Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a deciduous tree in the legume family, called bai makham (ใบมะขาม) in Thai when the leaves are meant. The fruit is known for its sourness, and the leaves too carry a distinct, fresh acidity — they appear in soups, in salads and in herbal tea.

Thai traditional medicine is said to have called it a herb that freshens the body. Warmed young leaves are recorded as having been applied as a compress for swollen joints and the pain of a sprain, and as having been used in washes for sore skin.

In the herbal sauna op samun phrai, steaming the leaves gives the room their particular fresh scent. In luk prakop, the cloth-wrapped herbal compress, one peer-reviewed recipe records the leaves at about 10% of the mix.

This is an English summary. The full article was written in Japanese. Original article in Japanese →