Kulattha (Horse Gram) in Ayurveda: Properties & Everyday Use

In short

Kulattha, known as horse gram in English and kulthi in Hindi, is a familiar part of the Indian kitchen. Classical Ayurveda describes it as astringent in taste, light and dry in quality, and warming by nature. Horse gram is cooked as dal and soups in south India.

In your kitchen

  • It goes into rasam and sprouts salads in the south.
  • As a warming food, tradition leans on it more in the cooler 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

Kulattha is horse gram, the dry seeds of Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc. (family Fabaceae), an annual legume cultivated across India and long known under the older botanical name Dolichos biflorus L. (medicinal review, IJPSR). The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (Part I, Volume I) is reproduced in a third-party copy showing a monograph for kulattha seed under that older name (monograph 49), listing regional names such as kulthi (Hindi), kollu (Tamil), and ulavalu (Telugu) (reproduction: not an official host; that reproduction identifies the drug as the dry seeds of Vigna unguiculata, with Dolichos biflorus listed as a synonym). Nutritionally it is a dense pulse and a good source of dietary fiber, iron, calcium, and other micronutrients and bioactive phytochemicals (same review).

Classical properties

Traditional use

Classical Ayurvedic texts, including the Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita, mention kulattha seeds for abdominal lumps, bronchial asthma, hiccup, piles, and excessive perspiration (IJPSR review). Its strongest traditional reputation is for urinary stones (mutrashmari/ashmari): in the Kumaon and Garhwal hills it is called "gahot," a name the ethnobotanical literature interprets as "destroyer of kidney stones in the early stage" (same review). Ayurvedic pharmacology describes kulattha as vatakaphahara (pacifying vata and kapha), with dipana, mutrala, bhedana, and lekhana properties, and traditionally it is taken as kulatha kwatha (a decoction of the seeds) or simply eaten as dal and soups (JAIMS case study; IJPSR review). These are traditional claims, not clinical proof: the research evidence is assessed separately below.

What research has looked at

Kidney stones: laboratory and animal evidence

The stone-related research is real but entirely preclinical. In vitro, aqueous and ethanol extracts of horse-gram seeds inhibited calcium-oxalate crystal formation: in one study the aqueous Sundernagar extract inhibited crystal nucleation by 45 ± 1.2% and showed 24 ± 0.88% inhibition in an artificial urine assay (3 Biotech 2020; PubMed PMID 32879839). In rats with ethylene-glycol-induced urolithiasis, oral aqueous and alcohol extracts of the seeds significantly reduced elevated urinary oxalate and the deposition of stone-forming minerals in the kidneys, with the alcohol extract reported as stronger (rat study summarized in the IJPSR review). Test-tube and rat results do not equal a proven treatment in people.

Human evidence: one small trial, but not for kidney stones

No randomized controlled trial has tested kulattha for kidney stones. One small randomized trial exists for a different condition: a 30-patient, two-group trial tested Kulattha Guda (for 30 days) with versus without Virechana for Tamaka Shwasa (bronchial asthma) (DOAJ record). Because both arms received Kulattha Guda, the trial cannot establish efficacy versus placebo or usual care: and it says nothing about kidney stones. The human kidney-stone literature consists of a single-patient case study: a 2022 report in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences described one urolithiasis patient treated with Kulatha Kwatha who reported less pain and dysuria with reduction and expulsion of the calculus (JAIMS case study). A case study of one person cannot prove efficacy: it is a starting point for research, not evidence of a cure.

Other preclinical findings

Reviews catalogue additional animal- and lab-level signals: cholesterol-lowering, blood-sugar-lowering, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and liver-protective effects (IJPSR review). All of these come from preclinical work; none has been confirmed in human trials.

Safety notes

Horse gram is a familiar food pulse: that is food-level familiarity, not medicinal-dose safety evidence. There are no dedicated human safety trials of medicinal-dose kulattha preparations. Kidney stones themselves require medical evaluation, imaging, pain management, and assessment for obstruction or infection, so kulattha should never replace diagnosis and treatment by a clinician. People with kidney disease or recurrent stones should consult their doctor before using any traditional "stone remedy," including this one.

FAQs

Does horse gram dissolve kidney stones?

No human trial has tested whether it does. Extracts inhibited calcium-oxalate crystal formation in the laboratory and reduced stone-related markers in rats, but no clinical trial has tested whether eating horse gram or drinking its decoction dissolves or prevents stones in people (3 Biotech 2020; IJPSR review).

What is kulattha in Ayurveda?

The dry seeds of horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum), listed in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. Classical texts mention it for asthma, hiccup, piles, and perspiration disorders, and folk tradition in the Himalayan foothills associates it strongly with urinary stones (IJPSR review).

Is horse gram good for diabetes or cholesterol?

Only animal studies suggest such effects so far; no human trial has confirmed benefits for blood sugar or lipids: the one small randomized trial of Kulattha Guda was for asthma, not metabolic outcomes (IJPSR review). Its high protein and fiber content make it a nutritious pulse regardless.

How is kulattha traditionally prepared?

As a food, cooked as dal, in soups, or sprouted, and as kulatha kwatha, a traditional decoction of the seeds used for urinary complaints (IJPSR review; JAIMS case study). There is no validated medicinal dose.

Is horse gram safe to eat every day?

It is a staple pulse eaten regularly as food by many communities in India: that is food-level familiarity, not medicinal-dose safety evidence. That familiarity does not automatically extend to concentrated medicinal preparations, which have not been studied in humans.

Can horse gram replace medical treatment for kidney stones?

No. Kidney stones can cause obstruction, infection, and kidney damage and need proper medical evaluation. Traditional use is not a substitute for diagnosis and treatment.

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. Kidney stones require medical evaluation; do not self-treat them with home remedies.

Related herbs

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

  • Twak (Cinnamon) — shares Lekhana + Kasahara actions; also pacifies Kapha & Vata
  • Varunadi Kwath — shares Lekhana + Ashmaribhedana actions; also pacifies Kapha
  • Agastya Haritaki rasayana — shares Kasahara actions; also pacifies Vata & Kapha
  • Apamarga — shares Lekhana actions; also pacifies Kapha & Vata
  • Bharangi — shares Kasahara actions; also pacifies Vata & Kapha
  • Brihati — shares Kasahara actions; also pacifies Vata & Kapha
  • Chitrak — shares Lekhana actions; also pacifies Kapha & Vata
  • Chitrakaharitaki — shares Kasahara actions; also pacifies Kapha & Vata