Rathinamala Rathinam et al / Int. J. Res. Ayurveda Pharm.

5(3), May - Jun 2014

Review Article
www.ijrap.net

PAVALAM: A VALUABLE SIDDHA MINERAL DRUG

Rathinamala Rathinam1*, Murugesan Moonandi2
1
Ph. D Scholar, Department of Gunapadam, National Institute of Siddha, Chennai, India
2
Department of Nanjunool, National Institute of Siddha, Chennai, India

Received on: 01/04/14 Revised on: 02/05/14 Accepted on: 17/05/14

*Corresponding author
Dr. R. Rathinamala M. D(s), Ph. D Scholar, Department of Gunapadam, National Institute of Siddha, Tambaram sanatorium, Chennai, India
E-mail: drrmala@yahoo.com
DOI: 10.7897/2277-4343.05376

ABSTRACT
The marine ecosystem is a rich source of drug discovery and development. Pharmacological investigations of marine products are providing
convincing evidence that marine drug discovery has an exceedingly bright future in health care. The availability of ethno medicinal literature about
marine products is very limited. Marine organisms have been used in Siddha system of Medicine since time immemorial. Pavalam (Red coral) is a
valuable mineral drug which is commonly used in day to day practice by Siddha physicians for various ailments. This paper focuses on its origin,
character, purification and processing techniques and different form of medicines prepared. The literature review revealed that Pavalam based
medicines are widely used for the management of respiratory diseases, bleeding disorders and life style diseases like cancer and diabetes. The various
research reports on Pavalam through scientific validation also highlighted for its future development. The scientific reports confirm the traditional
claim of Pavalams efficacy.
Keywords: Pavalam, red coral, Siddha system, mineral drug, research, scientific validation

INTRODUCTION Lakshadweep and Rameshwaram in India.9

Siddha medicine is one of the oldest 1 and lesser known
system of medicine2 which was regionally confined to
Tamil Nadu, India and its adjoining areas among Tamil
speaking people3. This medicine was said to be developed
by the Siddhars, the ancient super natural Indian saints. It
is a unique healing system that treats not only the body
but also rejuvenates the soul. Siddha Materia Medica
comprises of Mooligai (plants), Thathu (inorganic
substances) and Jeevam (animal products). Sage Bogar
classified the inorganic materials into 4 major
classifications known as Ulogam (Metals), Karasaram
(Minerals), Uparasam (Secondary minerals) and Pasanam
(Arsenic compounds)4. Ethno medicine provides many Figure 1: Raw coral
efficient drugs for human ailments. The literature
available in marine ethno medicine is very limited5. Zoological classification
Research on marine organisms began in the last century Kingdom - Animalia
but a number of marine products are in use in Siddha Subkingdom - Radiata
system of medicine, since time immemorial. Pearl, coral, Phylum - Cnidarians
oyster shell, conch shell, turtle and cowry are some Subphylum - Anthozoa
examples used as medicines in this system. Pavalam Class - Anthozoa
(Coral) is used to treat Kaba diseases, Osteoporosis, Subclass - Octacorallia
Bleeding disorders, Cough, Insect bite, Spermatorrhoea, Order - Alcyonaceae
Bronchial asthma and Diabetes. It is classified under the Suborder - Scleraxonia
topic Uparasam by sage Bogar.6 Corals are small Family - Coralliidae
sedentary marine animals that occur in dense colonies in Genus - Corallium
warm shallow water of the oceans. Coral reefs are Species - Corallium rubrum
referred as Tropical rain forest of the deep, since they (Linnaeus 1758)10
are the most diverse, productive, beautiful marine
organism providing valuable scientific insights into the Vernacular names
nature of underwater ecology7. English: Sardinia coral
Hindi: Parvara, Munga
Geographical Distribution Tamil: Pavalam
It has a fragmented pattern of distribution and occurs in Bengali: Pravala
the western Mediterranean, in some parts of the eastern Kannada: Havala
Mediterranean and in the neighboring Atlantic coasts such Telugu: Pagadamu
as those of Morocco.8 It is available in Maldives, Punjabi: Marjan11

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Habitat and Biology Common uses of Pavalam

A rocky bottom species inhabiting a wide depth range Pavalam is used to treat fever, kaba diseases, tuberculosis,
from 7-200 m depth, their shallowest depth range is in tastelessness, insect bites, spermatorrhoea, dyspepsia and
between 15 to 70 M growing in caves, crevices, dryness of mouth. It is also very much helpful in the
overhangs and other protected interstices12. It is a slow management of azhal aggravated diseases, excessive
growing (a few centimeters per year) and long living phlegm and eye disorders. As per Siddha literature, every
species13. raw material should be purified before preparing as
medicine23. This process is used to detoxify the raw
Macroscopic characters material. The purification methods of Pavalam according
In appearance, it is a small shrub in a pendant or reverse to various Siddha literatures are given in Table 1.
position. It occurs in slender, cylindrical and generally The detoxified raw Pavalam is used to prepare parpam,
branched pieces of brick red color. It is made up of chendooram and chunnams etc which are given as internal
numerous minute pieces; each piece is minutely and medicines.
longitudinally furrowed. Its smell resembles frankincense.
It easily breaks with crackling sound. In the raw state, the Parpam
stems and branches are covered with a cortical substance A variety of parpam preparations are mentioned in the
which is the habitation of soft small polypi.14 literature by using Pavalam. A list of various plant juices
used to prepare parpam are given in Table 2.
Microscopic characters Next to parpam preparations, many chunnam preparations
A medullary zone surrounded by a circular domain made were found in the literature. Chendooram preparation are
up of concentric rings can be seen through an axial view very minimal and the available preparations are also made
of the skeleton. These concentric rings are annual and with combination of other metals and minerals like
exposed the cyclic variation of organic matter and Annabedi, (Blue viterol) Karuvangam (Lead), Abragam
Magnesium/Calcium ratio; thus, both organic matter and (Mica) etc. Dr. Thiyagarajan, the author of Siddha
Magnesium Calcium ratio can be used to date red coral Materia Medica mentioned that the preparation of
colonies. Growth rings display wavelets. The internal chendooram exclusively from Pavalam is very difficult28.
structure of each wavelet results from the stacking of Chunnam is considered as a medicament higher in
layers with tortuous interfaces.15 efficacy than parpam and chendooram29. A variety of
chunnam preparations are mentioned in the literature.
Constituents Some of the main preparations are given in the Table 3.
The skeleton of red coral is made primarily (85 % of the
wet weight) of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite. It Scientific validation
also includes 5 % of other elements such as Mg, Fe, So4, Based on the Siddha literature, the scientific works which
P2O5, Sio2, Pb, Zn16 and an organic matrix.17 were evaluated already were searched through internet.
There were totally 8 studies done, out of which 6 studies
Review of Siddha Literature were done in animals and 2 studies were done on humans.
Synonyms in Siddha The preclinical studies were done to rule out its anti-
Vidhrumam, thukir, thuppu, pravalam, senthandu maalai, osteoporotic, anti atherosclerotic, hepatoprotective and
varithi thandu18 haemostatic activities. Two clinical trials were carried out
in patients with hyperacidity and hepatitis.
It is one of the nine gems and kadalpadu thiraviyangal.19
As per Hindupurana, the muscles of Valan fell down in In vitro Study
the sea and became Pavalam during his battle with lord Pavala parpam was evaluated for its antibacterial activity
Indiran. Thiruvilayadal puranam explained how the coral in five bacterial strains by using disc diffusion method.
should be identified by appearance. There are six good The results showed that Pavala parpam has good anti-
characters and six bad characters seen in Pavalam depend microbial activity at the dilution of 25 l/disc against the
on its appearance.20 As mentioned in Silapathigaram, the bacterial strains such as S. mutans, s. aureus, E. coli, K.
good coral should not be twisted, porosus and must pneumonia and P. aeruginosa.30
possess bright red color. Thirumoolar compared Pavalam
with Shakthi (Lord Parvathy i.e. energy) and Sulphur Preclinical study
(Shakthi beesam). He mentioned in his quotes Anti osteoporotic activity
The drug Pravala bhasma was evaluated for anti
Deviyurathai naer cheppalagum thuppai osteoporotic activity in experimental rats. Progressive
yavi yirathane ragu maouthigam bone loss was induced in Female Sprague-Dawley rats by
ovariectomy followed by low calcium diet. The drug
Action treated group received Pravala bhasma 65 mg/kg body
Nervine tonic, diuretic, laxative, astringent21 and antacid22 weight, twice a day for 16 weeks. The level of calcium
and phosphorus excreted in urine was comparatively
Parts used decreased in the treated group. The decreased femoral
The calcareous shell or skeleton weight and density were significantly reversed in animals
treated with Pravala bhasma. The cortical bone
morphometric indices also revealed raised medullary

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width and cross-sectional area in treatment group. The rats. Liver damage was induced by CCl4 in wistar rats.
combined cortical thickness and cortical and periosteal The liver damage was assessed by heamatological and
area ratio are also increased compared to sham operated biochemical parameters. The animals treated with Kodi
animals. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study Pavala Chunnam showed near normal levels in
showed porous and erosive appearance of the distal femur haematological, biochemical parameters which indicate
at the epiphysis and reduced Ca/P ratio in ovariectomised the hepato-protective activity of Pavalam against CCl4
animals was also reversed compared to SHAM and drug induced liver damage.
treated group.31
Clinical trials
Anti atherosclerotic activity Pravala hasma in hyperacidity patients
The effect of orally administered Anna pavala Two samples of Pravala Mula bhasma (Bhasma prepared
chendooram, was investigated on experimental from Tubiphora musica) and two samples of Pravala
atherosclerosis. Rabbits were fed with a cholesterol rich Shakha bhasma (bhasma prepared from Corallium
(0.5 %) diet for 6 months to induce atherosclerosis. These rubrum) were prepared and studied in patients with
animals were divided into various groups of treatment. hyperacidity (Amlapitta) for a period of 21 days. The
The treated group was given 50 mg of Anna pavala cardinal and associated symptoms were carefully noticed
chendooram/day/animal for a period of further 6 months. and scored. Results of the study suggested that the effect
At the end of the experiment, plasma and aortic lipid of Pravala Shakha bhasma was better than that of Pravala
components were estimated and the atherosclerotic mula bhasma.37
lesions of the aorta were quantified by histological
examination. Changes in the metabolism of plasma and Kodipavala chunnam in hepatitis patients
aortic phospholipids were studied by fractionation into The drug Kodipavala chunnam was evaluated for
individual lipids following the incorporation of radiolabel hepatoprotective activity in patients with infective
from14 C-acetate into phospholipids. The plasma hepatitis, drug induced hepatitis and alcoholic hepatitis.
cholesterol level was reduced up to 65 % and the HDL The drug was given to the patients at the dose of 100 to
level was increased. The atheroma formation was also 200 mg thrice daily with honey for a period of 28 days.
inhibited. Anna pavala chendooram reduced the plasma The levels of serum bilirubin, ALP, AST, SAP and GGT
sphingomyelin levels32,33. were monitored before and after the treatment. It was
noticed that the elevated biochemical parameters of liver
Haemostatic activity were restored to normal levels with the usage of
The drug Pavala parpam was evaluated for haemostatic Kodipavala chunnam.38
activity in Swiss albino mice. In acute toxicity study, the
drug was found to be safe up to 2000 mg/kg body weight CONCLUSION
in Swiss albino mice. The animals were treated with 500 The literature search in Siddha classical texts revealed
mg/kg body weight /p.o. After the administration of that Pavalam plays a major role in the management of
Pavala Parpam the treated animals blood showed marked diseases like diabetes, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis,
reduction in both bleeding and clotting time when hepatitis and bleeding disorders. The toxicity studies done
compared to untreated control animals blood. There was on Pavala parpam and Kodipavala chunnam prove that the
also significant reduction in bleeding that was well internal administration of the drug is safe up to 2000
comparable to that of standard adrenochrome, a mg/kg and 4000 mg/kg body weight respectively. The
haemostatic drug34. scientific validations which were done on Pavalam proved
its the traditional claim. At the same time, the clinical
Hepato-protective activity trials which were conducted in a small size of patients
The acute and 28 days repeated oral toxicity studies on were not adequate and the animal studies are only
Kodi pavala chunnam was carried out as per OECD preliminary studies. Further studies are required to
guidelines. In acute toxicity study it was found that Kodi explore the genotoxicity, pharmacokinetics and well
pavala chunnam was found to be non toxic upto 4000 randomized control trials to strengthen the traditional
mg/kg. In repeated oral toxicity, except mild diarrhea, claim. This review justifies the continuous use of Pavalam
Kodi pavala chunnam did not exhibit any signs of in Siddha system of medicine for various ailments.
intoxication in the animals. Kodi pavala chunnam was
evaluated for its hepatoprotective activity in experimental

Table 1: Purification methods of Pavalam

No Material used Reference

1. Dates arrack Theran yamaga venba24
2. Lemon juice Gunapadam thathu jeeva vaguppu 25
3. Cows Butter milk Pathinen Siddhar Sillarai Vaidhya kovai26
4. Kattralai juice Anuboga vaidhya navaneetham part III27

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Table 2: Plants useful to prepare Pavala parpam

Name Part used Botanical name Indication

Thiruvathi* Leaf Bauhinia tomentosa Hemiplegia, Bronchial asthma, Ascites
Kondrai* Whole plant Cassia fistula Diabetes, Nervous weakness
Vengai* Whole plant Pterocarpus marsupium
Velerukku* Whole plant Calotropis gigantea
*Theran method of preparation
Ilanthai Leaf Zizyphus jujuba Dry cough, Dysentry Dysuria, Spermatorrhoea
Thaivelai Leaf Gynandropsis pentaphylla Dry cough
Keezhanelli Whole plant Phyllanthus amarus Bronchial asthma, Osteomyelitis, Dysuria,
Stomach pain
Pirandai Leaf Cisus quandrangularis Tuberculosis, Diabetes, Dysuria
Puliyarai Leaf Oxalis corniculata Tuberculosis, Diabetes
Erukku Latex Calotropis indica Cough, Tuberculosis, Syphilis
Thanneer vittan Root tuber Asparagus racemosus Bleeding disorders
Thelkodukku Leaf Heliotropium indicum Bronchial asthma, Primary complex
Roja Leaf Rosa damescena Spermatorrhoea
Vaalai Stem Musa paradisiaca Bleeding disorders
Sotrukattralai Leaf Aloe vera Spleenomegaly, Tuberculosis, cough
Madhulai Leaf Punica granatum Haemoptysis, Haemetemesis,
Vembu Leaf Azaridacta indica Epistaxis, Malena
Maruthondri Leaf Lawsonia inermis
Rabbits blood --- ---- Cough, Tuberculosis
Honey --- ---- Venereal diseases
Sugar candy --- ---- Blood in urine, Epistaxis, Bloody diarrhea, Any
bleeding from internal organs, Blood purifier

Table 3: Various chunnam preparations mentioned in Siddha literature

Name of the preparation Book Indication

Kodipavala chunnam The pharmacopoeia of Siddha research Gonorrhoea, Leucorrhoea, Burning of heat, Hepatitis,
(5 different preparations using medicines Rickets, Bronchial asthma, Skin diseases
different plant juices)
Pavala veera chunnam The pharmacopoeia of Siddha research Cholelithiasis, Biliary colic, Cough, Bronchial asthma,
medicines Tuberculosis
Narpavala chunnam The pharmacopoeia of Siddha research Bronchial asthma, Cough, Hepatitis, Rickets, Tuberculosis
medicines
Thiruvanga chunnam The pharmacopoeia of Siddha research Diabetes, Gonorrhoea, Cancer cervix, Ascites
medicines
Pavala chunnam Bogar karukkadai nigandu 500 Bronchial asthma, Relieves stress, Spermatorrhoea
Kodipavala chunnam Anuboga vaithya navaneetham Part III Cough, Bronchial asthma, Tuberculosis

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Source of support: Nil, Conflict of interest: None Declared

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