Phyllanthus Overview

Tropical plants in the genus Phyllanthus have a long history of use in Ayurvedic medicine ( the traditional medicine of India) for the treatment of hepatitis, kidney and bladder problems, intestinal parasites, and diabetes. The most studied species is Phyllanthus amarus.

P. amarushas undergone considerable evaluation as a as a treatment for chronic hepatitis B, and a bit of study for acute hepatitis. However, the results have not been promising. The current consensus is that the herb is not helpful for hepatits. P. urinariaalso appears to be ineffective.

P. amarus has undergone considerable evaluation as a as a treatment for chronic hepatitis B, and a bit of study for acute hepatitis. However, the results have not been promising. The current scientific consensus is that the herb is not helpful for hepatitis. P. urinaria also appears to be ineffective. Despite numerous test tube and animal studies showing efficacy against the hepatitis B virus, ¹ P. amarus has generally not done well in human trials.

Only one study clearly found benefits, and it was seriously flawed. In this 30-day double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 60 people with chronic hepatitis B, treatment with phyllanthus (200 mg 3 times daily) dramatically increased the odds of full recovery. ² In the treated group, almost 60% were hepatitis B–negative at follow-up, as compared to only 4% in the placebo group.

However, the high drop-out rate in the placebo group significantly reduces the reliability of the results. Furthermore, multiple follow-up studies attempting to reproduce these findings have not found any benefits ³ Another double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 57 people with acute hepatitis B to see whether treatment with P. amarus (300 mg 3 times daily for 1 week) could improve speed of recovery. ⁴ The results showed no benefit. However, because acute hepatitis B usually lasts a month or more, the duration of treatment in this study was oddly short.

One highly preliminary study suggested that P. urinaria, a related species, might be more effective against hepatitis than other species of phyllanthus. ⁵ However, a subsequent double-blind, placebo-controlled study designed to test this hypothesis failed to find benefit. ⁶

The usual dose of P. amarus used in studies is 600 to 900 mg daily.

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