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Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 8 templates: del empty params (10×); hyphenate params (1×);

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'''Tabasheer''' ([[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]: तबाशीर or طباشیر) or ''Banslochan'' (बंसलोचन, بنسلوچن), also spelt as '''Tabachir''' or '''Tabashir''', is a translucent white substance, composed mainly of [[silica]] and [[water]] with traces of lime and [[potash]], obtained from the nodal joints of some species of [[bamboo]].<ref name="ref96ziraf">{{Citation | title=The National druggist, Volume 37 | publisher=H. R. Strong, 1907 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wmvnAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... 'Tabasheer' or 'banslochan' is sold in all Indian bazars ... originated among the aboriginal tribes ... article of commerce with early Arab traders ... silica, with traces of lime and potash ...''| year=1907 }}</ref> It is part of the [[pharmacology]] of the traditional [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] and [[Unani]] systems of medicine of the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="ref69pemux">{{Citation | title=Bamboo: The Wonderful Grass | author=G.K. Ghosh | publisher=APH Publishing, 2008 | isbn=978-81-313-0369-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FH4Bb7dD4qYC | quote=''... 'Tabasheer' or 'Bangsa Lochan' used in Unani and Ayurvedic medicines ...''| year=2008 }}</ref> It is also an ingredient in many [[traditional Chinese medicine]]s.<ref name="virtherb2010dla">{{Citation | title=Tabasheer |author=Heather Newman | publisher=Virtual Herbarium | access-date=2010-09-19 | url=http://www.virtualherbarium.org/grass/bamboo/tabasheer.htm | quote=''... Called “tian zhu huang” in Mandarin, which translates to “heavenly bamboo yellow,” tabasheer is a versatile, highly demanded substance described to be cold in nature and sweet in taste ...''}}</ref>

==Purported benefits==
Tabasheer is claimed to provide a variety of health benefits. It is variously regarded as an [[antipyretic]], [[antispasmodic]], [[paralysis|antiparalytic]], [[healing|restorative]] and [[aphrodisiac]].<ref name="ref01xoboc">{{Citation | title=A dictionary of the economic products of India |author1=George Watt |author2=Edgar Thurston | publisher=Department of Revenue and Agriculture, Government of India, 1885 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x07iKb5rVk4C | quote=''... the σάκχαρον of the Greeks was tabasjeer 'beyond all controversy' ... The Sanscrit name for tabascher is tvakkschira, bark milk ... called Bansolochan (or tabashir) is supposed to be efficacious in paralytic complications, flatulency, and poisoning cases ... a stimulant and aphrodisiac ... a febrifuge ...''|year=1885 }}</ref>

==Varieties==
Tabasheer that has a blueish tint (usually called ''neel'' or ''neelkanth'') is considered superior to tabasheer that has the "more plain" yellow or white color.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2pBAAAAcAAJ|title=Encyclopaedia Metropolitana; or, universal dictionary of knowledge, on an original plan: comprising the twofold advantage of a philosophical and an alphabetical arrangement, with appropriate engravings (Text: voll. XXVI. Plates: voll. III. Index|date=1845|publisher=B. Fellowes, Rivington, Ducan, Malcolm, Suttaby, Hodgson|editor-last=Edw. Smedley|language=en|quote=On shaking the Bamboo a rattling noise is perceived, as if small stones were contained in the cavity ... that reckoned the best if of a bluish-white color|editor-last2=Hugh Jam. Rose|editor-last3=H. John Rose}}</ref>

==Extraction==
Not all bamboo stems contain tabasheer. Likely candidates are found by shaking bamboo stems, which can make the mineralized tabasheer inside produce a rattling sound. These stems are split open to extract the tabasheer.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="ref50riveg">{{Citation | title=Nature: international journal of science, Volume 35 | author= Norman Lockyer | publisher=Macmillan Journals Ltd., 1887 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wI4DbxBSp7AC | quote=''... splitting open those bamboo stems which give a rattling sound when shaken ...''| year= 1887 }}</ref>

==History==
Although a part of the ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine, it has been postulated that the use of tabasheer originated in the [[Adivasi]] aboriginal tribes of India.<ref name="ref96ziraf"/> Tabasheer was extensively exported from India for thousands of years, including through Arab traders during the medieval period.<ref name="ref96ziraf"/> The town of [[Thane]], close to the west coast of India, was famous as a clearing center for tabasheer in the twelfth century CE.<ref name="ref22yexij">{{Citation | title=The National druggist, Volume 30 | publisher=H. R. Strong, 1900 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWrnAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... Bamboo manna derives its name from the Sanskrit words - Tvak-kshira, 'bark milk'; Vansa-sarkara, 'bamboo sugar'; and Vansa-karpura, 'bamboo camphor' ... known to the early Arab travelers in the East, and the port of Thana, on the western coast of India, was famous for this product in the twelfth century ...''| year=1900 }}</ref> It was called σάκχαρον in the writings of [[Pedanius Dioscorides]], a [[Greek people|Greek]] pharmacologist who practiced in Rome in the time of [[Nero]].<ref name="ref01xoboc"/>

==Etymology and alternative names==
''Tabasheer'' is referred to as ''Tvaksheera'' (त्वक्षीर) in [[Sanskrit]], which means ''bark milk''.<ref name="ref01xoboc"/><ref name="ref28filof">{{Citation | title=Jadeed Hindi-Urdu Shabdkosh: Pa-Ha | author=Nasir Ahmad Khan | publisher=Qaumi Council Bara-e-Farogh-e-Urdu Zabān, New Delhi, India, 2005 | isbn=978-81-7587-114-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6l9jAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... तबाशीर और ...''| year=2005 }}</ref> Other Sanskrit-derived names have been applied to tabasheer as well, including ''bamboo sugar'' (''vans-sharkar''), ''bamboo camphor'' (''vans karpoor'') and ''bamboo manna''.<ref name="ref22yexij"/> It is called ''Tian Zhu Huang'' in Mandarin, which means "''heavenly bamboo yellow''."<ref name="virtherb2010dla"/>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Bamboo]]
[[Category:Ayurvedic medicaments]]
[[Category:Traditional Chinese medicine]]

Tabasheer - Revision history

imported>Monkbot: Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 8 templates: del empty params (10×); hyphenate params (1×);