Kulthi Dal: Uses, Benefits, Side Effects & More!

Introduction

Kulthi dal, also known as horse gram, is a tropical and subtropical legume. Ayurveda and Sri Lankan traditional healers have known about its therapeutic properties for ages.

It’s primarily used as a tonic, astringent, and diuretic, and it’s also helpful for rheumatism, neuralgia, and other ailments. Natural phenols, primarily phenolic acids, flavonoids, and the primary antioxidants, are abundant in horse gram seeds.

Kulthi Dal is classified as animal fodder, and its full potential as a component of the human diet is yet to be realised. It can be consumed as seeds, sprouts, or as a meal on its own.  

Nutritional Value of Kulthi Dal

Horse gram is a high-protein food (22-24%). Carbohydrates (57.2%), fats (1.1%), vitamins, minerals (3.2%), and a considerable amount of soluble fibres are all found in its seeds.

These tiny seeds are high in various minerals and micronutrients that may have potential benefits for our health in multiple ways. It contains the following nutrients per 100 grams: 

• Protein: 24 gm
• Carbohydrate: 37 gm
• Fat: 1.1 gm
• Calcium: 0.3 gm
• Iron: 72 gm
• Zinc: 0.2 gm

Properties of Kulthi Dal

These seeds extract may have

• It may have anti-adipogenic (reduces deposition of fat) properties
• It may show anti-hyperglycemic (lower blood sugar) activity
• It might demonstrate anti-hypercholesterolemic (reduces cholesterol) properties.
• It may show antioxidant activity¹ 
• It may possess anti-inflammation properties²

Potential Uses of Kulthi Dal

Kulthi Dal may have enormous therapeutic potential, it must be explored as a source for the nutraceutical and food businesses².

1. Potential Uses of Kulthi Dal for the Management of Hypercholesteremia

Kulthi dal may reduce the extent of hypercholesteremia (high cholesterol deposition). It might have some effect on the absorption of cholesterol and speed up the catabolism (breakdown) of cholesterol into bile acid. The phenolic compounds present in the kulthi dal may also possess hypolipidemic and cholesterol-reducing activity by increasing the excretion of cholesterol in faeces³. If you are suffering from high blood cholesterol, you need to adhere to your doctor’s advice and treatment. Also, if you want to use kulthi dal for its properties, make sure to consult with your doctor.

2. Potential Uses of Anti-microbial Activity of Kulthi Dal

Extracts of kulthi dal may have shown anti-microbial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. It might show a wide range of anti-microbial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa⁴. 

3. Potential Uses of Anti-inflammatory Activity of Kulthi Dal

Kulthi dal has phenolic groups, which might have some effect on the human secretory phospholipase A2 enzyme, which causes inflammation. Hence, it might exhibit anti-inflammatory activity⁵. This information is not sufficient, as these studies are not conducted on humans. However, human trials are required to suggest the benefits of kulthi dal for wound healing. Therefore, it is important to first speak to your concerned doctors and only use kulthi dal as a herb.

4. Potential Uses of Anti-diabetic Activity of Kulthi Dal

Kulthi dal has a low glycaemic index, making it a useful dietary supplement for diabetic patients. It has an alpha-amylase inhibitor, which may help manage diabetes by decreasing serum glucose levels. The kulthi dal seeds may help in carbohydrate metabolism and thereby delay their digestion and absorption⁶. However, if you are suffering from diabetes, you need to consult your healthcare provider before using Kulthi dal or any other herb to help with your symptoms.

5. Potential Uses of Antioxidant Activity of Kulthi Dal

Kulthi dal improves high-fat-induced oxidative stress and may improve the activity of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase and catalase, along with an increase in glutathione concentrations. They may also exhibit high radical-scavenging activity⁷.  

6. Benefits of Anti-choliolithic Activity of Kulthi dal

Kulthi dal decreases the formation of the lithogenic bile and hence it may exhibit antilithogenic (cholesterol-lowering) activity. It reduces the hypersecretion of cholesterol into bile and increases bile acid output. It might also decrease hepatic (liver) fatty degradation⁸.  

How to Use Kulthi Dal?

Seeds are consumed as a whole (boiled), sprouts, in curry, or whole meals and are particularly popular in southern Indian regions.  

To improve the nutritional quality of kulthi dal, procedures like de-husking, germination, heating and roasting can be used¹.  

You must consult a qualified doctor before taking any herbal supplements. Do not discontinue or replace an ongoing treatment of modern medicine with an ayurvedic/herbal preparation without consulting a qualified doctor.

Side Effects of Kulthi Dal

Horse gram is highly nutritious and has several health benefits, but it also has a few potential side effects. 

• Kulthi dal contains a carbohydrate type called raffinose oligosaccharide that can cause bloating and gas if eaten in large quantities^2,9.    
• Kulthi dal may cause allergic reactions in rare cases¹⁰.  
• Kulthi dal contains anti-nutrients like phytic acid that inhibit the digestibility of proteins and reduce the bioavailability of minerals such as calcium, zinc, iron, and magnesium².  

Precautions to Take with Kulthi Dal

It is suggested that, despite no significant reported side effects of kulthi dal, it may demonstrate substantial undesirable effects as a medicinal product when we use it in higher doses or for a longer duration. A higher dosage of kulthi dal should only be taken under clinical supervision². 

Interaction with Other Medicines

If taken in large quantities, kulthi dal may have an adverse effect when used as a medication. Also, unsupervised and unmonitored kulthi dal consumption by people with health conditions (like diabetes and liver diseases) may complicate or worsen some conditions. 

Kulthi dal may assist medications for diabetes in lowering blood sugar, but if taken in very high doses, blood sugar levels may go very low. One should take proper medical advice if they are interested in taking kulthi dal⁶. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

References

1. Ranasinghe R, Ediriweera E. Medicinal and Nutritional Values of Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc (Kulattha): A Conceptual Study. Glob J Pharmaceu Sci. 2017; 1(2): 555559. Commons Attribution 4.0 License. DOI: 10.19080/GJPPS.2017.01.555559. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347837439_Medicinal_and_Nutritional_Values_of_Macrotyloma_uniflorum_Lam_Verdc_Kulattha_A_Conceptual_Study 
2. Prasad, S. K., & Singh, M. K. (2015). Horse gram- an underutilized nutraceutical pulse crop: a review. Journal of food science and technology, 52(5), 2489–2499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-014-1312-z. 
3. Kumar D, Prashanthi G, Avasarala H, Banji D. Antihypercholesterolemic Effect of Macrotyloma uniflorum(Lam.) Verdc (Fabaceae) Extract on High-Fat Diet-Induced Hypercholesterolemia in Sprague-Dawley Rats. Journal of Dietary Supplements. 2013;10(2):116-128. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23725525/
4. Kawsar SMA, Seraj Uddin M, Huq E, Nahar N, Yasuhiro Ozeki (2008) Biological investigation of M. uniflorum Linn. extracts against some pathogens. Journal of Biological Sciences 8(6): 1051-1056. Available from : https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46031476_Biological_Investigation_of_Macrotyloma_uniflorum_Linn_Extracts_Against_Some_Pathogens
5. S., G. A., N. M, V. Joshi, V. B. S., and D. K. K. ”HUMAN SECRETORY PHOSPHOLIPASE A2 (sPLA2) INHIBITION BY AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF MACROTYLOMA UNIFLORUM (SEED) AS AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY”. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, vol. 7, no. 13, Oct. 2015, pp. 217-22, Available from: https://innovareacademics.in/journals/index.php/ijpps/article/view/7868. 
6. Laxmi H. Gupta, Sachin L. Badole, Subhash L. Bodhankar & Sushma G. Sabharwal (2011) Antidiabetic potential of α-amylase inhibitor from the seeds of Macrotyloma uniflorum in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetic mice, Pharmaceutical Biology, 49:2, 182-189, DOI: 10.3109/13880209.2010.507633. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21043992/
7. Perumal Siddhuraju; Sellamuthu Manian (2007). The antioxidant activity and free radical-scavenging capacity of dietary phenolic extracts from horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc.) seeds. , 105(3), 950–958. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.04.040. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814607003998
8. Bigoniya, P., Bais, S., & Sirohi, B. (2014). The effect of Macrotyloma uniflorum seed on bile lithogenicity against diet-induced cholelithiasis in mice. Ancient science of life, 33(4), 242–251. https://doi.org/10.4103/0257-7941.147433. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4293752/
9. Mao B , Tang H , Gu J , Li D , Cui S , Zhao J , Zhang H , Chen W . In vitro fermentation of raffinose by the human gut bacteria. Food Funct. 2018 Nov 14;9(11):5824-5831. doi: 10.1039/c8fo01687a. PMID: 30357216. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9000249/
10. Pramod SN, Krishnakantha TP, Venkatesh YP. Effect of horse gram lectin (Dolichos biflorus agglutinin) on degranulation of mast cells and basophils of atopic subjects: identification as an allergen. Int Immunopharmacol. 2006 Nov;6(11):1714-22. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2006.07.006. Epub 2006 Aug 4. PMID: 16979126. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16979126/

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