Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees

Systematic position Division: Angiosperms Class: Dicotyledonae Subclass: Gamopetalae Series: Bicarpellatae Order: Personales Tribe: Justicieae Family: Acanthaceae Genus: Andrographis   Lineage( full ): Source Entrez, Taxonomy browser cellular organisms; Eukaryota; Viridiplantae; Streptophyta; Streptophytina; Embryophyta; Tracheophyta; Euphyllophyta; Spermatophyta; Magnoliophyta; eudicotyledons; core eudicotyledons; asterids; lamiids; Lamiales; Acanthaceae; Acanthoideae; Ruellieae; Andrographinae; Andrographis Published in: Plantae Asiaticae Rariores 3: 116. 1832. {Pl. Asiat. Rar. } Basionym: Justicia paniculata Burm. f. Flora Indica . . . nec non Prodromus Florae Capensis 9. 1768.   Andrographis paniculata Nees (Acanthaceae), the Kalmegh of Ayurveda is an erect annual herb extremely bitter in taste in each and every part of the plant body. The plant is known in north-eastern India as ‘Maha-titaÂ’, literally ‘king of bittersÂ’ and known by various vernacular names (Table below). It is also known as ‘Bhui-neemÂ’, since the plant, though much smaller in size, shows similar appearance and has bitter taste as that of Neem (Azadirachta indica). Incidentally, the genus Andrographis consists of 28 species of small annual shrubs essentially distributed in tropical Asia. Only a few species are medicinal, of which A. paniculata is the most popular.    List of vernacular names of A. paniculata Nees Language Name Language Name Arab Quasabhuva Marathi Oli-kiryata Bengali Kalmegh Oriya Bhuinimba English The Creat Persian Naine-havandi Gujarathi Kariyatu Sanskrit Kalmegha, Bhunimba Hindi Kirayat Tamil Nilavembu Kannada Nelaberu Telugu Nilavembu Malayalam Nelavepu, Kiriyattu      See also: http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Andrographis.htm   It grows erect to a height of 30-110 cm in moist shady places with glabrous leaves and white flowers with rose-purple spots on the petals. Stem dark green, 0.3 - 1.0 m in height, 2 - 6 mm in diameter, quadrangular with longitudinal furrows and wings on the angles of the younger parts, slightly enlarged at the nodes; leaves glabrous, up to 8.0 cm long and 2.5 cm broad, lanceolate, pinnate; flowers small, in lax spreading axillary and terminal racemes or panicles; capsules linear-oblong, acute at both ends, 1.9 cm x 0.3 cm; seeds numerous, sub quadrate, yellowish brown. Since ancient times, A. paniculata is used as a wonder drug in traditional Siddha and Ayurvedic systems of medicine as well as in tribal medicine in India and some other countries for multiple clinical applications. The therapeutic value of Kalmegh is due to its mechanism of action which is perhaps by enzyme induction. The plant extract exhibits antityphoid and antifungal activities. Kalmegh is also reported to possess antihepatotoxic, antibiotic, antimalarial, antihepatitic, antithrombogenic, antiinflammatory, antisnakevenom, and antipyretic properties to mention a few, besides its general use as an immunostimulant agent (see Pharmacology). A recent study conducted at Bastyr University, USA confirms anti-HIV activity of andrographolide. A. paniculata is distributed in tropical Asian countries often in isolated patches. It can be found in a variety of habitats viz. plains, hill slopes, waste lands, farms, dry or wet lands, sea shore and even road sides. Native populations of A. paniculata are spread throughout south India and Sri Lanka which perhaps represent the centre of origin and diversity of the species. The herb is also available in northern stations of India, Java, Malaysia, Indonesia, West Indies and elsewhere in Americas where it is probably introduced. The species is also available in Hong Kong, Penang, Malacca, Pangkor Island (south of Penang), Malaya, Thailand, West Java, Borneo, Celebes, Brunei, West Indies, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas etc. However, precise data are lacking on the introduction and naturalization of the species in these countries. Unlike other species of the genus, A. paniculata is of common occurrence in most of the places in our country including the plains and hilly areas up to 500 m, which accounts for its wide use. Since time immemorial, village and ethnic communities in India have been using this herb for treating a variety of ailments (see Pharmacology). Andrographolide, chief constituent extracted from the leaves of the plant, is a bitter water-soluble lactone exhibiting protective effects in carbon tetrachloride induced hepatopathy in rats. Its LD50 in male mice was 11.46gm/kg, ip. This bitter principle was isolated in pure form by Gorter (1911). Andrographolide is also attributed with such other activities like liver protection under various experimental conditions of treatment with galactosamine, paracetamol etc. The hepatoprotective action of andrographolide is related to activity of certain metabolic enzymes. Cytology IPCN chromosome reports for Andrographis paniculata - Missouri Botanical Garden - TROPICOS [gam] gametophytic count, [spor] sporophytic count, [IPCN] IPCN volume, [ref] Reference to count. Mark a line then submit to view count reference. A field with {---} indicates no data encoded. A count line preceeded by an * indicates additional notes, see original IPCN entry. Author(s): Saggoo, M. I. Date: 1983 Title: Cytomorphological studies on plants of economic importance of Bicarpellatae from India Publication: NONE LISTED Collation: 259 pp. Chromosome No. n=25 Author(s): Govindarajan, T. & D. Subramanian. Date: 1983  Title: Karyomorphological studies in south Indian Acanthaceae. Publication: Cytologia Collation: 48: 491--504. Chromosome No. 2n=50 Author(s): Roy, S. K. & P. C. Datta Date: 1988 Title: Chromosomal biotypes of Andrographis paniculata in India and Bangladesh Publication: Cytologia Collation: 53: 369--378 Chromosome No. 2n=50 Author(s): Saggoo, M. I. & S. S. Bir Date: 1986 Title: Meiotic studies in certain members of family Acanthaceae from south India Publication: Journal of the Indian Botanical Society Collation: 65: 310--315 Chromosome No. n=25 Author(s): Cheng, Y.-c., B.-k. Liu, Z.-s. Jiang & Y.-c. Duan Date: 1991 Title: Observations of chromosome numbers of several medical plants Publication: J. Hunan Agric. Coll.? Collation: 11(2): 166-170 Chromosome No. 2n=50 Distribution Andrographis paniculata is distributed in tropical Asian countries often in isolated patches. It can be found in a variety of habitats viz. plains, hill slopes, waste lands, farms, dry or wet lands, sea shore and even road sides. Native populations of A. paniculata are spread throughout south India and Sri Lanka which perhaps represent the centre of origin and diversity of the species MoreÂ… Cultivation It prefers a sunny situation. The seeds are sown during May-June. The seedlings are transplanted at a distance of 60 cm x 30 cm. MoreÂ… Pharmacology Andrographis paniculata plant extract is known to possess a variety of pharmacological activities. Andrographolide, the major constituent of the extract is implicated towards its pharmacological activity. A study has been conducted on the cellular processes and targets modulated by andrographolide treatment in human cancer and immune cells. Andrographolide treatment inhibited the in vitro proliferation of different tumor cell lines, representing various types of cancers. The compound exerts direct anticancer activity on cancer cells by cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase through induction of cell cycle inhibitory protein p27 and decreased expression of cyclin dependent kinase 4 (CDK4). Immunostimulatory activity of andrographolide is evidenced by increased proliferation of lymphocytes and production of interleukin 2. Andrographolide also enhanced the tumor necrosis factor α production and CD marker expression, resulting in increased cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes against cancer cells, which may contribute for its indirect anticancer activity. The in vivo anticancer activity of the compound is further substantiated against B16F0 melanoma syngenic and HT 29 xenograft models. These results suggest that andrographolide is an interesting pharmacophore with anticancer and immunomodulatory activities and hence has the potential for being developed as a cancer therapeutic agent. Abstract or Full Paper   The herb is the well-known drug Kalmegh 'green chiretta', and forms the principal ingredient of a reputed household medicine ('alui'), used as a bitter tonic and febrifuge. MoreÂ…. Phytochemistry Andrographolide is the major constituent extracted from the leaves of the plant which is a bicyclic diterpenoid lactone. This bitter principle was isolated in pure form by Gorter (1911). Andrographolide is also attributed with such other activities like liver protection under various experimental conditions of treatment with galactosamine (Saraswat et al, 1995), paracetamol (Visen et al, 1993) etc. The hepatoprotective action of andrographolide is related to activity of certain metabolic enzymes (Choudhury and Poddar, 1984, 1985; Choudhury et al, 1987). Systematic studies on chemistry of A. paniculata had been carried out by various researches during various times. DetailsÂ… Andrographolide structure: View Andrographis photos   References Gorter, M.K. 1911. The bitter constituent of Andrographis paniculata Nees. Rec Trav Chim 30: 151- 160. Saraswat, B., P.K.S. Visan, G.K. Patnai and B.N. Dhawan. 1995. Effect of andrographolide against galactosamine induced hepatotoxicity. Fitoterapia 66: 415-420. Visen, P.K.S., B. Shukla, G.K. Patnaik and B.N. Dhawan. 1993. Andrographolide protects rat hepatocytes against paracetamol-induced damage. J Ethnopharmacol 40: 131-136. Choudhury, B.R and M.K. Poddar. 1985. Andrographolide and Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) extract: effect on intestinal brush-border membrane bound hydrolases. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 7: 617-621 Choudhury, R.B and M.K. Poddar. 1984. Andrographolide and Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) extract: in vivo and in vitro effect on hepatic lipid peroxidation. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 6: 481. Choudhury, R.B, S.J. Haque and M.K. Poddar. 1987. In vitro and in vivo effects of kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata) extract and andrographolide on hepatic microsomal drug metabolising enzymes. Planta Medica 53: 135-140.