AMAZING HERB : PHYLLANTHUS NIRURI (STONEBREAKER)

Phyllantus Niruri or commonly known as Stonebreaker has a long history in traditional herbal medicine in tropical countries. I still remember that when I was a boy, I used to have a lot of encounters with this herb but never knew its medicinal use. In fact, I did try to eat / taste the tiny "fruit" along its leave stem.  

For hundreds of years P. niruri has been used as an herbal remedy to kidney stones, viral infections, liver disorders, bacterial infections, and many other ailments. In more recent years, however, P. niruri has been shown in modern medicine to cure or treat multiple disorders.

KIDNEY STONES 

P. niruri is used for the treatment of kidney stones. In both traditional and modern medicine, Stonebreaker is believed to help prevent nephrolithiasis (kidney stones). According to Mirian A. Boim, Phyllanthus niruri has been shown to interfere with many stages of kidney stone formation. Although more clinical trials are necessary to confirm these findings, P. niruri shows promise as an effective cure to kidney stones.

LIVER HEALTH 

Phyllanthus niruri shows potential to prevent liver damage. In a 2007 study conducted by Rajesh Bhattacharjee and his associates, lab mice were injected with chemicals to induce liver damage. These mice were then treated with a protein isolated from P. niruri. Remarkably, the protein brought the liver back to almost normal conditions. Their results also suggest the protein isolated from P. niruri protects liver tissues and helps stimulate the liver to repair itself.

ANTI-TUMOR 

Chemoprevention is defined as the use of drugs, chemicals, or other means to prevent and/or delay the development of cancer. Recently, Stonebreaker has been shown to act as a chemopreventive agent. In 2009, Priyanka Sharma and his team conducted an experiment to test P. niruri as a chemopreventive agent. In the experiment lab mice were induced with skin cancer. These mice were then treated with P. niruri and it caused significant reduction in tumor incidence, tumor yield, and tumor burden. These results suggest Stonebreaker extracts display significant anti-tumor activity and is thus an affective chemopreventive agent.

ANTI-HIV 

Phyllanthus niruri has shown evidence of being anti-hepatitus B, but according to Dr. A.D. Naik and A.R. Juvekar, this herbal plant also shows signs of being anti-HIV. Alkaloidal extract of P. niruri showed promising results when tested on cells infected with HIV. Cells treated with P. niruri extracts were reduced in toxicity. In addition, the extract provided considerable protection from HIV destroying the cell. These findings thus confirm that Stonebreaker extracts express anti-HIV properties.

DIABETES 

P. niruri displays evidence of anti-diabetic activity. Again in this experiment, conducted by Dr. Charles Okoli and his associates, lab rats were used. Diabetic rats were treated with aerial extracts of Stonebreaker and as a result the rats’ blood glucose levels decreased, as well as their glucose absorption and storage. While it’s not know for sure if P. niruri caused these results, these findings suggest the lowered blood glucose levels were caused by the aerial extracts of P. niruri. As a result, Stonebreaker is known to be anti-diabetic.