Green Chiretta

Botanical Name - Andrographis paniculata


Category - Medicinal


Form - Dry


Part Used - Whole Plant


General Information - The whole herb is bitter in taste and is source of several diterpenoids of which a bitter water soluble lactone andrographolide is important. The plant is acrid, cooling, laxative, antipyretic, antiperiodic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, sudorific, anthelmintic, digestive and stomachic. It is useful in burning sensation, chronic fever, malaria and intermittent fever, inflammation, cough, bronchitis, skin diseases, intestinal worm, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhoids and vitiated condition of pitta. The plant is often used as a substitute for Chirayita (Swertia chirayita).


Phytochemicals - A number of diterpenoids and diterpenoid glycosides of similar carbon skeleton have been isolated from Andrographis, mainly the most bitter compounds among them are andrographolide, neoandrographolide, deoxyandrographolide. Other such phytochemicals amassed by the plant are 14-deoxyandro -grapholide, 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide, andrographiside, deoxyandrographiside, homoandrogra-pholide, andrographan, andrographon, andro-graphosterin and stigmasterol. The leaves of Andrographis contain the highest amount of andrographolide (2.39%), the most medicinally active phytochemical in the plant, while the seeds contain the lowest. Andrographolide has highly bitter taste, is colorless crystalline in appearance, and possess a "lactone function". Both growing region and seasonal changes have a strong impact on formation of the diterpene lactones. The highest concentration of the active components is found just before the plant blooms, making early fall the best time to harvest.