Supplement Facts

Promotes optimal liver, kidney and gall bladder function

With the recent introduction of a very well known Amazon rainforest plant, Break-Stone (Chanca Piedra), health care practitioners have acquired a powerful plant ally in helping their patients to maintain optimal kidney, gall bladder, liver, and bladder health. 

Chanca Piedra is a composite name, "chanca" meaning "to break" in Quechua and "piedra" meaning "stone" in Spanish.  It is the popular name given to several small shrub-like plants in the Phyllanthus genus (botanical family Euphorbiaceae), including Phyllanthus niruri, and Phyllanthus stipulatis.  These two species have the same medicinal effects and look identical, except for their seeds, by which the botanist can tell them apart.  A third species, Phyllanthus amarus, has been considered identical (perhaps not a different species at all) to Phyllanthus niruri.  These species of Phyllanthus have been proven in scientific research to have antihepatotoxic, antispasmodic, antiviral, bactericidal,  febrifugal, and hypoglycemic activity.

Traditional Uses

Chanca Piedra got its name because one of the outstanding qualities of this herb, according to the therapeutic herbal tradition of Peru, where knowledge of rainforest remedies spread to Andean civilizations, including the Incas, it is believed to help stimulate the production of bile and to promote healthy liver and gall bladder function. The plant is shredded and boiled and then lemon juice is added as a tonic for the liver (taken in small amounts four times daily).  It is also traditionally used to clear obstructions throughout the various internal organs of the body by promoting the elimination of mucous and stones.  

Liver Detoxification

Modern life has stressed the liver of the average person.  Chanca Piedra can be used, cycling on and off throughout the year, to assist the liver in performing its normal function of detoxification of the body.   Liver stressors include eating excessive dairy, meat, and sugar, fried fast foods, processed foods with preservatives, antibiotics,  pesticides, drinking water "decontaminated"  by chlorine, drinking water containing parasites,  the use of hormones in young women as  contraception and in menopausal  women as a means of preventing osteoporosis and heart disease, the use of steroid hormones to combat chronic inflammatory diseases.

Toxicity, Side Effects

There has been no toxicity reported in any of the clinical studies, nor have there been  any side effects reported, except for an occasional case of cramps during the expulsion of stones from the use of the whole plant either as a tea or in "crude" (whole plant) extracts in capsules.  If cramping occurs, dosage can be cut in half.  It is safe for pregnant woman to take. 

© Viana Muller, Ph.D. 2000 - This article may not be reprinted without permission from the author.

For a wealth of information on Royal Break Stone, please visit: http://www.wholeworldbotanicals.com/herbal_breakstone.html

We use no additives, coloring, flavoring, or excipients. No pesticides, chemical fertilizers, irradiation or chemical gassing is used on our herbs. Our high standards extend to our relationship with native and maca growers and rainforest plant collectors and growers. We are fair traders who use part of the profits from sales of our maca products to improve the conditions of life of the growers/collectors through education, agricultural loans, and technical assistance in producing organic herbs with high crop yields.

Our maca is certified organic by two different organizations: BIO LATINA, which carries the USDA Seal of Approval for the new uniform U.S. Organic Code and SKAL, which has headquarters in The Netherlands, and is approved by the European Union and recognized throughout the world.

Our mission is to be a positive force for environmental protection of both the native habitats and the communities of native peoples extending from the rainforests to mountain communities situated at the highest altitudes on the earth. One of these extraordinary communities is featured in the painting to the right, depicting the Amazon rainforest. This artwork was done by Shipibo-Canaibo Indian teenager Roy Del Aguila, who lives on the edge of the rainforest in Peru.