AOR Chanca Piedra - 90 V-Caps

Phyllantus niruri (PN)
Chanca Piedra is the Spanish common name for the herb Phyllantus niruri. PN is a perennial herb common in hot central and southern areas of the Indian Subcontinent. It also grows in China, and numerous tropical locations including the Phillipines, Cuba, and the Amazon rainforest. This plant has been used for over 2000 years to treat a wide variety of conditions and diseases including influenza, tumours, diabetes, jaundice, gallstones, kidney stones and upset stomachs. More recently, PN has become well known for its effectiveness in treating liver toxicity, viruses like hepatitis B, and possibly even high blood pressure and malaria.

The extract of the leaves of PN contains various biologically active chemicals that have been associated with a wide variety of effects. Many different classes of organic compounds of medicinal interest have been reported, including alkaloids, flavonoids, lactones, steroids, terpenoids, lignans, tannins, with lignans, triterpenes, alkaloids, and tannins generally being the most abundant. Although this sounds very complicated, it is this diverse mix of chemicals that gives PN the ability to treat a wide range of problems.

Antiviral Properties
One of the most impressive applications of PN is in the treatment of certain viruses, particularly hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is a virus that affects the liver, causing inflammation and jaundice, possibly leading to liver cirrhosis, unhealthy cell growth, or even death. Many people will clear the infection on their own after a few weeks, but others, especially children, will be unable to eliminate the virus, and will suffer from chronic hepatitis. The chronic form of the virus may manifest as an asymptomatic "carrier state" or may be associated with constant liver inflammation. Infection with hepatitis B is always associated with the presence of a certain surface antigen on the liver cells called Hep B Surface Antigen or HBsAg. Both In-vitro and In-vivo studies have reported that PN exhibits marked anti-HBsAg activity on the surface of liver cells. In another study, 37 patients with chronic viral hepatitis B were treated with a daily dose of 600mg of PN for 30 days. 59% of the patients showed a complete loss of HBsAg two weeks after the end of the treatment. Furthermore, none of the cases followed for up to 9 months had any symptoms of HBsAg. The authors postulated that PN may inhibit proliferation of the virus by inhibiting replication of the genetic material of the virus.

The extremely impressive anit-viral properties of PN are demonstrated in another clinical trial involving 160 children (age 1-12 years) with infective hepatitis. The authors reported that the virus was "cured" in 101 of the children, with the other 59 being dropouts. Normal appetite was seen in 7 days, while jaundice, hepatic tenderness, and other symptoms of hepatitis B all disappeared completely within 5 weeks.

Hepatitis B is not the only virus that can potentially be treated by PN. Recent studies have indicated that PN may also be beneficial in the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Studies have shown that PN extract is able to inhibit replication of the HIV virus by inhibiting certain enzymes (such as HIV type-1 reverse transcriptase) essential for replication of the virus. Other evidence suggests that the HIV inhibiting ability of PN extract is related to its alkaloid components.

Liver Protection
In addition to protecting the liver from viruses like hepatitis B, PN has also been documented to protect the liver from damage by a variety of chemical liver toxins. Furthermore, a protein component of PN has been shown to protect liver tissues from oxidative stress in mice.

Kidney stones and Gallstones
Another well documented application of PN extract is for the treatment of kidney and gall stones. Kidney stones are one of the most painful and common urinary tract problems, and it is reported that over 600, 000 patients are treated for gallstones in the U.S. alone each year. In South America, PN is commonly known as "Chanca Piedre" which in the local dialect of Spanish means, "to break stone". The ability of PN extract to inhibit the growth of kidney stones has been clearly demonstrated in both animals and humans. PN has been used to treat gall bladder infections in South America, and is often taken in the form of tea. PN has also been used in Germany and France to treat gall bladder and kidney stones with over a 95% success rate within 1-2 weeks of treatment. A study examining calcium excretion in 69 individuals with past incidences of kidney stones has shown that PN extract significantly decreases calcium levels in the urine. Furthermore, PN has been demonstrated to effectively inhibit the internalization of calcium oxalate crystals, which are the building blocks of kidney stones. Yet another study found that treatment with PN following shock wave therapy for kidney stones improved the outcome of the treatment. A greater proportion of patients taking PN were found to be stone free following treatment, and were less likely to require additional shock wave therapy.

In addition to its ability to inhibit crystal internalization, PN's ability to treat kidney stones may be further enhanced by the powerful spasmolytic, or muscle relaxant, activity of one of the constituents of PN, phyllanthin. Relaxation of the smooth muscle of the kidney tubules and ureter may help to expel stones.