Andrographis, King of the Bitters

Andrographis paniculata has recently been in the media. Non-herbalists were asking 'what?' while myself and my colleagues, who use this amazing herb in clinic a lot, are a little bit concerned.

In a brief few words, the Australian government (and potentially NZ government) are looking at stricting the use of this herb after an Australian man tragically died from anaphylaxis after he bought a product over the counter, without advice, and failed to follow the dosage directions on the bottle.

Andrographis is a herb that has been used for 1000s of years in Ayurveda and is known as 'King of the Bitters as it is so intensely bitter. It grows prolifically in India and Sri Lanka and has naturalised in tropical Asian countries. I love the fact that this herb is essentially a weed in its native habitat as there are too many herb plants that are incredible but endangered. I have some tiny seedlings of it so I will wait with anticipation for it to become leggy and develop pretty little flowers.

What do I use this herb for?

🌱Immune support - it has been nicknamed 'Indian echinadea' and I often put it in blends when people have the sniffles. In contrast to Echinacea, you don't need to make sure you take it at the first signs of sickness.

🌱According to studies, it may help modulate the immune response where allergies and autoimmune conditions are seen and it may be useful when someone has cancer or HIV.

🌱Parasites - it has actions that show it may be helpful when someone has these.

🌱Fungal overgrowth - this is a herb that is indicated often when there are signs of candida imbalance.

🌱As it is a bitter, this indicates an affinity with the liver and the digestive system. Bitters are usually bile stimulants.

🌱In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), it is used for damp conditions. For me using WHM (Western Herbal Medicine) I think of it when someone has streaming nose and a wet sounding chest.

If you have tried it (the taste is memorable ) sometimes I actually feel I really need that kind of tonic in my life.

Picture of my 'baby' andrographis that I'm nurturing. It's very frost tender so I have a make shift greenhouse with ginger and andrographis inside my house.

Andrographis paniculata seedlings