured into
product obtained by concentrating juice
a shallow flat bottomed concrete tank to
expressed from the stems of Saccharum
cool and solidify. The tank is large enough
officinarum L. (Fam. Poaceae) with or
to allow only a thin coat of this hot liquid to
without prior purification of the juice,
form at its bottom, so as to increase the
followed by cooling.
surface area for quick evaporation and
Kingdom Plantae
cooling. After cooling down the jaggery
Unranked Angiosperms
becomes a soft solid which is now pressed
Unranked Monocots
into the desired shape for selling at the
Unranked Commelinids
market.
Order Poales The quality of the jaggery is judged by its
Family Poaceae colour; brown means it is higher in
Subfamily Panicoideae impurities and golden-yellow implies it is
Tribe Andropogoneae relatively pure. Due to this grading scale
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there are malpractices of adding colour or Acharya Charaka3 mentioned the procedure
harmful chemicals to simulate the golden of preparing guda- heat the sugar cane juice
colour. Some manufacturers also and reduce it to 1/4th, 1/3rd, & 1/2. The first
add sodium bicarbonate (Edible Soda), the one is heavier to digest than other two. They
juice of Lady’s Finger to improve the color, also given name for nirmalikritaguda as
and a local herb known as Veranda in Dhouta Guda.
Bengali to give the jaggery a granular Note - (2,9)
texture. The colour and taste depend upon 1. Purana Guda: Guda after one year of its
the degree of boiling. Some people prefer preparation and storage is known as
dark jaggery to light ones and vice versa. PuranaGuda and it is considered to possess
The process for manufacturing Date palm better properties than Guda and also more
jaggery and Palmyra jaggery remains the wholesome.
same. These two types of jaggery are 2. Prapurana: Guda after three years of its
invariably manufactured manually. preparation and storage is known as
Manufacturing by Automated Plants7 Prapuranaguda. It is the best one and useful
This method of manufacturing is still in its in all diseases; is suitable for preparation of
infancy and is being used in very few Arista.
countries. There is nothing much to tell 3. Guda stored after preparation for four
about the process. Just pour in sugar cane years should not be used as it looses its
juice from one end, set the plant at required potency and causes krmi, svasa, kasa and
temperature and time, and wait for the other diseases.
jaggery blocks to come out from the other Gudapakakalpana:- In Indian
end. The best advantage of using an pharmacopoeia gudakalpana specially
automated plant over the manual method is mentioned. Those preparation with guda as
that you get uniformly processed jaggery, of prominent or major ingredients are brought
the same colour and taste, in uniformly under heading of gudakalpana.
packed quantities. This method is used only Method of preparation10The kashaya,
for sugar cane jaggery. So far, there has not swarasa or any other liquid preparation is
been any instance of using this method for prepared as per classical reference and taken
date palm jaggery or Palmyra jaggery. in clean bigger vessel placed over mild fire.
GUNAOF GAUDA AS PER AYURVEDA Specified quantity of guda dissolved in it.
1. Navaguda a} Anirmalikrita(3,4,5,8,9): After complete dissolvation of guda the
Kharyukta, alpashita, snigdha, mutra- blend may be filtered once to get rid of
raktashodhaka, alpapittajit, vatahara, physical impurities present in it. The filtrate
medovardhaka, krimikara, balya, vrushya is again taken in wide mouthed clean
b} Nirmalikrita(3,4,5,8,9) : alpakaphakaraka, stainless steel vessel boiled over mild fire
mal-mutrashuddhikara, pittahara, madura, and reduce to 2 to 3 thread consistency.
vatashamaka, raktaprasadaka later the vessel taken out of fire and fine
2. Puranaguda(3,4,5,8,9) - ruchikara, powder of medicinal drugs is added little by
pathyakara, anabhishyandi, agnideepaka. little and stirred well to homogeneous

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mixture. honey should be added after the Place of availability: India, Pakistan,
preparation is fully cool and it is packed in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,
dry airtight containers and preserved. Philippines, Malaysia, Cuba, and Mexico.
thegudapakakalpana can be either in avaleha India is the biggest producer and biggest
form or in khanda form. However majority consumer.
of gudapakakalpana are in form of bigger Taste: Very sweet, with a hint of salt,
pills (modaka) depending upon the quality of the juice that
Gudapakalakshana:10 Are almost similar to is used.
avlehakalpana Date Palm Jaggery
1. thepaka material sticks strongly to the Color: Golden brown to dark Brown.
spoon while stirring. Preparation: It is prepared by boiling the sap
2. It attained 3 to 4 thread consistency. of Date palm.
3. If the piece of paka material is poured into Physical state: Amorphous solid and viscous
a bowl of stable water, it setteles at the granular to clear red liquid.
bottom without spreading. Place of availability: India (West Bengal) &
4. it remains very soft and sticky to touch. Bangladesh.
5. desired colour, odour and taste of the Taste: Very sweet with the typical aroma of
ingredients are appreciated in paka material. Date palm sap, somewhat like
6. Fingerprints are imparted over the paka dark chocolate.
material when touched. Palmyra Jaggery
Matra10 :1 karsha (12g) Color: Off-white to pale yellowish white.
Saviryataavadhi10 : 1 yr Preparation: It is prepared by boiling the sap
Gada and different anupana8 of Palmyra palm.
1. Guda + Adraka = Kaphaghna Physical state: Amorphous solid.
2. Guda + Haritaki = pittaghna Place of availability: India (West Bengal) &
3. Guda + suntha = Vatnashaka Bangladesh.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF JAGGERY11 Taste: Very sweet with the typical aroma of
Although the term “jaggery” is generally Palmyra sap, somewhat like white chocolate.
used for the molasses obtained from the juice Toddy Palm Jaggery
of sugar cane, it also refers to the jaggery Color: Golden Brown.
made from the sap of palms, like Date palm, Preparation: It is prepared by boiling the sap
Palmyra, Toddy palm and a few other plants. of Toddy palm.
Now, let’s take a look at the various types of Physical state: Amorphous solid.
jaggery and their different characteristics. Place of availability: Myanmar.
Sugarcane Jaggery Taste: Very sweet with the typical aroma of
Color: Golden brown to dark brown. Toddy palm sap.
Preparation: It is prepared by boiling sugar Other Palm Jaggery
cane juice.
These days, even the sap of Sago palm and
Physical state: Amorphous solid to viscous
Coconut palm are being used to make
granular liquid.
jaggery, but they are rarely available or

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heard of. The process of preparation remains these harmful chemicals to lighten the
the same, that is, the sap is boiled to a jaggery.
concentrated form until it attains an Sodium hydrophosphide: This is another
amorphous, solid form. The color ranges harmful chemical used in jaggery to give it a
from golden yellow to golden brown to brighter color.
brown, depending upon the extent of boiling Calcium carbonate (CaCO3): This is
and the sugar content of the sap. Jaggery added to improve color, as well as to add
from these palms is made in Malaysia, weight, since lime is far cheaper than
Myanmar and Philippines. jaggery. This can also be judged by the color
ADULTERATIONS IN JAGGERY11 (it should be light), hardness (should be very
Although it is not costly, still the insatiable hard) and by the taste (if you have eaten
greed of man has not spared even this local unadulterated jaggery, you can detect this).
delicacy. Not all jaggery is adulterated, but Adulterations in Date Palm Jaggery
there are certain manufacturers who let greed This variety of jaggery is commonly
prevail over the quality of their products. adulterated with the following.
There are different types of adulterations for Sugar Cane Jaggery: Sugarcane jaggery is
different types of jaggery, and some of them much cheaper (Rs.10 to 25 per Kg.) than
are explained below. Date Palm Jaggery (Rs.40 to 100 per Kg.).
Adulterations in Sugar Cane Jaggery So, the reason is obvious. It can be detected
The following adulterations have been by the hardness (original unadulterated date
detected in samples of sugar cane jaggery. palm jaggery is very soft and melts even at
Sodium bicarbonate: Some people might room temperature, whereas adulterated one
not consider this an adulteration; you might should be much harder) and by the taste (it
even say that it is a requirement of the lacks the typical aroma and taste of
process in some cases. Still, sodium unadulterated date palm jaggery).
bicarbonate is most commonly used in the Sometimes, simple sugar cane jaggery
preparation of sugar cane jaggery to improve blocks are coated with date palm jaggery to
its color. It does not have any adverse effect fool the customers. Therefore, see what is
on health. This can be judged by the color. inside before you buy.
The darker varieties are less likely to have Plain sugar: Again, the reason for this use is
this, while the light colored ones are most the same as above; sugar is cheaper. It makes
likely. the jaggery harder.
ZFS(Zinc formaldehyde sulphoxylate): Adulteration in Palmyra Jaggery
: Commonly used in the textile industry, this This variety of jaggery is adulterated with
harmful chemical is used in jaggery to the following.
improve its color. The darker the jaggery, the Sugar: Palmyra jaggery, being the most
better the quality of the jaggery. However, expensive of all types of jaggery available in
the common belief is that lighter jaggery is India, is most commonly adulterated with
good and hence some manufacturers add plain sugar. This can easily be detected by
the hardness (the test is the same as that of

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date palm jaggery adulterated with sugar different types of guda depended on the time
cane jaggery). Sometimes, sugar crystals can duration mentioned in Ayurvedic text books.
also be seen embedded in the jaggery blocks In Kaiyyadeva nighantu there are exact time
when scrutinized carefully. Again, the period and according to that guda name
jaggery adulterated with sugar will be much were described, in Bhavprakasha nighantu
whiter than the unadulterated one, which is action on tridosha with different type of
pale yellow in color. So, be sure to check anupana were mentioned. Accordong to that
well. guda can be used for all tridoshamaka
Sodium bicarbonate: This is added to give chikitsa. As it act on vatadosha when it
the jaggery a whiter look. gives in combination with suntha and with
Yellow Color: This color is often added adraka it is kaphaghna and with haritaki it is
when the jaggery contains excessive sugar pittaghna. Gudapakakalpana and its uses are
contained in it and looks very white. This mentioned. In Modaka Kalpana Mainly
may be harmful for the health as no edible gudapaka is used and this modaka is one of
colors are used in these cases. the form of tablets in ayurvedic forms. In
NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER 100 G (3.5 Ayurveda only sugar cane jaggery is
OZ)7 mentioned. But here also mentioned
Carbohydrate (g) 77 different type of jaggery according to their
Calcium 80mg different origins. There chemical
Iron 2.4mg constituents and standard values should have
Protein Trace
Vitamins
to derived. That is further scope of study.
Thiamine (B1) 0.02 mg Nutritional values of sugar cane jaggery also
Riboflavin (B2) 0.07 mg standard value of jaggery according to API
Niacin (B3) 0.3 mg was mentioned. Jaggery is valuble product
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH2 and use in medicine for their treatment value
Loss on Drying Not more than 10 per as well as for their test and as preservative.
cent (other than that of
the liquid or semi- Mostly sugar cane jaggery is used in daily
liquid variety) bases, also for medicinal preparation same
Total ash Not more than 6% jaggery is used widely. Palm jagerry is
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 0.5% mostly used locally in west Bengal.
Water-insoluble matter Not more than 2%
CONCLUSION
Total sugars Not less than 90%
Sucrose Not more than 70ppm It can be concluded that jaggery is an
Sulphur dioxide Not more than 70 ppm invaluable natural substance with many
concentration diverse usages. It helps in many diseases
Heavy metals Complies with API with single use or as a part of medicine. It
Microbial limits Complies with API
also helped in preparation of medicine as
Pesticide residue Complies with API
binding agent or as preservative or as
DISCUSSION ingredient. But it must be pure and genuine.
As guda is mentioned in Ayurveda and its
uses are from ancient time. There are

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