Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
King of bitters (Andrographis paniculata), of the Acanthaceae family. Erect annual herb with sharply four-angled stems; native range: India and Sri Lanka; naturalised across South and South-East Asia. Globally recognized as kalmegha · bhunimba in Sanskrit, kalmegh · kirayat in Hindi, chuan xin lian (穿心莲) in Chinese, and kirayat · naine-havandi in Urdu. The part used is whole herb / aerial parts (chiefly the leaves). Slender green herb, bitter in every part and persistently so on the tongue; small white flowers streaked with rose-purple.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
KING OF BITTERS
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- King of bitters
- Scientific name
- Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees
- Family
- Acanthaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole herb / aerial parts (chiefly the leaves)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta)
- Western
- bitter (intense)
- Unani
- bitter
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna virya)
- Western
- cooling
- Unani
- hot & dry
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Stomach · Large Intestine · Small Intestine
- Western
- liver · digestion · immune
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat, drains fire, relieves toxicity (jie du), dries dampness
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana, jvaraghna (antipyretic), krimighna (anthelmintic), yakrit-uttejaka (liver stimulant), raktashodhaka (blood-cleanser)
- Western
- bitter tonic, hepatic, febrifuge, immune stimulant
- Unani
- febrifuge, tonic, anthelmintic, deobstruent to the liver
Cautions
Contraindications: avoided in pregnancy (an abortifacient reputation); cold and deficient patterns
Toxicity: very bitter — large doses may bring on gastric discomfort or vomiting
Interactions
- Western
- immunosuppressants: immunostimulant action may oppose · anticoagulants: may add to antiplatelet effect
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