For thousands of years this Ispagula Husk has provided relief for many ailments involving the intestinal system. So, if any one not familiar with this term “Ispagula Husk”, then the first question will be arises, what is Ispagula Husk?

It is the epidermis and the collapsed layers removed from the dried ripe seeds of Plantago ovata Forssk.(Fam: Plantaginaceac). The plant is a herbaceous annual indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and Iran. Ispagula Husk contains mucilage and hemicelluloses. Cold water extraction yields a polysaccharide which on hydrolysis yields D-xylose(46%), L-arabinose(7%) and the aldobiouronic acid(40%). Subsequent extraction with hot water removes a xylum composed of D-xylose(80%) and L-arabinose(14%). It looks pale buff brittle flakes, more or less lanceolate, up to 2 mm long and 1 mm wide at the centre, much broken into smaller fragments.

Image: Ispagula Husk