Chanca piedra

Phyllanthus niruri

Also: Stonebreaker, Quebra pedra, Seed-under-leaf

CoolingDryingRelaxing

The stonebreaker of the American tropics, for kidney stones and gravel.

A small, delicate annual of tropical roadsides and gardens with feathery rows of tiny leaflets; its little green flowers and round seed capsules dangle in a line beneath them. Chanca piedra relaxes the urinary tract, increases the flow of urine, and helps keep stones from forming and growing.

Energetics: Cooling, drying, relaxing
Taste: Bitter
Family: Phyllanthaceae (leaf-flower family)
Parts used: Whole plant

Medicinal uses 4

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Traditional useLab and mechanism studiesClinical studies

Kidney stones & gravelTLC
Helps small stones pass and keeps new ones from forming; in one study, a daily tea for twelve weeks reduced stones in two of every three patients.
Joint pain & arthritisTLC
Lowered uric acid in animal studies, the basis for its use in gout.
Blood sugar balanceTLC
Brought down glucose in animal research, echoing its traditional use for diabetes.
Sluggish liver & digestionTLC
A bitter liver herb across the tropics, studied for protecting the liver.

Preparations

Whole-herb tea and capsules, in courses of up to twelve weeks.

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Cautions

Stomach pain is the most common side effect.
It may lower blood pressure and blood sugar; watch your readings if you take medicine for either.
A passing stone with severe pain, fever, or blood in the urine needs medical care.

Medication interactions

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Pregnancy & breastfeeding

PregnancyAvoid

Chanca piedra has a traditional reputation for bringing on menstruation and has not been studied in pregnancy, so it waits until after birth.

BreastfeedingAsk your practitioner

It has not been studied in nursing; check with your practitioner first.

Folklore

Chanca piedra is Spanish for stonebreaker, and Brazilians call it quebra pedra, with the same meaning. Phyllanthus means leaf-flower, because the tiny flowers seem to hang straight from the undersides of the leaves. Like many of its relatives, it folds its leaflets shut at night and opens them again at dawn.

How to grow

A frost-tender annual for warm, moist, sunny ground; in hot climates it self-sows freely into gardens and pavement cracks. Harvest the whole plant once it begins to fruit.

In the wild

Native to the American tropics and now a weed of warm regions worldwide, from the Amazon and the Caribbean to India and Southeast Asia, where the close relative P. amarus is used the same way.

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