कासीस
Ferrous sulphate heptahydrate, FeSO4·7H2O. Pale green crystals that oxidise brown on exposure.
Parthiva · mineral origin · Uparasa
SHODHANA — NO MINERAL DRAVYA IS USED RAW
Triturated with bhringaraja swarasa and dried, repeatedly. The classical dhatri kasisa variety is preferred to the pushpa kasisa.
TRADITIONAL VIEW, WITH SAFETY LIMITS
What the texts say Kasisa does
What the evidence says. Ferrous sulphate's pharmacology is thoroughly established. The classical preparation has not been compared against it.
Side effects and limits
Ferrous sulphate is the commonest iron salt in medicine and its toxicity is well characterised: acute iron overdose is a leading cause of poisoning death in small children, and the dose that harms a child is not large.
Avoid or ask first: Haemochromatosis and thalassaemia.; Active infection.; Any access by young children.
A traditional classification, not a recommendation. The full safety record is below.
A Samhita can only be read forwards, from the group to its members. This is the same list read backwards.
AS THE CLASSICAL TEXTS AND THE API PRESCRIBE
| Shuddha churna | 125–500 mg |
| Anupana | Madhu · Takra |
| Kala | Adhobhakta |
The classical pandu mineral alongside loha bhasma, and the base of most Ayurvedic hair dyes.
Reported from Sharangadhara Samhita and the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. Laisha states what the texts prescribe; it does not recommend. No quantity here is adjusted for a particular person — not for agni, koshtha, bala, age, pregnancy, kidney or liver function, or anything already being taken.
| Rasa | KashayaAmla |
| Guna | UshnaSnigdha |
| Virya | Ushna |
| Vipaka | Katu |
| Doshakarma | Kaphavatahara. |
| Upayukta anga | Shuddha kasisa |
Kasisa is classed among the Uparasa.
| English | Ferrous sulphate, green vitriol |
| Hindi | Kasis |
| Kannada | Annabhedi |
Rasa, guna, virya, vipaka and karma are recorded as the classical texts give them, with the text and section named so a student can open the book and check.
Pushpa kasisa and dhatri kasisa are different grades and the texts prefer dhatri. Industrial ferrous sulphate is the same compound unpurified.
Ferrous sulphate heptahydrate, FeSO4·7H2O. Pale green crystals that oxidise brown on exposure.
A WAY TO REMEMBER IT
Kasisa is an old Sanskrit word of uncertain root. Its English name, green vitriol, is from the Latin vitreolus, glassy, for the crystals — and vitriol came to mean corrosive speech by the same route.
Kasisa is used in pandu, in krimi and externally in vrana, and is the base of the classical keshya preparations.
Constituents. Ferrous sulphate heptahydrate, FeSO4·7H2O. Pale green crystals that oxidise brown on exposure.
| Status | Ferrous sulphate's pharmacology is thoroughly established. The classical preparation has not been compared against it. |
| The honest gap | Mineral and animal dravya are far less studied than plant dravya, and what study exists is chiefly characterisation and toxicology rather than clinical efficacy. |
Ferrous sulphate is the commonest iron salt in medicine and its toxicity is well characterised: acute iron overdose is a leading cause of poisoning death in small children, and the dose that harms a child is not large.
| Contraindications | Haemochromatosis and thalassaemia. Active infection. Any access by young children. |
| Interactions | Oral iron supplements — additive, and iron overload is the consequence. Tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones, levothyroxine and bisphosphonates — iron binds all of them. Separate by two hours. Antacids and proton pump inhibitors reduce its absorption. |
| Pregnancy and breastfeeding | Iron is given in pregnancy in modern practice; this specific preparation is not a characterised iron salt and a characterised one should be used instead. |