Chanca piedraPhyllanthus niruri

Did you know?

• In Brazil it has a whole family of names, among them quebra-pedra, arranca-pedra and erva-pombinha, "little dove herb"^{[4, 9]}.

• What look like its compound leaves are really whole leafy branchlets, each lined with two neat rows of tiny leaves^{[6, 9]}.

• The Phyllanthus genus is huge, with more than 800 species worldwide^[5].

• It is a native American plant whose range reaches north into Texas, and one of its English names is "gale of the wind"^{[1, 2, 4]}.

• In India, related species are called bhumyamalaki, "amla of the ground", after the prized Indian gooseberry, amla^[8].

• Brazil's official national pharmacopoeia includes a monograph for quebra-pedra^[6].

Origins and history

Chanca piedra is a modest-looking annual herb, usually no more than about half a meter tall, with slender stems and neat rows of small leaves^{[1, 9]}. It spreads readily, and it is recorded as a weed^[2].

Its story runs on two continents. In Brazil, where Portuguese speakers call it quebra-pedra and erva-pombinha, the whole plant has long been brewed as a household tea^{[9, 12, 13]}. In India, closely related Phyllanthus species appear under the name bhumyamalaki in the Charaka Samhita, a classic Ayurvedic text that took its present form around the first century CE^{[7, 8]}. Linnaeus formally described Phyllanthus niruri in 1753^[1], and today it is one of the most searched-for Amazonian herbs.

Traditional uses

Clinical studies in people are still few and small^{[12, 14]}, but chanca piedra's traditional use is wide and remarkably consistent across the Americas and Asia.

• A whole-herb tea

  In Brazil and across the tropics, the whole plant is traditionally steeped or simmered in hot water as a tea.*^{[9, 11]}

• Kidney and urinary tract health

  Chanca piedra supports healthy kidney function and urinary tract health.*^{[9, 12]}

• Liver health

  A traditional tonic in Ayurvedic practice, chanca piedra supports healthy liver function.*^{[8, 10]}

• A tonic for the stomach

  In the Philippines and elsewhere in tropical Asia, a decoction of the whole plant has long been taken as a stomach tonic; chanca piedra supports digestive comfort.*^{[8, 10, 11]}

Plant compounds

Chanca piedra contains lignans, notably phyllanthin, hypophyllanthin, niranthin and nirtetralin^{[10, 11]}; tannins, including the ellagitannins corilagin and geraniin, with gallic and ellagic acid^{[6, 10, 12]}; flavonoids including quercetin and rutin^[12]; and alkaloids^{[10, 11, 12]}.