Beyond the spirit: the healing power of the mahua tree

As darkness engulfs the Denwa River, I settle in for a drink after a long day of safaris in Satpura Tiger Reserve, a three-hour drive from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. The sunny yellow mahua-based cocktail has a pleasant but potent kick from the mildly sweet spirit and a refreshing tartness from the orange juice. It’s a gentrified adaptation of the local liquor derived from the flowers of the mahua tree, found in abundance here.

Indigenous communities have favoured mahua (Madhuca longifolia) for ages, and in recent years, it has travelled into urban India, appearing in trendy cocktails and gourmet restaurant fare. The popular narrative, however, rarely captures mahua’s nutritional and health benefits. For centuries, it has been a source of nourishment and medicine for indigenous communities in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chattisgarh. From natural sweetener to cooking oil; relief for aches, skin ailments, and respiratory issues; and a nutritional powerhouse, mahua’s benefits are far more potent than the alcohol derived from it. The deciduous mahua tree, also called the Indian Butter Tree for the butter-like product processed from its seed oil, is sacred and economically significant to the Santhal, Gond, Munda and Oraon. “In the forests, it was food first—dried, soaked, cooked, fermented, medicinal,” says Harshita Kakwani, chef and forest food curator.

Traditionally, the tree has been valued in its entirety. “It is revered as a Kalpavriksha (wish-granting tree) by several communities as every part of the tree has a function,” says Rishabh Lohia, founder of Wild Harvest, a social enterprise that works with partner communities to ethically harvest and market food-grade mahua flowers. The oil from the seeds is used for cooking, lighting lamps, making soap, treating eczema, strengthening hair, reducing dandruff, and relieving joint pain and muscle soreness. The fragrant creamy-white flowers are fermented to make the rustic brew, but are also used therapeutically. They are eaten raw to increase lactation, roasted to cure coughs and bronchitis, fried to relieve piles, and their juice is used to treat eye disease, skin ailments, and headaches. Gargling with liquid extracted from the bark helps bleeding and sensitive gums. A decoction with mahua leaves was used for stomach infections and wounds. Beyond everything else it is food. “The dried flowers have been known to help communities survive famines,” says Kakwani.

In Ayurveda, mahua flowers are used to prepare self-fermented medicines. “The purpose of this natural alcohol is to help the medicine penetrate to deeper channels in the body, carrying the herbal infusion prepared alongside,” says Mumbai-based Ayurvedic doctor Nikhita Shere. Its uses are varied in Ayurvedic remedies, she adds, including oil for massages to relieve chronic pain, juice to ease headaches, kadhas to treat dysentery and IBS, and the flowers for improving reproductive health. Modern studies support mahua’s nutritional strengths—high in vitamins B and C, iron, potassium, and calcium—and medicinal properties, including antibacterial, antioxidant, liver-protecting, and anticancer effects.

Wild Harvest has lab-tested dried mahua flowers to better understand their nutritional profile. Lohia highlights benefits include immunity support, noting 69mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams — about three times that of blueberries. Yet most consumers are unaware of mahua’s health benefits. Efforts are underway to expand understanding beyond mahua alcohol. Kakwani hosts forest pop-ups across cities and documents her personal experience of staying in the forest in a long-form project titled Miss Mahua. As consultant chef at Pugdundee Safaris, Kakwani curated a Mahua Festival early this month, which included guided forest walks for flower collection, conversations with local communities, mahua tastings in different forms, and storytelling. “At the festival, the focus was on the traditional uses for nourishment and recovery, health benefits, and discussions around seasonal eating aligned with forest cycles,” says Kakwani. Wild Harvest conducts pop-ups, food expos, in-store tastings, collaborations with nutritionists, and educational social media campaigns.

A range of mahua products is now available—dried flowers, granola, chocolates, syrup, seed oil, and tea blends. So how can mahua be incorporated into daily health routines? “Mahua oil is a good quality oil with a distinct flavour and can be used for cooking or to apply on the skin,” says Delhi-based nutrition researcher Sangeeta Khanna. She suggests powdering dried mahua in a blender and adding it as a natural sweetener to desserts, porridge and smoothies, kneading soaked mahua paste into dough, eating it with toasted nuts and seeds, or adding it to salads. “It is mineral-rich, which is great for everyone,” she adds. Lohia recommends a 5 gram daily serving size as a snack or steeped as a tea.

Mahua’s natural sweetness can replace processed sugar in desserts or beverages, though being energy-dense and high in natural sugars, it is best not consumed after a heavy or sweet meal. “It’s important to stay consistent to see the benefits. Mahua has long been part of indigenous food systems and it can still find a place in modern diets,” says Lohia.

Reem Khokhar is an independent journalist based in Delhi.