Chancapiedra / Phyllanthus niruri

Common name:
Chanca piedra

Other names: 
It is known as quebra pedra, pitirishi, stone breaker, shatter stone, sasha foster, seed on the leaf, derriere dos, feuilles la fievre, quinina criolla, dukong anak, memeniran, tamalaka or turi hutan. 

Synonyms: 
P. amarus and P. sellowianus are related in appearance, fythochemical structure and history, but they are found in drier regions of India, Brazil, and even in Florida, where P. sellowianus is considered a weed. 

Botanical description: 
It is a small erect annual wild bush growing up to 30 to 60 cm in height. Its leaves are 7 to 12 cm long; they are alternate, sessile oblong. It has small off-white-greenish flowers which are solitary, auxiliary, pedicellate, apetalous, and monoecious. 
Its small fruits measure 2 to 3 mm in diameter and are inside a compressed and globose capsule. It has a long and not very ramified root, as well as triangular and verrucose seeds.
It is indigenous to the Amazonas rainforest and other tropical areas, including the Bahamas, India and China.

Habitat and distribution: 
It grows in the Amazon basin, but it can be easily cultivated.

Chemical composition: 
Among its compounds are:

	Lignans (phyllanthin, phylnirurin, hydroxyniranthin, lintetralin, nirurin, phyltetralin, hypophyllanthin, isolintetralin, niranthin, nirurinetin, phyltetrin, hydroxylignans, kinokinina, Nirtetralin, nirphylin, isolariciresinoltrimethyl ether, seco-4-hydroxylintetralin).
	Terpenes (cymene, limonene).
	Triterpenes (lupeol acetate, lupeol).
	Flavonoids (astragalin, quercetin, quercitrin, isoquercitrin, nirutinetin, nirurinetin, kaempferol-4-0-a-L-rhamnoside, eriodictyol-7-a-L-rhamnoside, phyllantus, physetinglucoside, isoquercetin, rutin, nirurin, FG1, FG2, physetin-41-0-b-D-glucoside).
	Lipids (ricinoleic acid, linoleic acid, dotriacontanoic acid).
	Benzenoids (phyllester, methyl-salicylate, 4-methoxy-norsecurinine).
	Steroids (beta-sitosterol, estradiol, 24-isopropil-cholesterol).
	Alkanes (triacontanal, tricontanol).
	Alkaloids (phyllanthin, nirurin).
	Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (norsecurinine, 4-methoxy-norsecurinine, nor-ent-securinine).
	Indolizidine Alkaloids (nirurin, phyllanthin, phyllochrysine).
	Methyl-salicylate
	Tannins
	Vitamin C

Action modes: 
The antispasmodic activity of alkaloids in chanca piedra was documented by Brazilian researchers in the mid 1980's. The alkaloid extract demonstrated smooth muscle relaxation specific to the urinary and biliary tract, which the researchers surmised would facilitate the expulsion of kidney or bladder calculi. The antihepatotoxic (liver protecting) activity of Chanca Piedra was attributed to two compounds called phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin. 
Glycosides found in Chanca Piedra demonstrated Aldose reductase (AR) inhibitory activity in studies conducted by a Japanese research group in 1988 and 1989. The analgesic activity of Chanca Piedra was demonstrated in 1994 and 1995 by another research group in Brazil. The diuretic, hypotensive and hypoglycemic effects of Chanca Piedra were documented in a 1995 human study which showed a significant diuretic effect, a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure in non-diabetic hypertensives and blood glucose was also significantly reduced in diabetic patients taking Chanca Piedra for 10 days.
Chanca Piedra gained world-wide attention in the late 1980's due to the plant's antiviral activity against Hepatitis B. Preliminary clinical trials on children with infective hepatitis showed promising results on that regard. 
Numerous studies aimed at demonstrating the efficiency of the antiviral activity of this species have been conducted in the last decade.
The most recent research on Chanca Piedra reveals that its antiviral activity extends to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A Japanese research group discovered HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition properties in 1992 with a simple water extract of the plant. Therefore, it is necessary to deepen the research on this species to be able to determine its true medicinal potential. 

Therapeutic indications: 
Therapeutic action has been acknowledged in the following pathologies: asthma, pimples and blackheads, dermatosis, eczemas, gangrene, icterus, malaria, allergic rhinitis, shigellosis, urticaria, biliary reflux, dysentery, excoriations, hydropsy, lithiasis, nephritis, salmonellosis, syphilis, ulcers, urethral secretion, amenorrhea, cancer, diabetes, whitish discharge, hemorrhages, uterine colic, pruritus, scabies, vesical tenesmus, torpid ulcers, skin diseases, urogenital infection, stomach inflammation, malarial fevers, urinary tract calculi, renal disorders, mouth and throat infections, venereal diseases, biliary calculi and hepatic diseases. 

Pharmacological information:
Clinical studies
Its beneficent effect for the liver and the results in the treatment of icterus have been proved in a clinical research by Dixit and Achar (1983) and by Syamasundar et al. (1985). This verification led to studies related to its possible action against hepatitis, especially against hepatitis B.
In 1982, a group of Indian scientists led by S.P. Thyagarajan proved in vitro that the extracts of this plant deactivate the surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus. This finding was verified by Venkateswaran et al. at the Chase Cancer Center of Philadelphia, who made experiments with the marmot's hepatitis virus, because its biological behavior is very similar to human hepatitis B.
Since last century, scholars of different countries have emphasized its beneficent action as diuretic; in 1941 Van Der Woerd conducted controlled tests and had a positive results on such regard.
Its traditional use in the treatment of diabetes has been confirmed by the experimental works by Ramakrishnan et al. (1982), who used water extracts of the plant orally. They verified a clear hypoglycemic activity in rabbits.
Other studies report the following activities: hypocholesterolemic (Umarani et al. 1985), hypoglycemic (Hukeri et al. 1988), antiviral against the Woodchuk virus (Venkateswaran et al. 1987), DNA polimerase inhibition (Venkateswaran et al. 1987), aldose reductase inhibition (Shimuzu et al. 1989), ACE inhibitor (Veno et al. 1988), antimicrobial action against Pasteurella pestis and Staphyllococcus aureus (Collier & Van de Piji 1949). 

Toxicological information:
Acute toxicity
The water and alcoholic extracts of Phyllanthus niruri have low toxicity for mammals, but they are very toxic for fish and batrachian.
Mus musculus cepa Balb/c was used in the preliminary phase, distributed in three experimental groups and a control group, using lyophilized extract of Phyllanthus niruri L. complete plant at doses of 11,1607 g, 5,5804 g, 2,7911 g per kilogram BW. A 100% died after 24 hours in all the cases (Silva H. y col. 1997).
For the definitive phase 41 Mus musculus cepa Balb/c experimental animals were used, distributed in seveng groups, using lyophilized extract of Phyllantus niruri L. leaves with maximum doses of 2 g/kg and minimum doses of 0,5 g per kg BW. A 100% died after 48 hours with the maximum dose and a 33,33% died after 72 hours. a D.L. 50 of 0,6 g per kg was determined in Mus musculus cepa Balb/c after 72 hours.