Andrographis paniculata Seeds | Kalmegh
LATIN NAME: Andrographis paniculata
COMMON NAME: Kalmegh, King of Bitters
Plant Profile
Kalmegh is an upright annual, 30-90 cm tall, with square stems, dark green lance-shaped leaves and small white flowers marked with purple. The whole plant is intensely bitter, which is where the common name king of bitters comes from.
The plant is grown as a field crop in India, where it is harvested at flowering and dried for the herbal trade. It is fast: sown in spring, it can be cut within three months, and it self-sows readily in warm climates.
Andrographis paniculata comes from India and Sri Lanka and is naturalised across south-east Asia. It is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the region, and it appears in both Ayurvedic and Chinese practice under different names.
Science & Biotechnology
The bitterness comes from diterpenoid lactones, chiefly andrographolide, which is the compound most studied. It has shown anti-inflammatory, antiviral and immune-stimulating activity in laboratory and animal work, and several small human trials have looked at its use in upper respiratory infections.
Those trials are generally small and of variable quality, and the results are mixed. The herb is not a substitute for antibiotics in bacterial infection, and it should not be used in pregnancy, where the evidence suggests a risk.
The plant is also a source of neoandrographolide and of several flavonoids, and the ratio of these compounds varies with the source and the harvest. That variability is a real problem for standardisation, and it is why the herbal trade distinguishes between leaf and whole-plant material.
Uses & Benefits
The dried herb is used in Ayurveda and in Chinese medicine for fever, sore throat and liver complaints, usually in combination with other herbs. It is also sold as a bitter tonic and as an ingredient in patent medicines.
In the garden the plant is grown for the herbal trade and as a bee plant, since the flowers are visited by small bees. Commercially the crop is grown in India and China, and the dried herb is exported worldwide. It has no culinary use. In India the leaf is taken as a powder with honey rather than as a tea, because the taste is unpleasant on its own.
Growing from Seed
Sow at 22-28°C, 0.5 cm deep, on the surface of a moist seed mix. Germination takes one to three weeks. The plant needs a long warm season, so in cool climates start it under cover and plant out only when the soil is above 18°C.
Plant out at 30 cm apart in full sun and well-drained soil. Water steadily; the plant tolerates heat but not drought when young. Harvest at flowering by cutting the stems 10 cm above the ground, and dry the material in shade. A second cut usually follows from the basal shoots. Where the monsoon provides regular rain, the crop needs no irrigation after establishment and the first cut comes earlier.
Our Take
A serious bitter herb rather than a garden ornamental, worth growing only if you have a real use for the dried leaf.
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