Andrographis

Andrographis paniculata

Family: Acanthaceae Part used: Leaves and aerial parts

Key Compounds

• Andrographolide
• Neoandrographolide
• 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide
• Andrographiside
• Andrograpanin
• Bisandrographolide A
• Apigenin
• Quercetin

Traditional Use

• Ayurvedic medicine — used for millennia for fever, liver support, and infections; known as *Kalmegh* ('dark cloud herb')
• 1918 influenza response — reportedly used in India and Southeast Asia during the pandemic; anecdotal accounts of efficacy
• Scandinavian cold remedy — Swedish Herbal Institute developed Kan Jang formula combining andrographis with eleuthero; became major OTC product
• Thai traditional medicine — *Fah Talai Jone* ('diluting heart fire') used as primary fever and infection treatment
• Modern clinical research — RCT evidence for reducing cold duration and severity; antiviral, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective

The plant is called “King of Bitters” in Ayurvedic medicine, and this is not a polite exaggeration.

Andrographolide, the primary active compound, is perceptible as bitter at concentrations below one part per million. A small piece of dried andrographis leaf produces an immediate, intense bitterness that persists for several minutes. The taste leaves an impression. This is why virtually all commercial andrographis preparations are sold as tablets or capsules. Traditional herbalists used it anyway, in tea form, which required either necessity or conviction. In traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda), Thai medicine, and Chinese herbal practice, it was used primarily for fever and infection — conditions severe enough to make the bitterness acceptable.

The bitterness signals the medicinal compounds. Both facts come from the same molecule.

Meet the plant

An annual or short-lived perennial herb, 50–100 cm tall. The leaves are lance-shaped, dark green, glossy, and they are the source of the bitterness. The flowers are small, white to pale purple, with red streaking inside — inconspicuous next to the intensely flavoured foliage. The whole aerial part is used medicinally.

It grows in tropical and subtropical climates with reliable rainfall. Native to South Asia, now cultivated widely across India, Southeast Asia, and China. In traditional pharmacies across South and Southeast Asia, dried andrographis is as common as dried ginger.

The 1918 question

During the 1918 influenza pandemic, andrographis was reportedly used extensively in India and Southeast Asia. Some accounts from the period describe reduced mortality in communities where it was used. These accounts come from physicians, colonial health records, and traditional medicine practitioners. They cannot be verified as clinical evidence — there were no controlled trials during the 1918 outbreak, and conditions that would allow any intervention to appear effective (or ineffective) were present.

What can be said is that the compounds in andrographis show antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity in modern studies. Whether those properties were active against the 1918 H1N1 strain at doses available through traditional preparations is a question modern research cannot answer retrospectively.

The 1918 accounts are historical evidence that the plant was used and valued, not clinical evidence that it worked. The distinction matters.

The Swedish chapter

Modern andrographis research owes a significant debt to the Swedish Herbal Institute.

In the 1980s and 90s, Swedish researchers developed Kan Jang — a standardised combination of andrographis (standardised for andrographolide content) and eleuthero root extract. They ran a series of randomised controlled trials on the formula for cold and flu symptoms, using rigorously controlled study designs. The results showed real, measurable reductions in cold symptom severity and duration.

These trials moved andrographis from anecdote to clinical evidence. Kan Jang became one of Europe’s best-selling herbal cold remedies. The research programme created the published evidence base that subsequent researchers and formulators built on. The clinical story of andrographis is partly a South Asian traditional medicine story, and partly a Scandinavian pharmaceutical research story. Both matter.

The chemistry

Andrographolide is the lead compound and the one most studied. Its mechanism is unusually clean for a herbal compound: it inhibits NF-κB activation.

NF-κB (Nuclear Factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) is a transcription factor that sits at the centre of inflammatory and immune signalling. It activates genes for pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-alpha and interleukins, antiviral immune responses, and cell proliferation. Andrographolide inhibits NF-κB activation. This explains multiple downstream effects through a single mechanism: anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and immune-modulating activity all emerge from the same inhibition.

The implication is that andrographolide is not treating symptoms. It is reducing the upstream signalling that produces them.

Neoandrographolide and 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide contribute additional activity and are present in the standardised extract. Both are diterpenoid lactones in the same compound class.

What people actually do with it

At first sign of a cold: 400–600 mg standardised extract (30% andrographolide), 3–4 times daily for 5–7 days. The clinical trials showing cold duration reduction used this protocol. It works better started early — day 1 or 2 of symptoms — than started after the cold is established.

Prevention (autumn/winter): 200–400 mg daily during high-risk periods. Whether this reduces cold incidence rather than just severity is less well established than the acute data.

Capsules or tablets: the practical form. The bitterness makes loose powder or tea impractical for most people.

Traditional tea (for those committed): 1–2 teaspoons dried aerial parts in hot water, 10 minutes. Intensely bitter. Drink quickly.

Tincture: 2–4 mL, 3 times daily. The alcohol extraction preserves andrographolide. Some people find the tincture more tolerable than tea because the dose is smaller and quicker to consume.

Could you grow this yourself?

Technically yes, practically only in Japan’s warmest regions.

Andrographis is a tropical annual that needs consistently warm temperatures (above 20°C) and reliable moisture. It does not tolerate frost. In Okinawa and the subtropical parts of Kyushu, it can be grown as a summer annual and harvested before the first cool period. In central Honshu and further north, it can be grown in containers during summer with protection, or as a greenhouse plant.

The harvest timing: aerial parts are cut just before or during flowering, when andrographolide content is highest. Dry at low temperatures (below 40°C) to preserve the compounds. The dried plant stores well.

It is not a casual garden herb in Japanese conditions. For most of Japan, the practical answer is to buy the standardised extract.

Andrographis (アンドログラフィス) in Japan

Andrographis does not have the same deep Japanese cultural history as Chinese or Japanese-origin medicinal plants. The connection runs through three channels.

The first is the Chinese herbal tradition. 穿心蓮 (Chinese: chuanxinlian, Japanese: sensinren) is a recognised Chinese herb for heat-clearing and detoxification — the classical application for infection and inflammatory conditions. Some Japanese TCM practitioners and Chinese herbal pharmacies carry it.

The second is the Ayurvedic supplement market. Japanese consumers’ interest in Ayurvedic herbs expanded through the 2010s, and andrographis appeared as part of this broader adoption. Supplement retailers import standardised andrographis extract from Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The third, recent, is the immune supplement category that expanded significantly through the 2020s. Andrographis became more widely known as a cold and immune supplement during this period, with Japanese products increasingly including it in immune support formulations.

The plant is not a traditional Japanese medicinal herb. It is available and increasingly used. It does not have a traditional Japanese name.

Things you’re probably wondering

How bitter is andrographis? Extremely — andrographolide is perceptible as bitter at below 1 part per million. A small piece of dried leaf produces intense bitterness lasting several minutes. This is the same compound responsible for the medicinal activity. The bitterness is a quality marker, not a flaw.

What happened in 1918 and what is the evidence? Accounts describe widespread use in India during the influenza pandemic with claimed effectiveness. The evidence is historical and anecdotal — no controlled trials exist from that period. Modern research confirms the compounds have antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity, but whether they were effective against 1918 H1N1 cannot be determined retrospectively.

What is Kan Jang? A standardised andrographis and eleuthero combination product developed by the Swedish Herbal Institute. Multiple RCTs showed it reduced cold duration and severity. It became one of Europe’s best-selling cold remedies and provided the clinical evidence base for modern andrographis use.

How does andrographolide work? It inhibits NF-κB, a transcription factor central to inflammatory and immune signalling. This single mechanism produces anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and immune-modulating effects downstream. One compound. One target. Multiple effects.

Where can you find it in Japan? Standardised extract capsules at supplement retailers and online, often labelled 穿心蓮 or センシンレン. Not a traditional kampo ingredient and not in most pharmacy herbal preparations.

Botanical details

The full compound list

See Also

• Echinacea — the Western equivalent for cold/immune support; overlapping applications
• Eleuthero — partner compound in the Kan Jang formula; Soviet adaptogen tradition
• Turmeric — similar NF-κB inhibition mechanism through curcumin

References

• Saxena, R.C. et al. (2010). A randomised double blind placebo controlled clinical evaluation of extract of Andrographis paniculata in patients with uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection. Phytomedicine, 17(3–4), 178–185.
• Coon, J.T. & Ernst, E. (2004). Andrographis paniculata in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections. Planta Medica, 70(4), 293–298.
• Burgos, R.A. et al. (2009). Andrographolide and related diterpenes: a new family of anti-inflammatory natural products. International Immunopharmacology, 9(12), 1482–1486.
• Jayakumar, T. et al. (2013). Experimental and clinical pharmacology of Andrographis paniculata and its major bioactive phytoconstituent andrographolide. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, 846740.