Our dried phyllanthus urinaria leaves are packaged in small plastic bags that contain 5 gram each. 5 gram of dried leaves are the daily dosage for most conditions for which phyllanthus urinaria can be used, primarily treatment and prevention of kidney and gall stones, the lowering of viral load in hepatitis disease. Apart from these traditional uses of phyllanthus urinaria, it has been shown in a scientific study that the plant even has potential in the treatment of some cancers.
The content of one 5-gram plastic bag should be divided into 2 or 3 applications. The phyllanthus urinaria tea is prepared by mixing 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dried herb into hot but not boiling water. The leaves should be gently stirred for about 1 minute and should then be removed from the tea (best by straining).
In a long-term regimen intended to prevent the formation of kidney and gall stones and for hepatoprotective effects, for example in alcohol users, the content of a 5 gram pouch can be spread over 2 days.
The chemical constituents of phyllanthus urinaria have been the subject of scientific research. The abstract quoted below are from the Medline database. These abstracts can be accessed through www.infotrieve.com (click the Medline button in the left sidebar of the Infotrieve site and then enter a string of text in quotation marks into the Medline search box).
LZ Zhang reported in a study under the title "Studies on chemical constituents of Phyllanthus urinaria L.":
"OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of Phyllanthus urinaria. METHOD: Various chromatographic techniques were employed for isolation and purification of the constituents. The structures were elucidated by chemical and spectral analyses. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: Fourteen compounds were isolated and seven of them were identified as corilagin(I), rutin(II), brevifolincarboxylic acid(VI), isostrictiniin(IX), geraniin (X), gallic acid(XI) and ellagic acid (XII). Compound VI was found from P. urinaria for the first time and compound IX was found from genus Phyllanthus for the first time."
CC Chang published a study under the name "Lignans from Phyllanthus urinaria". In the study's abstract, he noted:
"Chemical investigation on the aerial and the root parts of Phyllanthus urinaria L. culminated in the isolation of four lignans, namely 5-demethoxyniranthin, urinatetralin, dextrobursehernin, urinaligran, together with nine known lignans. Their structures, including the absolute stereochemistry, were elucidated by spectral analysis (NMR and CD) and chemical correlation."
LZ Zhang, in another study under the name "Isolation and identification of a noval polyphenolic compound from Phyllanthus urinaria L." wrote:
"OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of Phyllanthus urinaria. METHOD: Various chromatographic techniques were employed for isolation and purification. The structures were elucidated by spectral analyses. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: A novel polyphenolic compound was isolated and named phyllanthusin F."
A study conducted by ST Huang has shown that phyllanthus urinaria has potential in the treatment of some cancers. In the abstract of the study, titled "Phyllanthus urinaria triggers the apoptosis and Bcl-2 down-regulation in Lewis lung carcinoma cells", he wrote:
"Phyllanthus urinaria (P. urinaria), a widely used herb medicine, was tested for the anticancer effect in its water extract for the first time. The water extract of P. urinaria significantly decreased the number of Lewis lung carcinoma cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner as determined by MTT assay. However, the water extract of P. urinaria did not exert any cytotoxic effect on normal cells such as endothelial cells and liver cells. Result from flow cytometry revealed a dose-dependent increase of dead cells 24 hours after treating Lewis lung carcinoma cells with P. urinaria extract. The anticancer activity of P. urinaria extract was due to the apoptosis induced in Lewis lung carcinoma cells, which was demonstrated by DNA fragmentation analysis and increased caspase-3 activity. The apoptosis triggered by P. urinaria extract in Lewis lung carcinoma cells was associated with the down-regulation of Bcl-2 gene expression, but not with p53, p21 and Bax. Furthermore, the partial inhibition of P. urinaria-induced apoptosis in Lewis lung carcinoma cells by pretreatment with cyclosporin A, a mitochondria permeability transition pore inhibitor, suggesting that P. urinaria extract induced the apoptosis of Lewis lung carcinoma cells, at least in part, through a mitochondria-associated intrinsic pathway."
The best way of extracting active ingredients from the phyllanthus urinaria palnt was the topic of a scientific study under the guidance of J Chen, titled "Study on supercritical CO2 extracting conditions on Phyllanthus urinaria". The scientists wrote:
"The technology for extracting Phyllanthus urinaria L. with supercritical CO2 as a solvent was described. The effect of extraction pressure, extraction temperature, extraction time and 85% ethanol-H2O co-solvent capacity have been studied. The proper technology requirements were determined through orthogonal experiment and the result shows the rate of extraction can be up to 9.0 percent, after extracting for 2.5 hours under the condition of extraction pressure 18 MPa, extraction temperature 50 degrees C, separation temperature 42 degrees C, separation pressure 5.8 +/- 0.2 MPa and CO2 flux 3.0 +/- 0.2 L/h."
