Green Chireta, Creat, Nilavembu, Kirayat, Chuan Xin Lian, King of Bitters
Andrographis paniculata

Family: Acanthaceae

What it is like

A tropical and subtropical herb known for its bitter taste, Green Chireta or Andographis paniculata, is found in Asia, Australia, India, Laos, and Northeastern India. It is widely used as a medicinal plant. The roots and leaves are primarily used to reduce fever, tone the stomach, increase appetite, and generally improve one's health condition. It also has a significant anti-inflammatory effect and inhibits oedema. Powdered leaves are found to have the capacity to aid in common colds by shortening their duration. It can also be used as a treatment for fever and sore throat. Decoction of the leaves or roots can be used as a treatment for stomach pain, dysentery, typhus, cholera, influenza, and bronchitis. Infusion can be used for treating female disorders, dyspepsia, hypertension, gonorrhoea, jaundice, rheumatism, amenorrhoea, and torpid liver. When used as a poultice, it cures swollen legs or feet, vitiligo and piles. Further, the plant is used locally as a remedy for snake bites and for insect bites as well. It can also be a remedy for diabetes when used together with Orthosiphon aristatus. To attain maximum effect, leaves should be harvested when the inflorescence axis starts to grow. For the roots, harvesting should be made when the leaves start discolouring or wilting. The leaves are edible, occasionally mixed with vegetables. Green chireta is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. Its leaf extract is reported as an effective pest control against various crop pests. Propagation is through seeds or herbaceous stem cuttings. Other Names: Bhuin, Chirota, Neemba.

Andrographis paniculata is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.8 m (2ft 7in) by 0.3 m (1ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10 and is frost tender. The flowers are pollinated by Bees, Butterflies. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 0.8

Where it is found

Village groves, roadsides, waste places, open sandy locations and fields, but also in monsoon and teak forest receiving only 10-20% of full light, at elevations from sea level to 1,600 metres.

E. Asia - India.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.

Countries/locations it is found in

Found In: Asia, Assam, Australia, India, Laos, Northeastern India, SE Asia.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 1

The leaves are occasionally eaten mixed with other vegetables. It is a cultivated plant.

Medicine

Rating: 4

Green chireta has a long history of traditional medicinal use in India, various parts of South-East Asia, Central America and the Caribbean. The roots and leaves are considered to be alterative, anthelmintic, bitter, febrifuge, stomachic and tonic. There has been a large amount of research into the effects of this plant, several medically active compounds have been identified with a wide range of effective actions. The aerial parts of the plant contain a large number of diterpenes, whilst the presence of flavones in the root has also been reported. Extracts and purified diterpenes and flavonoids have been investigated for a multitude of pharmacological effects. Trials using the leaf extract have concluded that the powdered leaves have the capacity to significantly shorten the duration of common colds and that the leaves can be as effective as paracetamol in relieving the fever and sore throat of people with pharyngotonsilitis. The leaves have also been shown to have significant anti-inflammatory effect and also significantly inhibit oedema An ethanol extract of the leaves stimulates both antigen-specific and nonspecific immune responses more than the purified leaf extracts. An ethanol extract has also shown significant antipyretic activity. A standardized leaf extract exhibits significant antipyretic properties and is an effective analgesic. The crude water extract of the leaves, as well as the semi-purified n-butanol and aqueous fractions, have shown significant hypotensive activity. In one trial, a 10% infusion of the herb applied intravenously at 1 ml/kg bodyweight reduced the blood pressure by 6-10 mm Hg in 10-20 seconds. An extract of the leaves has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels, whilst antithrombotic effects were also observed. It is believed that these effects might be at least partially due to flavones present in the extract. Administered intraperitoneally, the diterpenes andrographiside and neoandrographolide (found in the leaves) have a significant protective effect on the liver. An extract of the leaves has shown antidiarrhoeal activity. The diterpenes andrographolide and neoandrographolide isolated from the alcoholic extract showed potent antisecretory activity against Escherichia coli enterotoxin induced secretions. Various compounds have shown significant anti-ulcer properties. It is suggested that this effect is due to the antisecretory activity and protective effect on the gastric mucosa. Oral administration of 20 mg of the dry leaf powder for 60 days has an antifertility effect in males. The alcoholic extract of the rhizomes exhibits good in vitro anthelmintic activity against Ascaris lumbricoides. Neoandrographolide, isolated from the leaves, exhibits significant antimalarial activity Dehydroandrographolide succinic acid monoester, derived from andrographolide, has been found to inhibit the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in vitro. A leaf infusion administered intraperitoneally, has an LD50 at 71.1 mg/10 g body weight (acute toxicity). At a concentration of 1 mg/kg it lowers the body temperature at least 2?C. The plant used to be considered an effective remedy against snake bites and it is still used locally for this. It has also been reported as useful to treat insect bites and, in combination with Orthosiphon aristatus, as a remedy for diabetes. An infusion or sap from the crushed leaves has been recommended for the treatment of fever, as a tonic, and for itching skin eruptions. A decoction of the leaves or roots is used against stomach-ache, dysentery, typhus, cholera, influenza and bronchitis, as a vermifuge, and is considered a diuretic. Pills or infusions are also recommended to treat female disorders, dyspepsia, hypertension, rheumatism, gonorrhoea, amenorrhoea, torpid liver and jaundice. Another use is as a poultice on swollen legs or feet, vitiligo and piles. Furthermore, Andrographis paniculata is considered to be anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive, but reports on antibacterial activity are contradictory. The leaves should be harvested when the inflorescence axis starts to grow, because the maximum accumulation of andrographolide is at that stage. The roots are harvested when leaves start discolouring or wilting. Yields of 1 - 1.5 kg fresh weight/plant are obtained from 7-month-old plants. In general, the herb is used fresh and consumed within a few days after collection. However, leaves and roots should be washed and dried in the sun or artificially before storage.

Alterative: Causes a gradual beneficial change in the body, usually through improved nutrition and elimination, without having any marked specific action.

Analgesic: Relieves pain.

Anthelmintic: Expels parasites from the gut.

Antibacterial: Kills bacteria.

Antidiarrhoeal: Provides symptomatic relief for diarrhoea. Also see Astringent.

Antihaemorrhoidal: Treats haemorrhoids (piles). This would probably be best added to another heading.

Antiinflammatory: Reduces inflammation of joints, injuries etc.

Antipyretic: Treats fevers. See Febrifuge.

Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.

Bitter: Increases the appetite and stimulates digestion by acting on the mucous membranes of the mouth. Also increases the flow of bile, stimulates repair of the gut wall lining and regulates the secretion of insulin and glucogen.

Cholera: Used in the treatment of cholera - an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Hypoglycaemic: Reduces the levels of sugar in the blood.

Hypotensive: Reduces blood pressure, it is used in the treatment of high blood pressure

Malaria: Treats malaria - an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites spread to people through the bites of mosquitos.

Mouthwash: Treats problems such as mouth ulcers.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Stings: Used in the treatment of stings and insect bites.

Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Vermifuge: Expels and kills internal parasites.

Other

Rating: 2

Other uses rating: Low (2/5). Other Uses: Andrographis paniculata leaf extract is reported to have antifeedant and anti-oviposition activity against a number of crop pests like Callosobrunchus chinensis, Darcus dorsalis, Nephotettix cincticeps, Plutella xylostella, Sitophilus oryzae and Spodoptera litura. Suitable for growing in containers.

Insecticide: Kills insects.

Attracts Wildlife: Plants noted for attracting wildlife

How it is grown

A plant of the tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,600 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20° - 30°c, but can tolerate 14° - 38°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 3,000mm, but tolerates 1,500 - 4,000mm. Prefers a position in light shade, but can tolerate deeper shade and sunnier positions. The plant has escaped from cultivation and becomes naturalized in many areas of the tropics. In shading experiments, the optimal proved to be 20% shade with average dry-matter production of 13.2 g per 5-month-old plant.

Propagating it: Seed - should be soaked for 24 hours and then dried before being sown. Germination starts after 1 week and the mean germination rate is about 80%. Cuttings consisting of 3 nodes taken from the upper third of 1-year-old plants have given the best results in vegetative propagation, with 80-90% rooting.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

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.

May be weedy

Its other names

Local names

Green Chireta. Andrographis paniculata. Other common names are as follows: Bhuin, Chirota, Neemba, Creat, Nilavembu, Kirayat, Chuan Xin Lian, and King of Bitters.

Synonyms

Andrographis subspathulata C.B.Clarke