Phyllanthus amarus / Phyllanthus niruri var. amarus (BhumyAmalakI)

Caraka emphasized its role in respiratory disorders by mentioning it under ÝSvasahara and Kasa hara groups. The synonym ‘Tamalaki’ is mainly used in the Samhitas.  Bhavamisra highlighted its utility in prameha (Dr. V.V.Rama Sastry of Govt. Ayu. College, Hyderabad did submit his P.G. dissertation on role of bhumyamalaki in the management of madhumeha). In this context it is very important to note that Bhumyamalaki is not indicated for Kamala (icterus) or its related conditions in the original Ayurvedic texts. Yoga granthas like Vaidya Manorama did quote it for Kamala (may be following the Siddha practice). Keela-nelli is used for several centuries in Siddha medicine for Jaundice.  At the present times it is regularly used as a liver tonic by both ayurvedic and modern practitioners.  Its role on hepatitis-B is reported by Blumeberg & Tyagarajan.

Botanical Description – It is a small erect herb possessing yellowish green flowers. It grows all over India but it is important to note that the active chemical constitutents are not present in the plants obtained from certain areas. Dr. Thyagarajan of IBMS, Chennai had done extensive work on the chemistry, ecological, cultivation techniques and pharmacological aspects of P. amarus.

Major Chemical Constituents– Phyllanthin, hypophyllanthin, nir-anthin, nirtetralin, phyltetralin, lintetralin, phyllnirurin, nirphyllin.

Part Used– Whole plant, root

Dosage– Powder 3-5 gm; Paste 5-10 g.

Research–

(1) Petrole extract of whole plant and leaf extract have showed antifungal activity against Helminthosporium sativum and Alternaria alternata respectively (Bhatnagar et al., 1961; Bhowmick & Choudhary, 1982).

(2) Ethanolic extract (50%) of the whole plant showed anticancer activity against Freund virus leukaemia (Solid) in the mouse and anti-spasmodic activity on isolated guinea pig ileum (Dhar et al., 1968).

(3) The aqueous extract of leaves I reported to produce hypoglycaemic action in normal as well as alloxan-diabetic rats. The hypoglycaemic activity of P. niruri appeared to be higher than that of tolbutamide (Ramakrishnan et al., 1982).

(4) The crude extracts as well as a ‘red pigment’ obtained by TLC-purification showed potent in vitro ighan-inactivating ability against HBs Ag. Which was maximum at 370C (Thyagarajan et al., 1982).

(5) P. niruri has been shown to be effective as an adjunct along with other Siddha drugs in the management of jaundice due to infective hepatitis (Ramanan Sainani, 1961; Thyagarajan et al., 1977).

(6) In a clinical trial involving 160 children (age group 1-12 yrs) suffering from infective hepatitis, P. niruri (50 mg/kg in 3 divided daily doses) was found to be effective (77.22% relieved from clinical features) – (Dixit & Achar, 1983).

(7) Leaf extract protected 50% of rats where as root extract showed complete protection against hepatic damage induced by alcohol (Ind. J. Pharmacol. 1986, 18, 211).

(8) Plant extract showed in vitro antihepatitis B virus surface antigen-like activity (I.J.M.R. 1990, 92, 133).

(9) Plant extract and silymarin exhibited hepatoprotective effect in rats by preventing CCl4-induced reduction of ascorbic acid excretion in urine (Ind. J. Pharmacol. 1994, 26, 301).