The Kalmegh plant is known as one of the most (if the not the most) bitter plants on the planet.

It is commonly grown in India and Sri Lanka, and referred to as the king of all bitters.

Depending on which part of the country you are from, you may recognize it with another name like Bhuiniminba, Nilavembu, Maha-Tita or Andrographis Paniculata.

A brief history of Kalmegh

When first discovered, the paste of Kalmegh leaves was used as a remedy for snake bites.

The leaves have strong anti-venom properties that seem to neutralize toxins from snake poison.

With time, the applications of Kalmegh leaves grew. Our ancestors realized it had

• A near miraculous effect on fever, because Kalmegh could bring down body temperature in days
• Drastically restore liver profile, especially for those who have damaged the liver due to excess alcohol consumption
• Seriously support the immune system by warding off viral and parasitic diseases like Malaria and Chikunguniya
• Boost gut health by helping clear the gut of maladies like intestinal worms, and poor digestion

Kalmegh uses in modern day India

With time, the plant became even more mainstream.

As recently as 2017, the government of Tamil Nadu distributed 500,000 doses of Kalmegh to control the Dengue pandemic.

They believed it was more effective and less expensive than a pharmacological intervention.

Then, as recently as 2020, the ex-head of the Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board and senior IFS officer Dr. R.G. Soni came out in the press declaring that a Kalmegh quath may be a very effective first-line defense against COVID-19.

Then the Rajasthan government decided to include Kalmegh into the ghar ghar aushadhi yogana program, an intitative to distribute only 4 plants to all 5 crore households in Rajasthan.

The senior office Mr. Deep Pandey says that the government evaluated more than 900 species and 2.4 million research papers before selecting the Kalmegh plant.

Today, India exports close to 10,000 tons of Kalmegh annually.

That’s like exporting nearly 250 adult male elephants …

… every year.

What does research say?

Kalmegh x blood Sugar

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You can view the research 👇

👉 Hypoglycemic Activity of Andrographis paniculata Nees. and Lagerstroemia speciosa L. Herbal Tea Combination

👉 Blood Glucose Reduction by Combination of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Ness Herbs and Azadirachta indica A. Juss Leaves in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

👉Blood glucose reduction of combination of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f) Ness and Morinda citrifolia L. ethanolic extract in neonatal streptozotocin-induced Type 2 diabetes mellitus rats

👉 Antihyperglycemic Effect of Andrographolide in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

👉 Hypoglycemic Effect of a Combined Andrographis paniculata and Caesalpinia sappan Extract in Streptozocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Kalmegh x blood pressure

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👉 Antihypertensive activity of ethanolic extract of Andrographis paniculata herbs in wistar rats with a non-invasive method

👉 Chronic Effects of Andrographis paniculata Chloroform Extract in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Kalmegh x gut health

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👉 Gut Microbiota Mediates the Protective Effects of Andrographolide Inhibits Inflammation and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease(NAFLD) in High-Fat Diet induced ApoE(-/-) Mice

👉 Andrographolide Exerts Antihyperglycemic Effect through Strengthening Intestinal Barrier Function and Increasing Microbial Composition of Akkermansia muciniphila

Kalmegh x cholesterol

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👉 Lipid Lowering potential of Andrographis paniculata (Nees)

👉 Effect of Andrographolide and Ethanol Extract of Andrographis paniculata on Liver Glycolytic, Gluconeogenic, and Lipogenic Enzymes in a Type 2 Diabetic Rat Model

👉Andrographolide protects against endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory response in rats with coronary heart disease by regulating PPAR and NF-κB signaling pathways

Kalmegh x lungs

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👉 Andrographolide protects against cigarette smoke-induced oxidative lung injury via augmentation of Nrf2 activity

👉 Andrographolide Against Lung Cancer-New Pharmacological Insights Based on High-Throughput Metabolomics Analysis Combined with Network Pharmacology

👉 Andrographolide protects against LPS-induced lung injury by inactivation of NG-kB

Kalmegh x liver

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👉 Clinical Evaluation of Hepatoprotective Effects of Kalmegh in Patients of Acute Viral Hepatitis

👉 Effect of Andrographolide and Ethanol Extract of Andrographis paniculata on Liver Glycolytic, Gluconeogenic, and Lipogenic Enzymes in a Type 2 Diabetic Rat Model

👉 Andrographis paniculata Leaf Extract Prevents Thioacetamide-Induced Liver Cirrhosis in Rats

👉 Potency of Andrographolide as an Antitumor Compound in BHC-Induced Liver Damage

👉 Andrographolide induces autophagic cell death in human liver cancer cells through cyclophilin D-mediated mitochondrial permeability transition pore

Kalmegh x kidneys

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👉 Renoprotective effects of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees in rats

👉 Andrographolide sensitizes human renal carcinoma cells to TRAIL‑induced apoptosis through upregulation of death receptor 4

👉 Protective effects of Andrographis paniculata leaf extract on liver and renal damage and hypoglycemia during Plasmodium berghei infection

Kalmegh x auto-immune conditions

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👉 Andrographolide Ameliorate Rheumatoid Arthritis by Promoting the Development of Regulatory T Cells

👉 Andrographolide alleviates imiquimod-induced psoriasis in mice via inducing autophagic proteolysis of MyD88

👉 Andrographolide presents therapeutic effect on ulcerative colitis through the inhibition of IL-23/IL-17 axis

👉 Andrographolide suppresses thymic stromal lymphopoietin in phorbol myristate acetate/ calcium ionophore A23187-activated mast cells and 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene-induced atopic dermatitis-like mice model

👉 Andrographolide Attenuates Gut-Brain-Axis Associated Pathology in GulfWar Illness by Modulating Bacteriome-Virome Associated Inflammation and Microglia-Neuron Proinflammatory Crosstalk

👉 Effects of Dietary Andrographolide Levels on Growth Performance, Antioxidant Capacity, Intestinal Immune Function and Microbioma of Rice Field Eel (Monopterus Albus)