As aboriginal sources of medications, medicinal plants are used from the ancient times.
Medicinal plant is an integral part of human life to combat the sufferings from the dawn of civilization [
Since the AP is used for the treatment of many diseases in traditional medicinal systems, its intended benefits need to be evaluated critically. Therefore, this paper reviews the ethnobotany, some agronomic techniques, isolation and characterization of phytoconstituents, and pharmacological properties of AP. Additionally, chemical properties, biological functions, and possible mode of actions of phytoconstituents are also entertained. The literature searches were conducted in worldwide accepted scientific database PubMed (
The morphology and physiology of
Traits | Values/characteristics |
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Plant height | 30–110 cm |
Stem | Dark green |
Length | 30–100 cm |
Diameter | 2–6 mm |
Shape | Quadrangular with longitudinal furrows and wings on the angles of the young parts, slightly enlarged at the nodes |
Leaves | Glabrous |
Length | 2–12 cm |
Width | 1–3 cm |
Arrangement | Lanceolate |
Shape | Pinnate, acute apex, entire margin |
Flowers | White with rose-purple spots on the petals |
Size | Small, in lax spreading axillary and terminal racemes or panicles |
Seed | Capsules linear-oblong, acute at both ends |
Size | 1.9 cm × 0.3 cm |
Color | Yellowish brown |
Shape | Subquadrate, numerous |
Flowering and fruiting | December to April |
Morphology of
Taxonomic hierarchy is as follows: Domain: Eukaryota, Kingdom: Plantae, Subkingdom: Tracheobionta, Superdivision: Spermatophyta, Division: Angiosperma, Class: Dicotyledonae, Subclass: Gamopetalae, Series: Bicarpellatae, Order: Personales, Family: Acanthaceae, Subfamily: Acanthoideae, Tribe: Justiciae, Subtribe: Andrographideae, Genus: Species:
Generally, the tree is known as “King of Bitters” for its extremely bitter taste. In Malaysia, AP is traditionally known as “hempedu bumi” (bile of the earth). This plant has different names in different languages. The vernacular names of AP are presented in Table
The vernacular names of
Language | Name |
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Arabic | Quasabhuva |
Assamese | Chiorta, Kalmegh |
Azerbaijani | Acılar Şahı, Acılar Xanı (khanı) |
Bengali | Kalmegh |
Burmese | Se-ga-gyi |
Chinese | Chuan Xin Lian |
English | The Creat, King of Bitters |
French | Chirette verte, Roi des amers |
Gujarati | Kariyatu |
Hindi | Kirayat, Kalpanath, |
Indonesian | Sambiroto, Sambiloto |
Japanese | Senshinren |
Kannada | Nelaberu |
Konkani | Vhadlem Kiratyem |
Lao | La-Sa-Bee |
Malay | Hempedu Bumi, Sambiloto |
Malayalam | Nelavepu, Kiriyattu |
Manipuri | Vubati |
Marathi | Oli-kiryata, Kalpa |
Mizo | Hnakhapui |
Oriya | Bhuinimba |
Panjabi | Chooraita |
Persian | Nain-e Havandi |
Philippines | Aluy, Lekha and Sinta |
Russian | Andrografis |
Sanskrit | Kalmegha, Bhunimba and Yavatikta |
Scandinavian | Green Chiratta |
Sinhalese | Hīn Kohomba or Heen Kohomba |
Spanish | Andrografis |
Tamil | Nilavembu |
Telugu | Nilavembu |
Thai | Fa-Talai-Jorn, Fah-talai-jon (jone) |
Turkish | Acılar Kralı, Acı Paşa, Acı Bey |
Urdu | Kalmegh, Kariyat, Mahatita |
Vietnamese | Xuyên Tâm Liên |
Plants conventionally grow via seed culture. Planting and harvesting time has influenced the yield of plant [
Ethnobotanically, the leaves and roots of AP have been used since centuries in Asia and Europe to cure the wide spectrum of health ailments. However, the whole plant is also used for certain limited purposes. Due to its “cold property” activity, it is recommended to be used to get rid of the body heat in fevers and to dispel toxins from the body. The plants are also recommended for the use in cases of leprosy, gonorrhea, scabies, boils, skin eruptions, and chronic and seasonal fever for its high “blood purifying” properties [
The ethnobotanical uses of
Country/TMS* | Traditional uses | Reference |
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Ayurvedic | Fever, liver diseases, torpid liver, vitiligo | [ |
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Japan | Fever, common cold | [ |
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Malaysia | Diabetes, hypertension | [ |
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Scandinavian | Fever, common cold | [ |
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Traditional Bangladeshi medicine | Acute diarrhea, anorexia, bloating with burning sensations in the chest, blood purifier, common cold, constipation, cough, debility, diabetes, dysentery, edema, emesis, fever, headache, helminthiasis, indigestion, intestinal worms, leucorrhea, liver disorders, loss of appetite, low sperm count, lower urinary tract infections, lung infections, malaria, mucus, pharyngotonsillitis, sexual and skin disorders, splenomegaly, uncomplicated sinusitis, vertigo | [ |
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Traditional Chinese medicine | Inflammation, fever, burn, carbuncle, cervical erosion, chicken pox, common cold, cough with thick sputum, detoxicant, detumescent, diarrhea dispel toxins of the body, dysentery, eczema, epidemic encephalitis B, fever, hepatitis, herpes zoster, laryngitis, mumps, neonatal subcutaneous annular ulcer, neurodermatitis, pelvic inflammation, pharyngitis, pharyngolaryngitis, pneumonia, respiratory infections, snake bites, sores, suppurative otitis media, tonsillitis, vaginitis | [ |
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Traditional Indian medicine | Diabetes, dysentery, enteritis, helminthiasis, herpes, peptic ulcer, skin infections (topical use), snake-bites (topical use) | [ |
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Traditional Thai medicine | Fever, common cold, noninfectious diarrhea | [ |
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Unani system of medicine | Anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, aperient, astringent, boils, carminative, chronic and seasonal fevers, convalescence after fevers, diuretic, dysentery, dyspepsia associated with gaseous distension, emmenagogue, emollient, gastric and liver tonic, general debility, gonorrhea, irregular bowel habits, leprosy, loss of appetite, relieve griping, scabies, skin eruptions | [ |
The aerial parts of AP have been described for its innumerous use in the extraction of phytoconstituents; however, leaves, stems, roots, and whole plants have also been reported for phytochemicals with pharmacological activities. The compositions of phytochemicals widely differ in terms of the part used, geography, season, and time of harvesting. M. Sharma and R. Sharma [
Extraction of pure compounds of
Zhang et al. [
Preclinical pharmacology of isolated phytoconstituents of
Compound 3D/2D, chemical properties/IUPAC name/part used/extracts/pharmacology | ||
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Chemical properties: C20H30O5 |
Chemical properties: C26H40O8 |
Chemical properties: C19H28O5 |
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Chemical properties: C20H28O4 |
Chemical properties: C19H28O5 |
Chemical properties: C27H42O10 |
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Chemical properties: C20H30O3 |
Chemical properties: C20H28O5 |
Chemical properties: C20H30O5 |
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Chemical properties: C21H30O5 |
Chemical properties: C20H34O3 |
Chemical properties: C26H40O9 |
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Chemical properties: C20H30O5 |
Chemical properties: C20H30O3 |
Chemical properties: C28H44O8 |
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Chemical properties: C20H24O2 |
Chemical properties: C20H28O4 |
Chemical properties: C26H40O9 |
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Chemical properties: C26H40O10 |
Chemical properties: C20H32O5 |
Chemical properties: C20H32O5 |
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Chemical properties: C19H28O7 |
Chemical properties: C40H56O8 |
Chemical properties: C21H28O3 |
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Chemical properties: C19H28O6 |
Chemical properties: C31H48O12 |
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Flavonoids | ||
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Chemical properties: C15H10O4 |
Chemical properties: C17H14O5 |
Chemical properties: C17H16O5 |
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Chemical properties: C23H25O11 |
Chemical properties: C17H16O5 |
Chemical properties: C18H16O6 |
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Chemical properties: NA |
Chemical properties: NA |
Chemical properties: C23H26O10 |
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Chemical properties: C23H24O10 |
Chemical properties: C15H10O6 |
Chemical properties: — |
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Chemical properties: — |
Chemical properties: — |
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Xanthones | ||
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Chemical properties: C15H12O6 |
Chemical properties: C15H12O6 |
Chemical properties: C16H14O6 |
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Xanthones | Quinic acids | |
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Chemical properties: C15H12O6 |
Chemical properties: C26H26O12 |
L: leaves, AeP: aerial parts, WP: whole plants, R: roots, M: methanol, E: ethanol, H: hexane, A: acetone, AW: acetone water, PtE: petroleum ether, CHCl3: chloroform, DCM: dichloromethane, Mol. Wt.: molecular weight.
Extensive use of AP in traditional medicinal system has proven its efficacy over the past three decades. Several researches including
The anti-inflammatory activity of AP and its bioactive compounds (such as andrographolide and neoandrographolide) has been reported individually by many investigators [
Oral administration of andrographolide at a dose of 300 mg/kg daily had shown significant analgesic activity on acetic-induced writhing in mice and on the Randall-Selitto test in rats, but there was no effect on the hot plate test in mice [
Besides the AP and andrographolide, andrographolide derivatives (e.g., CHP1002 and andrographolide
Inhibitions of
Andrographolide at a dose of 50 mg/kg effectively decreased blood glucose level, stimulated GLUT4 translocation [
Besides controlling blood glucose level, andrographolide also effectively prevented the onset of insulitis in a dose dependent manner and thus delayed the onset and suppressed the development of diabetes in 30-week-old NOD mice. Andrographolide also regulates the Th1/Th2/Th17 homeostasis through which it may prevent
Modern research has investigated the causes of extensive uses of AP in traditional healing systems as an antimicrobial agent to treat a variety of health morbidities of infectious origin. Leelarasamee et al. [
The antibacterial activity of three different extracts (dichloromethane, methanol, and aqueous) of AP whole plant was evaluated by Sule et al. [
Researchers investigated significant antiviral activity of AP besides other pharmacological activities in last two decades. Although they reported antiviral activity against limited viruses, such as dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1) [
Several bioactive compounds such as andrographolide, neoandrographolide, dehydroandrographolide, natural derivatives of andrographolide, namely, 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide and 14-deoxyandrographolide, and synthetic derivatives, namely, dehydroandrographolide succinic acid monoester (DAMS), 14-
Antiparasitic activity of the AP extract is reported in certain articles. Dua et al. [
The water extract of dried leaves was found to be active against adult worms of
Andrographolide exhibited both direct and indirect effects on cancer cells by inhibiting proliferation of cancer cells, cell-cycle arrests, or cell differentiation, enhancing body’s own immune system against cancer cells; and inducting apoptosis and necrosis of cancer cells [
Antiproliferative activities of andrographolide and isoandrographolide along with other 16
Andrographolide and its analogues exert direct inhibitory effect on cancer cells by inducing expression of cell cycle inhibitory proteins and depressing cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) resulting in blocking the cell cycle progression at G0/G1 [
Control of immune response by regulating nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), a transcription factor essential for cytokine production during T-cell activation, is a widely known strategy. Preventing translocation of NFAT to nucleus is the target of several immunosuppressive agents (e.g., cyclosporin A, FK506) [
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death throughout the world. AP is used widely for improving the cardiac health in traditional medicinal systems. Several studies have investigated its activities in cardiovascular diseases [
Aqueous extracts and active constituents of AP showed significant antihypertensive activity in both spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive Wister-Kyoto rats [
Hyperlipidemia is an important factor for atherosclerosis that leads to heart attack (obstruction occurs in the coronary arteries) and stroke (obstruction occurs in the arteries of the brain) [
AP and andrographolide showed earlier either contraceptive [
Generally, uses of AP as a medicine have been proved to be safe in various studies on mice, rats, and rabbits, as well as in
Due to AP’s extreme bitterness, it may cause emesis. Some adverse effects including allergic reaction, gastric instability, fatigue, headache, loss of appetite, lymphadenopathy, diarrhea, metallic taste, and nausea are also observed in overdosing of AP extracts [
Pharmacological activity of AP was investigated either using crude extracts or isolated bioactive compounds. Though the crude extract showed significant effects, isolation of bioactive compounds and investigation of pharmacology provide more specific knowledge especially about mechanism of actions of compounds. Conventional extraction processes (such as soxhlet extraction, maceration, and hydrodistillation) have been using by most of the researchers all over the world. However, selection of proper extraction methods is crucial for qualitative and quantitative studies of bioactive compounds derived from medicinal plant [
The reported pharmacology of bioactive compounds of AP is based on conventional extraction methods with few exceptions using different solvents, for example, methanol, ethanol, water, acetone, acetone-water, chloroform, and dichloromethane (Table
We mentioned earlier that tissue culture techniques have been applied successfully to form new flavones by differentiating callus culture. Jalal et al. [
Stress alters growth and development of plants. In our investigation, we found that salinity stress showed deleterious effects on morphophysiological parameters including colour, plant height, leaf area, and root length of AP. It also causes less production of AP [
The demand of AP is greatly increased in the past few years for its overwhelming therapeutic potentials. Available data on AP also clearly expresses a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties of this plant. Due to possessing extensive pharmacological activities, the AP can be safely regarded as one of the modern catholicons. However, the investigated pharmacological activities of AP need validation through the clinical study. Though several clinical studies were successfully completed without adverse effects or fatalities, most of them only investigated upper respiratory tract infections for a variety of conditions. Verification of the efficacy of other biological activities of AP including antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities, on human study subjects would bring a lot of benefits for the largest population of the globe. We assume that the AP could be useful as highly applied therapeutic agents for a variety of disorders in the near future to cure human diseases as well as some animal diseases. To fulfill this dream, the researchers might focus on multiplication of this plant to meet commercial demand besides the pharmacology study. Tissue culture techniques might be a good alternative to make AP available for researches (i.e., pharmacological study and phytochemical study to find new bioactive compounds) as well as conservation of this plant.
This study was not involved in any handling of animals or live species.
The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.
The authors would like to express their cordial thanks to Prof. Dr. Ahmed Jalal Khan Chowdhury from International Islamic University Malaysia, for his admirable inspiration. The authors’ appreciation is also extended to Br. Abdur Razzak and Br. Md. Al Amin for their assistance in providing useful papers for the review. The authors are also grateful to Mr. Mohammad Ibrahim Auli Ullah from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, for his critical proof reading of this paper.