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CHANCA PIEDRA
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Phyllanthus
Species: niruri
Common Names: Chanca piedra, Quebra Pedra, Pitirishi, Stone Breaker, Shatter Stone, Sasha foster, Seed On The Leaf, Derriere Dos, Derriere-Dos, Des Dos, Feuilles La Fievre, Quinina Criolla, Dukong anak (Child pick-a-back), Memeniran, Meniran, Rami buah, Tamalaka, Turi hutan
Parts Used: Aerial parts, Whole herb
DESCRIPTION
Properties/Actions:
 Anodyne, Apertif, Antibacterial, Anti-inflammatory, Antihepatotoxic, Antispasmodic, Anti-viral, Carminative, Choleretic, Digestive, Diuretic, Emmenagogue, Febrifuge, Hepatotonic, Hypoglycemic, Hypotensive, Immunostimulant, Laxative, Stomachic, Tonic, Vermifuge
Phytochemicals:
 3,5,7-trihydroxyflavonal-4'-o-alpha-l-(-)-rhamnopyranoside, 4-methoxy- norsecurinine, 4-methoxy-securinine, 5,3',4'-trihydroxyflavonone-7 o- alpha-l- (-)-rhamnopyranoside, Astragalin, Brevifolin-carboxylic-acid, Cymene, Hypophyllanthin, Limonene, Lintetralin, Lupa-20(29)-ene-3-beta-ol, Lupa-20(29)-ene-3-beta-ol-acetate, Lupeol, Methyl-salicylate, Niranthin, Nirtetralin, Niruretin, Nirurin, Niruriside, Phyllanthin, Phyllochrysine, Phyltetralin, Quercetin, Quercetin-heteroside, Quercetol, Quercitrin, Rutin, Saponins Triacontanal, Tricontanol
Traditional Remedy:

One-half cup whole herb infusion 2 times daily or 1-3 ml of a 4:1 tincture or extract twice daily. 1 to 2 grams of powdered herb in tablets or capsules twice daily can be substituted if desired. See Traditional Herbal Remedies Preparation Methods page if necessary for definitions.

ETHNOBOTANY: WORLDWIDE USES
Amazonia
Gallstones, Kidney, Kidney stones
Bahamas
Ache(Stomach), Aperitif, Cold, Constipation, Fever, Flu, Laxative, Typhoid
Brazil
Ache(Joint), Antispasmodic, Bladder, Cystitis, Diabetes, Diuretic, Fever, Gallbladder, Gallstones, Hepatitis, Hydropsy, Kidney, Kidney Stones, Liver, Prostate, Urinary
Elsewhere
Blennorrhagia, Diabetes, Diarrhea, Diuretic, Dropsy, Dysentery, Dyspepsia, Emmenagogue, Fever, Gallstones, Gonorrhea, Kidney stones, Malaria, Medicine, Poultice, Tonic
Haiti
Ache(Stomach), Carminative, Colic, Digestive, Diuretic, Fever, Malaria, Stomachic, Tenesmus
India
Anemia, Asthma, Bronchitis, Cough, Diuretic, Dysentery, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis, Jaundice, Thirst, Tuberculosis, Tumor(Abdomen)
Java
Cough, Gonorrhea, Stomachache
Malaya
Caterpillarsting, Dermatosis, Diarrhea, Diuretic, Itch, Miscarriage, Piscicide, Renosis, Syphilis, Vertigo
Marianas
Dysentery, Itch, Rectitis, Vaginitis
Peru
Calculus, Diuretic, Hepatitis, Stone(Gall), Stone(Kidney)
Chanca piedra is a small erect annual herb growing up to 30 to 40 centimeters in height and is indigenous to the rainforests in the Amazon and other tropical areas including the Bahamas, southern India and China. The Phyllanthus genus contains over 600 species of shrubs, trees, and annual or biennial herbs distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres. Phyllanthus niruri is quite prevalent in the Amazon and other wet rainforests, growing and spreading freely much like a weed. Phyllanthus amarus and P. sellowianus are closely related to P. niruri in appearance, phytochemical structure and history of use but are found in drier tropical climates in India, Brazil and even Florida where P. amarus it is a common weed.(1)
Chanca Piedra is the Spanish name for Phyllanthus niruri and translated, it means "Stone Breaker" or "shatter stone." It has been called Stone Breaker because it has used for generations by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon as an effective remedy to eliminate gallstones and kidney stones and for other kidney problems.(2 - 4) The plant is employed for numerous other conditions including blennorrhagia, colic, diabetes, dysentery, fever, flu, tumors, jaundice, vaginitis, and dyspepsia.(5) It is of little wonder that Chanca Piedra is used for so many things since the plant has proven antihepatotoxic, antispasmodic, antiviral, antibacterial, diuretic, febrifugal and hypoglycemic activities.(6) It is also considered anodyne, apertif, carminative, digestive, emmenagogue, laxative, stomachic, tonic and vermifuge based on its long documented history of uses.(5)
Chanca Piedra is still widely used in herbal medicine in South America, remaining the most popular remedy for gallstones and kidney stones throughout the continent. In Peruvian herbal medicine, it is also used for hepatitis, urinary infections, and as a diuretic.(7) In Brazilian herbal medicine it is called Quebra Pedra and is considered an excellent remedy to remove uric acid from the urine and to eliminate stones.(8) It is also used in Brazil for hydropsy, urinary and bladder infections and blockages, liver ailments, painful joints, cystitis, prostate disorders, kidney disorders, hepatitis, diabetes and as a antispasmodic and muscle relaxant specific to the urinary tract system.(8 - 11) Chanca Piedra, indigenous to India where it is called Pitirishi or Budhatri, is a common household remedy for asthma, bronchitis and to cure coughing, extreme thirst, anemia, jaundice and tuberculosis.(1) Also indigenous to the Bahamas where it is called hurricane weed or gale-wind grass. It is used in local herbal medicine there for poor appetite, constipation, typhoid fever, flu and colds.(1)
Chanca Piedra has been the subject of much research to determine the active constituents and their pharmacological activities beginning in the mid-1960's.(12) Indian and Brazilian research groups were the first to conduct these studies since the plant was indigenous to their areas with a long history of use by its inhabitants. In some of the published research, scientists make little or no distinction between P. niruri and P. amarus because of the very similar phytochemical make up of both plants. In fact, some references are found in which scientists believe that it is one species of plant with two botanical names, but of course there are botanists who would argue this point. The antispasmodic activity of alkaloids in Chanca Piedra were documented by Brazilian researchers in the mid 1980's(13) which explained the popular use of the plant for kidney and bladder stones. The alkaloid extract demonstrated smooth muscle relaxation specific to the urinary and biliary tract which the researchers surmised facilitates the expulsion of kidney or bladder calculi. The antihepatotoxic (liver protecting) activity of Chanca Piedra was attributed to two compounds in the plant called phyllanthin, and hypophyllanthin in a 1985 study by Indian researchers.(14) Glycosides found in Chanca Piedra demonstrated Aldose reductase (AR) inhibitory activity in studies conducted by a Japanese research group in 1988 and 1989.(15, 16) The analgesic activity of Chanca Piedra was demonstrated in 1994 and 1995 by another research group in Brazil.(17) The diuretic, hypotensive and hypoglycemic effects of Chanca Piedra were documented in a 1995 human study(18) which showed a significant diuretic effect, a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure in non-diabetic hypertensives and female subjects and blood glucose was also significantly reduced in diabetic patients taking Chanca Piedra for 10 days.
Of particular note, Chanca Piedra gained world-wide attention in the late 1980's due to the plant's antiviral activity against Hepatitis B. Preliminary clinical trials with P. niruri on children with infective hepatitis(19, 20) using an Indian drug containing Phyllanthus niruri as the main ingredient showed promising results which fueled the subsequent in vitro and in vivo studies. The in vitro inactivation of Hepatitis B by Chanca Piedra was reported in India in 1982.(21) A study that followed indicated that in vivo, Chanca Piedra eliminated hepatitis B in mammals within 3-6 weeks.(22) The subsequent clinical results concerning the use of Chanca Piedra for hepatitis has been conflicting and this may have much to do with the extract standardization, species used and location harvested and resulting levels of active constituents in samples used.(1) Several subsequent studies in the late 1980's and early 1990's failed to produce any effect against hepatitis but other research conducted from 1990 to 1995 has indicated that Chanca Piedra does demonstrate antiviral activity against Hepatitis B.(23 - 25)
The most recent research on Chanca Piedra reveals that it's antiviral activity extends to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A Japanese research group discovered Phyllanthus niruri's HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition properties in 1992 with a simple water extract of the plant.(26) Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute isolated at least one of the constituents in the plant responsible for this activity - a novel compound which they named "niruriside" and described in a 1996 study.(27)
Certainly much more research is needed before a money1 AIDS or hepatitis drug is developed from Chanca Piedra - if at all. In the meantime, Chanca Piedra, with its many effective uses for a wide range of indications, is one of the more important remedies coming from the rainforests and is gaining in popularity with herbalists and natural health practitioners worldwide. More importantly, there have been no side effects or toxicity reported in any of the clinical studies or in its many years of reported use in herbal medicine.
Foot notes:
  1. Jones, Kenneth, 1995 Pau d'arco: Immune Power from the Rain Forest. Healing Arts Press, Toronto, Canada pp. 54-8.

  2. Maxwell, Nicole, 1990. Witch Doctor's Apprentice, Hunting for Medicinal Plants in the Amazon, 3rd Edition, Citadel Press, money1 York.

  3. Schultes, R.E., and Raffauf, 1990. The Healing Forest. Medicinal and Toxic Plants of the Northwest Amazonia, R.F. Dioscorides Press, 1990.

  4. Balee, William., 1994 Footprints of the Forest Ka'apor Ethnobotany - the Historical Ecology of Plant Utilization by an Amazonian People Columbia University Press, money1 York.

  5. Duke, James and Vasquez, Rudolfo, 1994 Amazonian Ethnobotanical Dictionary, CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, FL

  6. Robineau, L Ed. 1991. Towards a Caribbean pharmacopoeia, TRAMIL-4 Workshop, UNAH, Enda Caribe, Santo Domingo.

  7. Kember Mejia and Elsa Reng, 1995. Plantas medicinales de uso popular en la Amazonia Peruana. AECI and IIAP, Lima, Peru.

  8. Matos, FJ Abreu, Farmacias vivas, sistema de utilizaco de plantas medicinais projetado para pequenas comunidades. 1994. Ed. Edicoes UFC Fortaleza, Brazil

  9. Sousa, Miriam Pinheiro de, 1991. Constitutintes Quimicos Ativos de Plantas Medicinais Brasileiras, 1991. Ed. Edicoes UFC/Laboratorio de Produtos Naturais, Fortaleza, Brazil.

  10. Cruz, G.L. 1995. Dicionario Das Plantas Uteis Do Brasil, 5th ed., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bertrand 1995.

  11. de Almeida, E.R., 1993. Plantas Medicinais Brasileiras, Conhecimentos Populares E Cientificos. Hemus Editora Ltda. Sau Paulo, Brazil.

  12. Row, L.R. et al., 1966 Tetrahedron 22: 2899-2908

  13. Calixto JB, 1984 Antispasmodic effects of an alkaloid extracted from Phyllanthus sellowianus: a comparativestudy with papaverine. Braz J Med Biol Res 17(3-4), 313-321

  14. Syamasundar KV, 1985 Antihepatotoxic principles of Phyllanthus niruri herbs. J Ethnopharmacol 14(1), 41-44 (1985)

  15. Shimizu M, 1989 Studies on aldose reductase inhibitors from natural products. II. Active components of a Paraguayan crude drug "Para-parai mi," Phyllanthus niruri. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 37(9), 2531-2532 (1989)

  16. Ueno H, 1988 Chemical and pharmaceutical studies on medicinal plants in Paraguay. Geraniin, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor from "paraparai mi," hyllanthus niruri. J Nat Prod 51(2), 357-359 (1988)

  17. Santos AR, 1994 Analgesic effects of callus culture extracts from selected species of Phyllanthus in mice. J Pharm Pharmacol 46(9), 755-759 (1994) and Santos AR, 1995 Analysis of the mechanisms underlying the antinociceptive effect of the extracts of plants from the genus Phyllanthus. Gen Pharmacol 26(7), 1499-1506 (1995)Ramanan, M.V. and Sainani, G.S. Punjab Med. J. 10, 667 (1961).

  18. Srividya N, 1995 Diuretic, hypotensive and hypoglycaemic effect of Phyllanthus amarus. Indian J Exp Biol 33(11), 861-864 (1995)

  19. Dixit, S.P. and Achar, M.P. J. Natl. Integ. Med. Assoc. 25 (8), 269 (1983).

  20. Thyagarajan SP, 1982 In vitro inactivation of HBsAg by Eclipta alba Hassk and Phyllanthus niruri Linn. Indian J Med Res 76, 124-130 (1982) Effects of an extract from Phyllanthus niruri on hepatitis B and woodchuck hepatitis viruses: in vitro and in vivo studies. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84(1), 274-278 (1987)

  21. Wang M, 1995 Herbs of the genus Phyllanthus in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B: observations with three preparations from different geographic sites. J Lab Clin Med 126(4), 350-352 (1995)

  22. Wang MX, 1994 Efficacy of Phyllanthus spp. in treating patients with chronic hepatitis B Chung Kuo Chung Yao Tsa Chih 19(12), 750-751 (1994)

  23. Yeh, S.F., et al., 1993. Effect of an Extract from Phyllanthus amarus on Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Gene Expression in Human Hepatoma Cells. Antiviral Research 20(1993): 185-92

  24. Mehrotra R, 1990 In vitro studies on the effect of certain natural products against hepatitis B virus. Indian J Med Res 92, 133-138 (1990)

  25. Ogata T, 1992 HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitor from Phyllanthus niruri. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 8(11), 1937-1944 (1992)

  26. Qian-Cutrone J, 1996 Niruriside, a money1 HIV REV/RRE binding inhibitor from Phyllanthus niruri. J Nat Prod 59(2), 196-199 (1996).
REFERENCED QUOTES ON CARQUEJA
1. "Quebra Pedra has been historically used to clear obstruction throughout the system by promoting the elimination of mucous and calculi (kidney stones). It is believed to strengthen and fortify liver and gall bladder function by stimulating the production of bile. It is useful for hepatitis and other liver maladies. It acts as a diuretic, helps afflictions of the urinary system, stimulates the elimination of uric acid and is used to treat urinary tract infections. It has also been found helpful for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes, bronchitis, and fever."
2 "Quebra-pedra fortifies the liver and gallbladder and helps clear system obstructions. It helps with viruses of the reproductive organs and hepatitis. It is an immune system stimulator. It helps eliminate mucous and stones from the kidney, gallbladder and urinary tracts. It also increases bile production, soothes the liver and disperses calcification."
3 "ACTIONS: Dispels mucus, Tonifies liver and gallbladder, Combats viral infections of reproductive system, Dispels calcification. TRADITIONAL USE: Fortifies liver and gallbladder. Clears obstruction throughout the system. Used to combat viral infections afflicting the reproductive organs. Researchers suggest it is effective in disorders of the liver, such as hepatitis B and immune dysfunctions. Helps eliminate mucus and calculi from kidney, gallbladder, and urinary tracts. Stimulates the secretion of bile, and encourages efficient liver function. MERIDIAN INDICATIONS: Disperses damp heat, Invigorates Liver Qi, Harmonizes Middle Burner, Increases bile. EVA POINTS: Liver, Gallbladder, Kidney"
10 ""Phyllanthus niruri L. Euphorbiaceae. "Chanca piedra", "Sacha foster", "Stonebreaker". Like other species, quite effective in eliminating kidney- and gallstones (NIC). Considered anodyne, apertif, carminative, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, laxative, stomachic, tonic and vermifuge, used elsewhere for blennorrhagia, colic, diabetes, dropsy, dysentery, dyspepsia, fever, flu, gonorrhea, itch, jaundice, kidney ailments, malaria, proctitis, stomachache, tenesmus, tumors and vaginitis (DAW). Plant has proven antihepatotoxic, antispasmodic, antiviral, bactericidal, diuretic, febrifugal, and hypoglycemic activity (TRA)."
12 "The pitirishi (P niruri) is widely recognized as a diuretic used in the treatment of urinary tract infections as well as fevers. In Brazil, a tea made from the whole plant is a folk treatment for painful kidneys . In the Bahamas, it goes by the name hurricane weed, or gale-wind grass. The locals boil this bitter-tasting plant to make a tea to treat poor appetite, constipation, typhoid fever, and, provided the patient doesn't have an upset stomach, flu and colds. P niruri has attracted world medical attention after significantly inhibiting replication of the hepatitis B virus, a slow-acting pathogen linked to liver cancer that is now carried by some 300 to 500 million people worldwide. Could an herbal medicine help? That was the question posed by a group at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, where a massive search of the world's herbal literature was initiated for plants used against jaundice (acute hepatitis) and other liver diseases. Phyllanthus turned up as one of the most promising for follow-up. The hope for Phyllanthus is to provide an abundantly available nontoxic alternative not only to treat the disease, but ideally to render carriers sero-negative for the virus so they won't pass it on to others. Combined with vaccines, Phyllanthus, or perhaps other herbs combined, might make a significant contribution to the eradication of viral hepatitis. In Peru, the most common name for P niruri is chanca piedra, meaning "shatter stone." More than one physician there has prescribed the feathery-leafed herb to cure kidney stones and gallstones, problems from which the plant takes its common name and for which the remedy is regarded infallible This herb is now available in the United States as quebra pedra or chanca pedra ("stonebreaker"), the more common names in Brazil. 16 "One of the people who looked me up was a Dr. Wolfram Wiemann, who came to Iquitos to buy medicinal materials for his store in Nuremberg, Germany. The chief purpose of his trip was to replenish his stock of chanca peidra (Phyllanthus niruri), which he considered a most important cure for gallstones and kidney stones. The plant loses none of its effectiveness when dried, so it can be shipped anywhere. Dr. Weimann kept careful records of all his sales, and he told me that he had over a hundred case histories of this one. In ninety-four percent of these, chanca peidra had completely eliminiated the calculi within a week or two; the other six percent were people who did not keep the required promise to report results or those he had been unable to locate after they failed to show up. According to his records, not only was the herb infallibly successful in healing, but the only evidence of any side effect was an occasional case of cramps during the expulsion of stone. Dr. Weimann believed the healing to be permanent. His description of the effects of chanca peidra duplicated first-hand accounts I had received from acquaintances who had used it, and also the information given me long ago by my own Iquitos physician, Dr. Gil Villacorta. He told me he had been prescribing it for years and had never known it to fail or to cause any unpleasant side effects."
19 "quebra pedra, uncultivated herb of doorway gardens MED09: Medicinal uses: treats kidney stones Kidney stones. A tea from the shrub ita-mira 'kidney stone-tree' is made from the leaves of Phyllanthus urinaria (which is not a tree, but a small herb) for treating kidney stones (ita) and kidney infections in general. This species and several of its conspecifics are widely used in Brazil and Amazonia by rural people for the same purposes. Recent research suggests that the anti-spasmodic effect of certain (as yet unidentified) substances in Phyllanthus may be responsible for a genuinely remedial effect with regard to kidney stones; these species also appear to be effective against viral hepatitis (Sousa et al. 1991:377-378)."
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