Kadali (Banana) in Ayurveda: Properties & Everyday Use

In short

Kadali, known as banana in English and kela in Hindi, is a familiar part of the Indian kitchen. Classical Ayurveda describes it as sweet and astringent in taste, heavy and oily in quality, and cooling by nature. Banana and its flower are everyday foods.

In your kitchen

  • Raw banana is cooked as a vegetable in many regions.
  • As a cooling food, tradition leans on it more in the warmer months.

Good to know

In everyday food amounts it is part of ordinary home cooking. If you're pregnant, nursing or take regular medication, check with your doctor before using it beyond normal food amounts.

What it is

Kadali is Musa paradisiaca Linn., the banana/plantain plant of the Musaceae family, monographed in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (Part I, Vol. III) for its fruit and rhizome. Sanskrit synonyms include Mocha and Rambha, and the plant parts used in tradition span the root, rhizome, stem, leaves, fruit and flower (Ayurved Darpan, 2024).

Classical properties

Traditional use

A peer-reviewed review of kadali's Ayurvedic profile describes its rasa as tikta (bitter) and kashaya (astringent), guna as ruksha (dry), virya as sheeta (cold), with pitta-pacifying action. Its traditional indications (rogaghnata) include thirst (trut), bleeding disorders (raktapitta), eye diseases (netraroga), diabetes (prameha) and bloody diarrhea (raktatisara) (JDRAS review). Another Ayurvedic review credits kadali with sangrahi (binding, anti-diarrheal), mutrakricharahar (relieving urinary difficulty) and ashmarighna (alleviating urinary stones) actions (Ayurved Darpan, 2024). These are traditional claims, not clinical proof: the modern evidence is assessed separately below.

What research has looked at

Urinary stones (one uncontrolled human study)

In 1995, an Indian urologist treated 71 patients diagnosed with urolithiasis (confirmed by X-ray and IVU) with juice of the core of the banana pseudostem, given in tablet form, with one group later receiving more than the other. After four weeks, 43 patients had passed stones of varying sizes, 4 had fewer stones, and 20 showed complete disappearance of stones (Gopakumara Pillai, Ancient Science of Life, 1995). There was no control group and no randomization, so the study cannot prove the juice caused the stone passage: but it is the only published human study and its results are consistent with the traditional ashmarighna claim.

Kidney-stone formation (animal studies)

In Wistar rats with ethylene-glycol-induced kidney stones, plantain stem juice significantly reduced urinary calcium and oxalate excretion, cut calcium-oxalate crystal formation in kidney tissue, and lowered creatinine, urea and uric acid versus untreated stone-forming rats (Shivaraj et al., J. Pharmacol. Toxicol.). An earlier rat study found that stem-kernel juice lowered the activity of oxalate-synthesizing enzymes and reduced stone-forming deposits in the kidneys (Kalpana Devi et al., via review). Animal evidence only: not proof of effect in people.

Blood sugar (animal studies)

Banana flower (Musa paradisiaca) powder added to the diet improved blood glucose, liver and kidney function and lipid profiles in alloxan-induced diabetic rats (El-Kholie & Mousa, Menoufia J. Agric. Sci.). Aqueous extracts of the banana inflorescence also showed hypoglycemic effects in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (review of M. paradisiaca pharmacology). All animal work: no human trials support banana flower for diabetes.

Gastric protection (animal study)

A natural flavonoid isolated from unripe plantain pulp protected the rat gastric mucosa from aspirin-induced erosions (Lewis & Shaw, J. Ethnopharmacol., 1999, via review). Preclinical only.

What the evidence does not support (yet)

No randomized controlled trial has tested kadali for urinary stones, diabetes or any other condition in humans. The single human stone study was uncontrolled, and everything else is animal work.

Safety notes

Banana fruit is an ordinary food with no identified toxicity signals. The 71-patient stone study's published abstract reports no adverse events, though it does not describe formal safety monitoring, so this is weak safety evidence (Gopakumara Pillai, 1995). One caution comes from ethnobotanical records: traditional midwives in Kerala have used fresh root/rhizome extract of banana varieties to induce abortion, so pregnant women should avoid medicinal preparations of the root and rhizome (folk-medicine survey, Ancient Science of Life, 1989). There are no clinical-trial safety data for medicinal doses of kadali preparations: safety data is limited, so talk to a clinician before medicinal use, especially in pregnancy.

FAQs

Can banana stem juice dissolve kidney stones?

Unproven. One uncontrolled study of 71 patients reported that many passed stones after two weeks of banana pseudostem-core juice, but with no control group the stones may have passed on their own (Gopakumara Pillai, 1995). Animal studies show reduced stone formation with stem juice (Shivaraj et al.). No RCT exists: see a urologist for stones.

Does banana flower help diabetes?

Only in rats. Banana flower powder improved glucose and lipid measures in diabetic rats, and inflorescence extracts were hypoglycemic in diabetic rat models (El-Kholie & Mousa; review). No human trial supports banana flower for blood sugar control.

Which part of the banana plant is used in classical practice?

The API monographs the fruit and rhizome (Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, Part I, Vol. III); traditional and folk use also covers the stem/pseudostem core (for urinary stones), leaves, root and flower (Ayurved Darpan, 2024).

What dose did the human stone study use?

Swastik does not suggest amounts. The right amount depends on the person, the preparation and the product, so check with a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner or your doctor before taking any herb.

Is kadali safe?

As food, yes: banana is an ordinary fruit. For medicinal preparations (stem juice, root/rhizome extracts), human safety data are essentially absent, so safety data is limited: talk to a clinician before medicinal use.

Is kadali safe in pregnancy?

Eating banana fruit is normal food. But folk records describe banana root/rhizome extract being used to induce abortion in Kerala, so pregnant women should avoid medicinal root/rhizome preparations (Ancient Science of Life, 1989). No clinical safety data exist for medicinal doses in pregnancy.

Sources

Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Herbal products can interact with medications and are not suitable for everyone. Talk to a qualified healthcare practitioner before use — especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, managing a medical condition, or taking prescription medicines.

Related herbs

Herbs with overlapping classical actions and dosha effects in the Swastik herb library.

  • Amra — shares Balya + Grahi actions; also pacifies Pitta
  • Badara — shares Balya + Grahi actions; also pacifies Pitta
  • Masura — shares Grahi + Balya actions; also pacifies Pitta
  • Adhaki — shares Grahi actions; also pacifies Pitta
  • Aja Dugdha — shares Grahi actions; also pacifies Pitta
  • Alabu — shares Balya actions; also pacifies Pitta
  • Amra Beeja — shares Grahi actions; also pacifies Pitta
  • Amritaprasha Ghrita — shares Balya actions; also pacifies Pitta