You must have noticed them sprouting in your backyard or growing wild in fields, those small bright green plants with tiny berries under the leaves. Don’t let its size fool you. This tiny plant, the Keezharnelli is a powerhouse of medical potency and an effective remedy for one of the most painful disorders known to man – the kidney stone. This one stop remedy might be quite a useful plant to grow in your Ayurvedic herbs garden.
Keezharnelli (Phyllanthus niruri), known as Bhoomyamalaki in Sanskrit and Stonebreaker in English is a small tropical plant that grows no taller than 70 centimeters and has been used not just in Ayurveda, but also in several other traditional medical systems for centuries to treat kidney stones.
Image: All rights and credits to : Parithimathi.
Medicinal Uses of Keezharnelli:
Like it’s English name signifies, keezhatrnelli is quite literaly a stone breaker.
Keezharnelli has been proven to be effective against problems of the stomach, genitourinary system, the liver, kidney and spleen.
Kizharnelli for Kidney stones: Like it’s English name signifies, keezhatrnelli is quite literally a stonebreaker. The whole plant (samoolam) is ground up to extract juice and this is administered for kidney stones. Regular consumption of the extract of this plant reduces levels of urinary calcium and also the incidences of stone formations. The chemicals in keezharnelli effectively interfere with several stages of stone formation and the aggregation of crystals.
Hepatitis B or Jaundice is a dreaded disease that affects many in Asia and Africa and for centuries, the extract of Keezharnelli has been administered with fresh milk to treat jaundice. Keezharnelli protects the liver and the protein present in it shields the liver and stimulates it to regenerate itself, thus combating Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis and diabetes.
A poultice of keezharnelli paste and turmeric is very effective against scabies and psoriasis.
If you don’t have keezharnelli growing in your backyard or in your neighborhood, head over here to buy yourself a plant.
Coming up next: Manjal (Turmeric)