Pharmaceutical Name:

Herb Andrographitis

Botanical Name:

Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees

Common Name:

Green chiretta
Kariyat

Source of Earliest Record:

Lingnan Caoyao Lu

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The aerial parts of the plant are gathered in the early autumn when the plant begins to flower.  Then it is cut into pieces and dried.

Properties and Taste:

Bitter and cold

Meridian:

Lung, stomach, large and small intestines

Functions:

To clear heat and release toxins
To dry dampness

Indications and Combinations:

1.     The beginning of warm febrile disease manifested as fever, headache and sore throat.
*Use with Honeysuckle flower (Jinyinhua), Platycodon root (Jiegeng) and Arctium fruit (Niubangzi).

2.      Heat in the lungs manifested as cough and asthma or cough with yellow sputum.
*Use with Houttuynia (Yuxingcao), Platycodon root. (Jiegeng) and Trichosanthes fruit (Gualou).

3.     Dysentery due to dampness and heat.
*Use with Portulaca (Machixian).

Dosage:

6-15 g

Cautions:

Prolonged overdosing of this herb may impair stomach Qi.