Andrographis – The King of Bitter Herbs

There are many bitter tasting herbs used in herbal traditions around the world, but Andrographis is known as the “King of Bitters.”   Bitter tasting herbs often have a cleansing and temperature regulating effect as well as regulating circulation, benefiting the nervous system, and modulating the body’s inflammatory response.

A few years ago I visited a remote area in China where Andrographis is extensively cultivated.  After being stacked 6 bunks to a cabin in an overnight train ride from Beijing, we drove down dirt roads across vast fields where herb and food cultivation had been ongoing for many generations.  Impressive greenhouse operations had also been developed, where natural fertilizers and other improvements to growing techniques were being studied.

Left, that’s a younger me standing in front of a large field of cultivated Andrographis.
In today’s world of exposure to unnatural toxins found in air and water pollution as well as the food supply, we should be on the lookout for ways to better protect our bodies from these exposures.  Andrographis has shown in numerous studies to protect and maintain liver and kidney health.  This is great news since the liver and kidneys bear the greatest responsibility for filtering out and eliminating toxins in the blood.

Researchers around the world have been undertaking studies on certain plant chemicals found in Andrographis called andrographolides, with the hope of identifying a key active component that can be synthesized as a drug.  Andrographolides have shown to be beneficial in numerous studies; however, these attempts to isolate a single bioactive chemical are rarely successful, because many of the other chemical constituents of health-promoting plants are often crucial to the overall health benefits and safe use of the herb.

Rather than merely concentrating andrographolides, try to find a broad spectrum extract of Andrographis.  Andrographis supports both the respiratory and digestive systems when a good cleansing and fast-acting immune support are called for.  Andrographis is considered a very cold herb and is used in Chinese herbal traditions to benefit the immune system and respiratory health, regulate body temperature as well as rebalancing the inflammatory immune response.

If you are brave enough to want to experience the taste of the King of Bitters, try a small amount of the powder.  Or don’t, and get the benefits without subjecting your finicky taste buds to a very bitter flavor… by taking it in a capsule.