HerbalGram 105 • Feb – April 2015 – April 2015 105 • Feb HerbalGram 2014 Tea Market Report • Herb Profile: Andrographis • Botanical Taxonomy Chaste Tree & Bone Fractures • Tripterygium & Arthritis 2014 Tea Market Report • Herb Profile: Andrographis • Botanical Taxonomy • Peruvian Maca Smuggling • Helichrysum: The Sleeping Giant • Tripterygium & Arthritis Tripterygium • Sleeping Giant The Maca Smuggling • Helichrysum: • Peruvian Taxonomy • Botanical Market Report Andrographis • Herb Profile: Tea 2014 The Journal of the American Botanical Council Number 105 | February — April 2015 Helichrysum: The Sleeping Giant US/CAN $6.95 www.herbalgram.org Peruvian Maca Smuggling www.herbalgram.org M I S S I O N D R I V E N : Educate & Inspire Making Outstanding Extracts recognition of our work in the propagation and con- servation of endangered medicinal plants. Has Never Been Enough. It’s seen in our higher education scholarship fund, Excellence in herbal extraction is at the heart of what which provides financial assistance to students of we do. But the soul of Herb Pharm’s mission is to lead naturopathic medicine and clinical herbalism. people to embrace herbal healthcare by educating And it’s why we offer guided herb walks and educa- them on the safe and effective use of herbs, and tional seminars to share our expertise with herbal inspiring a respect for plants and nature. enthusiasts and the herbally curious. That means standing shoulder-to-shoulder with aspiring Educating, inspiring and offering herbalists who attend our renowned HerbaCulture outstanding herbal Work-Study Program to experience traditional culti- healthcare products, vation and preparation of medicinal herbs. for more than 30 It means that our organic farm is designated a years that’s been Botanical Sanctuary by United Plant Savers in our secret formula. For more information about Herb Pharm’s educational programs visit us at www.herb-pharm.com/education.html or use your smart phone to scan the image to the left. Herb Profile Andrographis Andrographis paniculata Family: Acanthaceae INTRODUCTION include bhunimba and mahatikta (Sanskrit).1,11 In tradi- Andrographis is an erect, branched annual that prefers tional Chinese medicine (TCM), andrographis is known as shady, moist locations. It grows to a height of one to three chuan xin lian (“thread-the-heart lotus”), chuan-hsin-lien, or i-chien-hsi.5,6,11,12 In Japanese it is known as senshinren,5 feet (30-90 cm) and produces small, pink or white flowers 6 with brown or purple spots.1,2 The flowers are followed by and, in Korean, ch’onsimyon. oblong seed capsules containing six to 12 yellow-brown, Andrographis has been used traditionally as an flat, ovoid seeds.1,3 The entire herb has been used medici- antiplatelet, antipyretic (fever reducer), anti-inflammatory, nally in India,1,4 but the dried leaves or aerial parts — a bitter tonic (herb that strengthens and tones specific which are harvested in the fall when the flow- organs or the entire body), choleretic (bile stimulator), hepa- ers appear — are used more commonly.5,6 Andrographis is native to the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, and Bangla- desh) and Sri Lanka, and it has been intro- duced to the islands of the Caribbean and West Indian Ocean, China (specifically Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan, Sich- uan, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi provinces), Indo- nesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Mesoamerica.7,8 Its natural habitat in India comprises five of India’s 15 specified agro-climatic zones including the “Middle Gangetic Plains Region” in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; the “Upper Gangetic Plains Region” in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi; the “Eastern Plateau and Hill Region” in the states of Bihar, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh; the “Central Plateau and Hill Region” in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan; and the “East Coast Plains and Hill Region” in the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.9 Commercial plant material is obtained mainly from wild collection, but it also is sourced from new cultivation projects in India.10 HISTORY AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE Other common names for andrographis include king of bitters, kalmegh (Bengali, Hindi, Unani), kirta or kirata (Sanskrit),5 kiryata (Hindi), creat, green chiretta, Indian chiretta,11 and hinbinkohomba (Sinha- lese).3 It has been called chirayta or chiray- ita desi (“southern chirata”) because it is used in India as a substitute for the bitter herb Swertia chirayita (Gentianaceae).2,5 Common names used specifically in the Andrographis Andrographis paniculata Indian Ayurvedic medicine tradition also Photo ©2015 Michael Balick, Steven Foster Group, Inc. www.herbalgram.org • 2015 • I SSUE 105 • 1 toprotective agent, immunostimulant, and, possibly, as an poeia (7th edition, 2014),21 Malaysian Herbal Monograph adaptogen.5,13 In addition, it is believed to protect against (Volume 1, 1999),22 Medicinal Plants of Myanmar (Volume free radical damage and help normalize blood sugar.5 1, 2008),23 Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China Traditionally, the plant has been used to treat a wide (PPRC, 2010),24 Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia (Volume range of conditions, including atonic dyspepsia (indiges- 1, 1995),25 and WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal tion with impaired stomach muscle tone), bowel condi- Plants (Volume 2, 2002),26 as well as in the United States tions in children, diabetes, diarrhea, dysentery, flatu- Pharmacopeia (USP 37).27 lence, gastroenteritis, general debility, loss of appetite, poor liver function (including toxic liver damage and liver CURRENT AUTHORIZED USES IN infections), to aid recuperation from fever, and for respira- COSMETICS, FOODS, AND MEDICINES tory and skin conditions.5,13 In countries where the Ayurvedic system of medicine In TCM, andrographis, or chuan xin lian, is said to have is recognized and practiced (e.g., India, Bangladesh, bitter, cold properties and is believed to clear heat and Bhutan, Malaysia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), the dried leaves eliminate toxins, dry dampness, stop diarrhea, and enter and tender shoots of kalmegh are used as a component of the lungs, stomach, bladder, and channels of the large preparations indicated for treating a range of conditions and small intestines.5,12,14,15 The plant is thought to have including the following: burning sensation, chronic fever, antibacterial, antiviral,12 abortifacient, antipyretic, anti- malaria, intermittent fever, inflammation, cough, bronchi- inflammatory, antivenom, antihypotensive, immunos- tis, skin diseases, intestinal worms, dyspepsia, flatulence, timulant, hepatoprotective, and cholagogic properties.13,16 colic, diarrhea, dysentery, and hemorrhoids.2 It has been used in TCM for cold, influenza, sore throat, In China and other countries where TCM is recognized fever, headache, acute and chronic cough, colitis, snake and practiced (e.g., Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore, as bites, eczema, sores, carbuncles, acute enteritis, bronchi- well as a few Western countries), andrographis herb is tis, dysentery, infectious diseases, nephritis, pneumonia, indicated for treating influenza with fever, sore throat, purulent otitis media, pustular dermatitis, tonsillitis, and ulcers in the mouth or on the tongue, acute or chronic urethritis.12,14,16 Curiously, one source claims that androg- cough, colitis, dysentery, urinary infection with difficult raphis does not appear in any traditional Chinese herbal or painful urination, carbuncles, sores, and venomous text.12 snake bites.28 In Ayurveda, andrographis has been used for centuries “Herba Andrographis” is classified as a medicinal ingre- for intermittent fevers and jaundice, and it is an ingredient dient in Canada where it is listed in Table 1 (General in more than half of the multi-ingredient herb formula- Medicinal Ingredients) of the Natural Health Product tions used in India for treating liver conditions.1 The leaves (NHP) Traditional Chinese Medicinal Ingredients mono- and roots have been used in Ayurvedic medicine as an graph.29 At the time of this writing, there were nearly 100 adjunct treatment for cholera, diabetes, dysentery, enteri- licensed NHPs containing A. paniculata as a medicinal tis, gastritis, malaria, pneumonia, pyelonephritis, and ingredient.30 rabies.1 The leaf juice has been utilized as an alterative (i.e., In the United States, although andrographis herb is not a plant that gradually restores body functions), a tonic, to classified as a generally recognized as safe and effective relieve pain and stomach distress, to expel parasites, to (GRASE) active ingredient for use in over-the-counter promote bile flow, to reduce fever, and as an antiseptic, drug products, it is within the scope of practice of certain antispasmodic, and laxative.1,3 As a traditional house- licensed healthcare practitioners — such as licensed hold remedy, the leaf juice is used for diarrhea, dysentery, acupuncturists (LAc) and naturopathic doctors (ND) — dyspepsia, general debility, and loss of appetite.3 to dispense andrographis-containing preparations to their Andrographis is used as a substitute for chirata (Swertia patients. For example, a popular and frequently dispensed spp., Gentianaceae) — which is scarce in the northern TCM formulation for soothing severe sore throat with Himalayas — particularly in southern parts of India where swollen glands is a traditional three-herb combination andrographis is relatively abundant.17 Andrographis and containing andrographis herb (50%), Mongolian dande- chirata exhibit similar