Medicated ghee, called ghrita or siddha ghrita in Ayurveda, is ghee cooked with a herb paste and a liquid such as a herbal decoction until the water has evaporated, then filtered, following a recipe from a classical text. It is a medicine in the Ayurvedic system, not cooking ghee with herbs added. Take one only on the advice of your doctor or a qualified practitioner.
This article explains the words and the method as tradition and pharmacy. It makes no claim that any formula works, gives no dosage, and is not medical advice.
At a glance
- A 2011 review in the journal Ayu quotes the Sharangadhara Samhita's rule for medicated fats: 1 part herb paste, 4 parts ghee or oil and 16 parts liquid.
- A 2026 laboratory study in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine says the Ayurvedic Formulary of India lists 44 ghee-based and 63 oil-based preparations of this kind.
- The same 2026 study says heating continues until all the water has evaporated, leaving a filtered ghee with under 0.5 per cent moisture.
- A 2013 laboratory analysis found an acid value of 4.03 to 4.26 in three batches of Brahmi Ghrita, against 1.57 in the old ghee they were made from.
- India's Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 allows Ayurvedic drugs to be manufactured for sale only under a licence, with an exception for vaidyas making medicines for their own patients.
What does ghrita mean?
In Ayurvedic writing, ghrita means ghee. A 2011 review in the journal Ayu glosses "taila and ghrita" simply as oil and ghee. When ghee has been cooked with herbs to a classical recipe, the result is a medicated ghee, which a 2026 study in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine calls siddha ghrita.
So the word can mean plain ghee or, in a name such as Brahmi Ghrita, a finished medicine. Our article on ghee in Ayurveda covers the wider place of plain ghee in the tradition.
Medicated ghees belong to a larger group called sneha kalpana. Sneha is the fat base, which the 2026 study says can be ghee, oil or other fats, and the same term covers both the process and the products it makes.
How is medicated ghee made?
The classical method cooks three things together: ghee, a paste of the herbs (kalka) and a liquid (drava dravya), most often a decoction of herbs. The Sharangadhara Samhita, as quoted in the 2011 Ayu review, gives the general proportion as 1 part paste, 4 parts fat and 16 parts liquid.
From the 2011 review and the 2026 study, the general sequence is:
- Prepare the liquid. Usually a decoction (kwatha). The 2011 review says the texts add 4, 8 or 16 times as much water depending on how hard the herbs are. It can also be water, fresh juice (swarasa), milk or other fluids.
- Prepare the paste. The herbs are ground into a smooth paste, the kalka.
- Combine and heat. Paste, ghee and liquid are heated together. The 2026 study describes a temperature near the boiling point of water, which lets substances pass into the fat.
- Cook off the water. Heating continues until all the water has evaporated and the solids have settled out.
- Test for completion and filter. The texts describe completion tests, sneha siddhi lakshana. The 2026 study used the froth subsiding and the formation of a dry, rolled wick. The ghee is then filtered, leaving under 0.5 per cent moisture.
The 1:4:16 figure is a starting rule, not a fixed recipe. The 2011 review sets out variations from the same text. The paste is one-quarter of the fat when the liquid is water, one-sixth for a decoction and one-eighth for fresh juice.
The same text describes three grades of cooking (mridu, madhya and khara paka) and how long each kind of preparation takes. Some take days. A 2013 analysis of Brahmi Ghrita followed a classical instruction for recipes made with fresh juice. It heated the mixture at about 110°C for three hours a day, and finished it on the third day.
What do the Ayurvedic terms mean?
Writing on medicated ghee uses a handful of Sanskrit terms. They name ingredients and steps, not effects.
| Term | Meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ghrita | Ghee; also part of the name of a medicated ghee | Singh and Chaudhary, Ayu, 2011 |
| Siddha ghrita | Ghee processed with herbs by the sneha kalpana method; medicated ghee | Kataria and colleagues, 2026 |
| Sneha | The fat base: ghee, oil or other fats | Kataria and colleagues, 2026 |
| Sneha kalpana | The process for making medicated fats, and the products it makes | Singh and Chaudhary, 2011; Kataria and colleagues, 2026 |
| Kalka | A paste of the herbs named in the recipe | Singh and Chaudhary, 2011 |
| Drava dravya | The liquid: decoction, water, juice, milk or others | Singh and Chaudhary, 2011 |
| Kwatha | A decoction of herbs made to set proportions | Singh and Chaudhary, 2011 |
| Murchana | Pre-treating ghee with a set of herbs before the main preparation | Kataria and colleagues, 2026 |
| Sneha siddhi lakshana | The tests that show the preparation is finished | Singh and Chaudhary, 2011; Yadav and colleagues, 2013 |
| Purana ghrita | Old ghee; the 2013 study used ten-year-old ghee | Yadav and colleagues, 2013 |
How is medicated ghee different from cooking ghee?
They differ in ingredients, method, purpose and law. Cooking ghee is clarified butter and is sold as food. A medicated ghee is that fat cooked again, often for hours or days, with herbs and liquid to a named formula, and in India it falls under the law on Ayurvedic drugs.
The cooking changes the ghee itself. In the 2013 Ayu study, Yadav and colleagues made three batches of Brahmi Ghrita from ten-year-old ghee and measured standard fat values before and after. The batches came out yellowish-green, where the old ghee was golden yellow.
| Measure | Old ghee used as base | Brahmi Ghrita, three batches |
|---|---|---|
| Acid value | 1.57 | 4.26, 4.03, 4.03 |
| Saponification value | 199.15 | 227.2, 230.01, 230.01 |
| Iodine value | 31.04 | 34.75, 35.88, 35.88 |
| Colour | Golden yellow | Yellowish-green |
The acid value measures free fatty acids. The authors read the rise as a sign that some of the fat was split into free fatty acids during cooking, and conclude that the medicated ghee is less stable and keeps less well than the ghee it was made from. The 2026 study notes that heating fat in the presence of water can break it down, and that such changes can affect quality and shelf life. It tested murchana, a pre-treatment of the ghee with herbs described in the Bhaishajya Ratnavali, and found it slowed rancidity in its samples over 160 days in the laboratory.
Both are laboratory studies; neither tested anything in people. The ghee we make at Himdhara is food ghee: whole milk set into curd overnight, churned on a wooden bilona and clarified slowly over a wood fire. It is not a medicated ghee and is not sold as one. For the ordinary food question, see clarified butter vs ghee.
What are some classical medicated ghees?
The Ayurvedic Formulary of India alone lists 44 ghee-based preparations, according to the 2026 study. The 2011 review names several medicated ghees prescribed by Ayurvedic physicians, which we give here only as names, not as recommendations.
- Brahmi Ghrita
- Jatyadi Ghrita
- Maha Triphaladi Ghrita
- Triphala Ghrita
- Panchatikta Ghrita
A name does not pin down a single product. The 2013 study notes that Brahmi Ghrita appears in the Charaka Samhita and other classical books with different compositions. The two studies we read even used different plants as "Brahmi": the 2013 study names Bacopa monnieri, the 2026 study Centella asiatica.
The 2011 review also lists uses of medicated fats beyond swallowing, including massage, use in the eyes and the mouth, and use in the nose as nasya. Fat placed in the nose carries its own documented risks, which we cover in ghee nasal drops (nasya).
Is medicated ghee regulated as a medicine in India?
Yes. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 defines Ayurvedic drugs as medicines for internal or external use in disease, made exclusively according to formulae in authoritative books listed in its First Schedule. That list includes the Sharangadhara Samhita, the Charaka Samhita and the Ayurvedic Formulary of India.
In the copy we read (amended up to 31 December 2016), three provisions matter:
- Section 33EEB says no one may manufacture an Ayurvedic drug for sale or distribution except in line with any standards prescribed for it.
- Section 33EEC, from a date each state notifies, requires a licence from the prescribed authority to manufacture Ayurvedic drugs for sale or distribution, and bars manufacturing misbranded, adulterated or spurious ones for sale.
- The same section exempts vaidyas and hakims who make Ayurvedic medicines for their own patients.
So a jar sold as a classical medicated ghee is meant to be made under a licence for Ayurvedic drugs. That legal status is about manufacture. It is not a finding that the product works.
Should you take medicated ghee?
Only on the advice of your doctor or a qualified practitioner. Medicated ghees are medicines in the Ayurvedic system, and they contain herbs as well as ghee. Tell your doctor about any you use, especially if you are pregnant, giving one to a child, or taking other medicines.
We have not described what any formula is used for: the sources here are laboratory and pharmaceutical papers, not trials in people. A medicated ghee is also made on a base of ghee; our article on ghee side effects covers who should be careful with ghee itself.
The short version
Ghrita means ghee, and a medicated ghee (siddha ghrita) is ghee cooked with a herb paste and a liquid until the water is gone, then filtered. The classical starting proportion is 1 part paste, 4 parts ghee and 16 parts liquid, with variations by recipe. In India the law treats them as Ayurvedic drugs, which may be made for sale only under a licence. The studies here describe how they are made, not whether they work, so take one only on your doctor's advice.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- Singh N, Chaudhary A (2011). A comparative review study of Sneha Kalpana (Paka) vis-a-vis liposome. Ayu.
- Kataria D, Hegde MN, Singh G (2026). Effect of infusing ghee with Ayurvedic herb mix (Murchana) on its oxidative stability and its comparative analysis with medicated ghee (Siddha Ghrita). Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.
- Yadav KD, Reddy KRC, Agarwal A (2013). Preliminary physico-chemical profile of Brahmi Ghrita. Ayu.
- Government of India (1940, as amended up to 31 December 2016). The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Copy published by the High Court of Tripura.