Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Andrographis paniculata is a bitter green herb grown across South and Southeast Asia. The dried leaves and stems are sold as capsules, tablets, teas and tinctures. Most people take it for colds, sore throat and other short airway infections.
It is called kalmegh in India and chuan xin lian in China. The taste is harshly bitter. An old nickname is "king of bitters".
Here is the honest verdict on the evidence. A number of small human trials suggest it may ease cold symptoms a little. Many of those trials were poorly run, so the finding is not settled.
Long use in a healing tradition is not proof that a herb works. It is also not proof that a herb is safe. That point applies to this plant and is not repeated below.
Andrographis is not a treatment for flu, COVID-19, cancer or liver disease. Some sellers hint at that. The research does not support it.
The short answer is that nobody has shown clearly how it works in people.
In test tubes and in animals, andrographolide appears to damp down signals that drive swelling and redness. It seems to act on a pathway called NF-kB, which helps switch inflammation on. Whether this happens at the doses people swallow is not known.
Lab work also suggests it may nudge immune cells to respond faster to a virus. In cell studies some extracts slow certain viruses and bacteria. None of that has been confirmed as the reason people feel better.
Animal studies hint at lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar and slower blood clotting. These are early findings, not proven effects in humans. They matter mainly because they flag possible drug clashes.
So treat any neat story about "boosting immunity" with care. The honest position is that the mechanism is unsettled.
Most products are capsules or tablets of a dried, standardised extract.
You may also find:
Dried leaf powder, loose or in capsules.
Tea or water infusion made from the dried herb, which tastes very bitter.
Alcohol tinctures and liquid drops.
Combination cold products, often with Eleutherococcus (Siberian ginseng) or echinacea.
Ayurvedic mixed formulas sold under names such as kalmegh churna.
Strength is not the same across these forms. A tea and a standardised capsule are not swappable.
Andrographis has a long, well recorded place in Asian herbal practice.
Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani texts listed it for fever, poor digestion, worms and liver complaints. In Chinese medicine it was used as a cooling herb for sore throat, fever and skin sores. Village use across India, Thailand and Indonesia followed similar lines.
It is often said to have been used during the 1919 flu outbreak in India. That claim is repeated widely but is thinly documented.
From the 1970s onward, Scandinavian makers sold extract blends for winter colds. That is where much of the modern trial work started.
Stop taking it and get urgent help if you have swelling of the face, lips or throat, a spreading rash, or trouble breathing. That can be a severe allergic reaction.
Stop and see a doctor the same week if you notice yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, or bad pain in the upper right belly. These can point to liver trouble.
Also see a doctor if your fever lasts more than three days, if you cough up blood, or if you feel short of breath. A cold that keeps getting worse needs proper care.
In the United States it is sold as a dietary supplement, and it is not approved to treat any disease. In the United Kingdom and the European Union it is sold as a food supplement, and some products are registered as traditional herbal medicines. It is also an official herb in Indian and Chinese pharmacopoeias.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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