Pungent Taste

The pungent taste is one of dry, intense heat that can be found in spicy foods and many herbs and spices. It is usually created by the presence of aromatic volatile oils, resins, and mustard glycosides that stimulate the tissues and nerve endings of the mouth with a sensation of sharp and fiery heat.¹

The Pungent Taste—at a Glance

Balances:	Kapha
Aggravates:	Pitta and vata
Primary Elements:	Fire and air
Virya (temperature):	Heating (the hottest of the heating tastes)
Vipaka (post-digestive effect):	Pungent
Gunas (associated qualities):	Hot, dry, light, sharp (penetrating), aromatic
Associated Positive Emotions:	Enthusiasm, excitement, curiosity, clarity, vitality, vigor, concentration, and expansiveness
Emotions of Excess:	Irritability, aggressiveness, anger, rage, competitiveness, envy
Location on the Tongue:	Central region of the tongue
Affinity for Organs:	Stomach, heart
Most Affected Tissues:	Blood and reproductive tissues
Direction of Movement:	Upward, lightening (activates udana vayu)
Additional Actions:	Carminative, diaphoretic, vasodilator

 

Examples—Substances that Illustrate the Pungent Taste

Vegetables	Chilies, garlic, leeks, onions, kohlrabi, mustard greens, radishes, turnips, raw spinach
Grains	Buckwheat, spelt
Nuts & Seeds	Mustard seeds
Spices	Most spices, especially black pepper, cardamom, cayenne, cloves, ginger, hing, and paprika

Benefits

Warming to the body, the pungent taste cleanses the mouth, clarifies the sense organs, enhances other flavors, kindles the digestive fire (agni), and improves digestion, absorption, and elimination.²

The pungent taste is critically important to balancing excess kapha because it is able to heat, dry, and eliminate the stagnant, heavy qualities of kapha from the body. It helps clear ama (natural toxins), open the sinuses, break up stagnation, and support the elimination of excess fat.²

Energetically, the pungent taste is stimulating, invigorating, and penetrating, making it an effective way to clear areas of excess moisture and built up stagnation.¹ It also increases circulation, encourages sweating, cleanses the blood and the muscles, and opens the internal channels.²

In Excess

While the warming nature of the pungent taste is initially good for vata, its long-term effects are extremely drying and therefore generally vata-aggravating. Too much pungency can lead to mental agitation, imbalances in the nervous system, difficulty sleeping, and muscle discomfort.²

Excess pungent taste can lead to excess heat in the body, cause burning sensations, redness, excess thirst, occasional fatigue, digestive discomfort, and imbalance in the health of the reproductive system.^{1, 2} It can also influence the mind and emotions, causing experiences of anxiousness, irritability, aggression, and general over-activity of the mind.²

Contraindications

The pungent taste can exacerbate pitta dosha and is best avoided if there is excess heat or acidity in the body, or a deficiency in the reproductive system (shukra dhatu).¹

Exceptions

Though predominantly pungent in taste, ginger and cooked garlic do not tend to aggravate vata and can actually support vata by stimulating agni and improving digestion.¹ Similarly, cloves, coriander, cumin, and fennel—though pungent tasting herb—do not tend to aggravate pitta when used in moderation.¹