Chanca Piedra

Phyllanthus niruri (Chanca Piedra) is a widespread tropical plant that has been used for over 2,000 years in Indian Ayurvedic medicine. It has been praised for its effect on urinary tract diseases, jaundice, and indigestion and has been used in South American folk medicine to treat excess uric acid.

Medicinal plants like P. niruri contain many bioactive compounds and antioxidants that can be used as alternative or complementary medicines to treat gout and other diseases (1).

Gout

In a 2018 review, research conducted over the last 17 years was assessed to determine the inhibitory effects of several plant extracts on xanthine oxidase activity. It was found that P. niruri extract reduced uric acid levels as well as normalized the urinary calcium levels in calcium stone forming patients, exhibiting anti-gout activity (1).

In a 2018 study, the effect of P. niruri on inhibiting xanthine oxidase activity was compared to Allopurinol, a commonly used drug to treat hyperuricemia. The presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds found in P. niruri successfully inhibited xanthine oxidase, but at a lower percentage than Allopurinol. However, the study ruled that the side effects associated with standard drugs make effective herbs as suitable alternatives used alone or in conjunction with drugs (2).

Kidney stones and gallstones

Also known as the “stone breaker”, P. niruri is commonly used to treat kidney stones for its ability to make them smoother and more fragile to pass through the body.

In a study of 56 patients with kidney stones, clinical, metabolic, and ultrasonography assessments were conducted following 12 weeks of P. niruri infusion and 12 weeks of a wash-out with no treatment. There were no changes in several serum measurements, but kidney stones were found to decrease per patient and urinary uric acid decreased in hyperuricosuria patients (3).

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