Andrographis paniculata

Andrographis paniculata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Andrographis
Species: A. paniculata
Binomial name
Andrographis paniculata
(Burm.f.) Wall. ex Nees[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Justicia paniculata Burm.f.

Andrographis paniculata is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka.

It is widely cultivated in Southern and Southeastern Asia, where it has been traditionally used to treat infections and some diseases. Mostly the leaves and roots were used for medicinal purposes.

Etymology

Andrographis paniculata is an erect annual herb extremely bitter in taste in all parts of the plant body. The plant is known in north-eastern India as Maha-tita, literally "king of bitters", and known by various vernacular names (see the table below). As an Ayurveda herb it is known as Kalmegh or Kalamegha, meaning "dark cloud". It is also known as Bhumi-neem, meaning "neem of the ground", since the plant, though being a small annual herb, has a similar strong bitter taste as that of the large Neem tree (Azadirachta indica). In Malaysia, it is known as Hempedu Bumi, which literally means 'bile of earth' since it is one of the most bitter plants that are used in traditional medicine.

List of vernacular names of A. paniculata Nees

Language Common name
Punjabi Chooraita
Assamese Chirota
Arabic Quasabhuva
Marathi kadu kirayata,Oli-kiryata
Bengali Kālmegh (কালমেঘ)
Oriya ଭୂଇଁନିମ୍ବ (Bhuinimba), ଚିରେଇତା (Chireita)[3]
Chinese Chuan Xin Lian (穿心蓮)
English Green chirayta, creat, king of bitters, andrographis, India echinacea
Persian Naine-havandi
Gujarati કરિયાતુ (Kariyatu)
Sanskrit Kālamegha (कालमेघ), Bhūnimba (भूनिम्ब)[4]
Hindi कीरायत (Kirayat)
Tamil Nilavembu [நிலவேம்பு]
Kannada Nelabevu
Malayalam NilavEpp (നിലവേപ്പ്), Kiriyathth (കിരിയത്ത്)
Telugu Nelavemaa (నేలవేము) or Nelavepu meaning "Neem of the ground". "Nela" = ground and "vemaa" = neem.
Malay Hempedu Bumi
Bahasa Indonesia Sambiloto, sambiroto
Thai Fa Thalai Chon (ฟ้าทะลายโจร), literally meaning 'the heavens strike the thieves'
Lao La-Sa-Bee
Sinhalese Hīn Kohomba / Heen Kohomba (හීන් කොහොඹ), meaning "small neem," or Hīn Bīm Kohomba / Heen Bim Kohomba(හීන් බිම් කොහොඹ) meaning "small neem of the ground."
Vietnamese Xuyên Tâm Liên

Akean: Marean

Description

Andrographis paniculata grows erect to a height of 30–110 cm in moist, shady places. The slender stem is dark green, squared in cross-section with longitudinal furrows and wings along the angles. The lance-shaped leaves have hairless blades measuring up to 8 centimeters long by 2.5 wide. The small flowers are borne in spreading racemes. The fruit is a capsule around 2 centimeters long and a few millimeters wide. It contains many yellow-brown seeds.

Distribution

A. paniculata is distributed in tropical Asian countries, often in isolated patches. It can be found in a variety of habitats, such as plains, hillsides, coastlines, and disturbed and cultivated areas such as roadsides, farms, and wastelands. Native populations of A. paniculata are spread throughout south India and Sri Lanka which perhaps represent the center of origin and diversity of the species. The herb is an introduced species in northern parts of India, Java, Malaysia, Indonesia, the West Indies, and elsewhere in the Americas. The species also occurs in Hong Kong, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, and other parts of Asia where it may or may not be native. The plant is cultivated in many areas, as well.

Unlike other species of the genus, A. paniculata is of common occurrence in most places in India, including the plains and hilly areas up to 500 m, which accounts for its wide use.

Cultivation

It does best in a sunny location. The seeds are sown during May and June (northern hemisphere). The seedlings are transplanted at a distance of 60 cm x 30 cm.

Medicinal use

Since ancient times, A. paniculata is used in traditional Siddha and Ayurvedic[5] systems of medicine as well as in tribal medicine in India and some other countries for multiple clinical applications.

The herb has a number of purported medicinal uses, although research has found evidence of its effectiveness is limited to treatment of upper respiratory infection, ulcerative colitis and rheumatic symptoms; in particular, there is no evidence of its effectiveness in cancer treatment.[6]

According to the Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine, "A specific product (andrographis combined with Eleutherococcus senticosus) may shorten the duration and lessen the symptoms of common cold."[7] It also says, "Pregnant women shouldn't use andrographis because it could terminate pregnancy."[7]

In one Chilean study from 1999, the herb had a significant drying effect on the nasal secretions of cold sufferers who took 1,200 milligrams of andrographis extract daily for five days.[8] A 2012 study suggested that Andrographis paniculata extracts may have the potential to be used as a mosquito repellant.[9] A 2006 study reported that extracts of Andrographis exhibited potent anti-inflammatory effects and antioxidant actions in mice.[10]

Chemistry

Andrographolide, an active ingredient in Andrographis, has been shown to be responsible for the herb's inflammatory modulating actions, including the reduction of cytokine and peritoneal deposition of neutrophils, and modulation of lung inflammation in vivo.[11]

Andrographolide is the major constituent extracted from the leaves of the plant which is a bicyclic diterpenoid lactone. This bitter principle was isolated in pure form by Gorter (1911). Such other activities as liver protection under various experimental conditions of treatment with galactosamine (Saraswat et al., 1995), paracetamol (Visen et al., 1993) etc. are also attributed to andrographolide. The hepatoprotective action of andrographolide is related to the activity of certain metabolic enzymes (Choudhury and Poddar, 1984, 1985; Choudhury et al., 1987). Systematic studies on chemistry of A. paniculata have been carried out.[12]

Some known constituents are:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andrographis paniculata.

See also

References

  1. ↑ GRIN Species Profile
  2. ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ekamravan -- Medicinal Plant Garden, Odisha".
  4. ↑ sanskrit synonyms of bhunimb Amarkosha ch. 2, section - forest medicinal plants, verse - 143
  5. ↑ medicinal properties of bhunimb Nighatu adarsh
  6. ↑ "Andrographis". Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center. 13 February 2013. Retrieved August 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "3". Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine (second ed.). 2010. p. 47.
  8. ↑ Cáceres, DD; Hancke, JL; Burgos, RA; Sandberg, F; Wikman, GK (1999). "Use of visual analogue scale measurements (VAS) to assess the effectiveness of standardized Andrographis paniculata extract SHA-10 in reducing the symptoms of common cold. A randomized double blind-placebo study". Phytomedicine 6 (4): 217–23. doi:10.1016/S0944-7113(99)80012-9. PMID 10589439.
  9. ↑ Govindarajan, Marimuthu; Sivakumar, Rajamohan (2011). "Adulticidal and repellent properties of indigenous plant extracts against Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)". Parasitology Research 110 (5): 1607–20. doi:10.1007/s00436-011-2669-9. PMID 22009267.
  10. ↑ Sheeja, K; Shihab, PK; Kuttan, G (2006). "Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the plant Andrographis paniculata Nees". Immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology 28 (1): 129–40. doi:10.1080/08923970600626007. PMID 16684672.
  11. ↑ Xia, YF; Ye, BQ; Li, YD; Wang, JG; He, XJ; Lin, X; Yao, X; Ma, D; Slungaard, A; Hebbel, RP; Key, NS; Geng, JG (2004). "Andrographolide attenuates inflammation by inhibition of NF-kappa B activation through covalent modification of reduced cysteine 62 of p50". Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 173 (6): 4207–17. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.173.6.4207. PMID 15356172.
  12. ↑ Chao W-W., Lin B.-F. "Isolation and identification of bioactive compounds in Andrographis paniculata (Chuanxinlian) Chinese Medicine 2010 5 Article Number 17
  13. ↑ "Species Information". sun.ars-grin.gov. Retrieved 2008-03-07.

Further reading

External links