What is Chanca Piedra
Chanca Piedra is indigenous to the Amazon rain forest and many tropical and subtropical areas of the world, It can also be found in China and India. The herb also grows wild in the Southern United States. Chanca piedra belong to the Phyllanthus genus, which contain about 600 species. One of the species Phyllanthus niruri was named chanca piedra, “stone breaker” by the native people of the Amazon..The herb was extremely effective in eliminating kidney and bladder stones hence the name. Other common names are creole senna, graine en bas fievre, hurricane weed, deye do, mapatan, Indian gooseberry, viernes santo, carry-me seed, bhui-amala just to name a few. The name of the herb varies by its location and sometimes by the particular species.
Health Benefits of Chanca Piedra
Historically this herb has been used by many people around the world. It has been used to treat many ailments including high blood pressure, pain, kidney support, liver protection and even against malaria. The native people of the Amazon have used chanca piedra to cleanse the kidneys and to eliminate kidney stones for generations. The active compounds in chanca piedra include ligands, terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, and steroids Some of the active compounds in this herb appear to relax the urinary tract and bladder thereby enabling the stones to be expelled. Chanca piedra appears to work for gallstones also. The herb is used as a liver tonic which stimulate the liver to produce more bile. More bile, prevent accumulation of sludge in the gall bladder decreasing formation of gallstones. In some parts of the world chanca piedra is used as a potent antiviral, among other uses.
Chanka Piedra Clinical Research
Chanca piedra has been the focus of a mountain of research mainly centered on its litholitic and antiviral use Notably is the study done in 1990 in Brazil where 30 females with calcium forming stones were given chanca piedra or a placebo for 3 months. After the trial, the patients who took the supplement was observed to have had far less calcium in their urine than before. There is a 1990 account of Dr. Wolfamn Wieman, from Nuremberg, Germany, who regularly used the chanca piedra herb he obtained from Peru in his practice and confirmed that in 100 cases chanca piedra had eliminated the kidney stones in 94% of the cases within a couple weeks. There was an animal study published in the British Journal of Urology International, June 2002. The study reported that the animals were given an extract of chanca piedra (phyllanthus) for 42 days. At th end of the study the scientists found that the kidney stones were either eliminated or dissolved in some of the treated animals. The research in the antiviral capability of chanca piedra is still on going on several fronts in Britain, India and China
Present Day use
Chanca piedra is still being used for kidney support in Europe, South America and China Its use vary from place to place. Some use it in addition to other methods to prevent the recurrence of kidney stones. Others use it as a diuretic to reduce fluid in the body. Do you think chanca piedra could be used as one of the home remedies for kidney stones? The reported side effects include low blood sugar, low blood pressure. There also some reports of interaction with Lithium. As always, those on medications should first check with their doctor before taking herbs or herbal supplements.
