Andrographis paniculata, called "king of bitters", is a bitter plant used in Indian and Chinese traditional medicine for cough, cold and flu. Its main active compounds are called andrographolides.
Also known as: Andrographis paniculata, king of bitters, Chuan Xin Lian, kalmegh, andrographolide.
An ulcerative colitis trial compared 1,200 mg and 1,800 mg a day of one extract (HMPL-004) for 8 weeks (Sandborn 2013). The respiratory trials in the 2017 review used many different products and amounts (Hu 2017). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
The NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database lists Andrographis products such as one from Nature's Way as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: a 2017 review of 33 trials in 7,175 people with colds, sore throats and other short chest or throat infections found andrographis eased cough and sore throat more than placebo and shortened symptoms compared with usual care. The authors rated the trials as poor quality overall, and most did not report how the products were made or checked (Hu 2017). In a placebo-controlled trial in 224 adults with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis, 60% on 1,800 mg a day responded at 8 weeks versus 40% on placebo; remission rates did not differ significantly (Sandborn 2013).
Safety: a 2021 review of 10 trials and 3 monitoring studies found serious side effects very rare, but milder ones fairly common, about 1 in 10 people in the trials, mostly stomach upset and skin reactions (Worakunphanich 2021). The sources here do not describe drug interactions.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for andrographis that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. Plant extracts are mixtures of many compounds, so no single figure would describe them.
How Dose Track handles peptides · Reconstitution calculator · Half-life calculator