Chanca Piedra (Phyllanthus niruri): A Botanical Guide

Chanca Piedra hangs its flowers and seed capsules underneath the leaf rows rather than above them. It is a tropical weed of footpaths, riverbanks and cleared ground, and the whole plant above the soil goes into the extract. This page covers the botany, the arithmetic on our label and the cautions. No claims are made here about what this botanical does.

Latin name: Phyllanthus niruri L., family Phyllanthaceae
Part used: Whole plant above ground — stems, leaves, seed capsules
Origin: Native to tropical America; now pan-tropical
Per serving: 900 mg of 10:1 extract, equivalent to 9,000 mg whole herb
Format: 60 vegan capsules; two ingredients only
Allergens: None. Free from gluten, soy and dairy

01 What Chanca Piedra is

A small annual, slender, rarely past 70 cm and often nearer 30. The stems branch thinly and carry small oval leaves set in neat rows along them. Underneath those rows — not above — sit the tiny pale green flowers, sometimes flushed red, and the small round seed capsules. Botanists file it as Phyllanthus niruri L., in the family Phyllanthaceae.

It is native to tropical America and strongly associated with the Amazon basin, but it has travelled. It now grows across tropical and subtropical South and Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, South and Southeast Asia and parts of Oceania. This is a pioneer plant: forest clearings, riverbanks, field margins, footpaths, waste ground. Moist, well-drained soil suits it. Dry spells do not finish it off.

Because it takes so readily to disturbed ground, material entering the supply chain is commonly gathered from wild and semi-wild stands in tropical growing regions, though it is also cultivated. The whole plant above ground — stems, leaves and seed capsules together — is what gets harvested, dried and extracted.

About the name "Stone Breaker"

"Chanca piedra" is Spanish, and translates literally as "stone breaker". Related folk names follow the plant across its range: bhumi amla or bhui amla in South Asia, quebra-pedra in Brazil. Be clear about what that is. "Stone Breaker" is a folk name for the plant, carried down through common usage. It describes a traditional name, not an effect of this product. We use the name because it is how the botanical is known and searched for, not as any indication of what it does.

The plant has a long history of use in traditional herbal practice in the Americas, South Asia and elsewhere. We record that heritage as heritage. No health claim is made or implied by it.

02 What's in our product

A concentrated 10:1 extract, in a capsule. The arithmetic behind that number is worth a minute.

What "10:1" actually means

An extract ratio describes how much dried raw plant material went into making a given weight of finished extract. Ten parts of dried herb are processed down to one part of extract. So 10 kg of dried Chanca Piedra yields 1 kg of 10:1 extract powder.

A 900 mg serving of 10:1 extract is equivalent to 9,000 mg — 9 g — of whole dried herb. The sum is 900 × 10.

Two things the ratio is not. It is not standardisation: it says nothing about the level of any particular constituent. And it is not a measure of strength in any medicinal sense. It is a manufacturing description, nothing more.

Botanical: Chanca Piedra (Phyllanthus niruri)
Extract ratio: 10:1 concentrated extract
Per serving (two capsules): 900 mg Chanca Piedra 10:1 extract, equivalent to 9,000 mg of whole herb
Per capsule: 450 mg Chanca Piedra 10:1 extract
Ingredients: Two only: Chanca Piedra extract, and cellulose (the capsule shell)
Capsule shell: Plant-derived cellulose. No gelatin, no animal-derived ingredients
Suitable for vegans: Yes
Allergens: Free from gluten, soy and dairy, and from common allergens
Additives: No artificial additives or sweeteners. Non-GMO
Bottle count: 60 capsules
How long a bottle lasts: 30 days at two capsules daily — a one-month supply
Manufacture and dispatch: GMP-manufactured; every order dispatched from the UK
Format: Capsules. This product is not available as drops or a tincture

Two ingredients means no bulking agents, no flow agents, no silica, no magnesium stearate, no rice flour, no fillers. The shell is cellulose. Inside it is Chanca Piedra extract.

03 How to take it

The label directions run to one line. Take two capsules daily, preferably with a meal and water. Do not exceed the recommended amount.

Timing. The label does not specify a time of day. A fixed point in the day — the same meal each time — makes a daily habit easier to keep to.
With or without food. The directions say preferably with a meal. Concentrated botanical extracts sit more comfortably taken with food than on an empty stomach.
Together or split. Two capsules is the daily serving. Both at once, or one at each of two meals — the daily total stays at two.
Swallow whole. Take with a full glass of water.
Do not exceed. More is not a better plan. Stay at the labelled serving.
Food supplement. This is not a substitute for a varied and balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle.

Storage. Keep the bottle tightly closed in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight. Not above a hob, not on a windowsill, not in a steamy bathroom cabinet — heat and humidity are what degrade dried plant extracts. Keep out of the sight and reach of children. Check the best-before date on the bottle.

04 Taste and format

Capsules only, so for most people taste never comes up: the capsule is swallowed whole and the cellulose shell does not dissolve until it is past the palate. There is no flavouring and no sweetener, because there is nothing to flavour around.

Open one — some people prefer to empty the contents into food or a drink — and you get a fine, dark plant powder with a dry, grassy, earthy smell, much like other dried leaf-and-stem material. The taste is plainly herbal and on the bitter side. That is normal for a concentrated botanical extract and is not a sign that anything is wrong with the product. Shade and aroma also vary from batch to batch. That reflects harvest and growing conditions, not quality.

The capsules are a standard size and the bottle holds 60. Chanca Piedra is sold elsewhere as a loose dried herb for infusions, as a tincture and as drops. We do not currently offer those formats, so everything on this page applies to capsules.

05 Safety, cautions and interactions

There is no European Union herbal monograph for Phyllanthus niruri, and no UK Traditional Herbal Registration. No regulator-agreed dose. No agreed duration.

Read this section before you buy. Cautions matter more than anything else on this page.

The state of the evidence

Human safety data on Phyllanthus niruri is limited. The European Medicines Agency's Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products has not published a European Union herbal monograph for this species, so there is no regulator-agreed reference dose, duration of use or standard safety text for it in the way there is for better-studied botanicals. It does not appear as a UK Traditional Herbal Registration product either. We would rather say that plainly than pad this section out. Where the evidence is thin, the sensible response is caution and a conversation with your pharmacist — not confidence.

Who should not take it

Anyone with a known allergy to Phyllanthus niruri, to other Phyllanthaceae plants, or to any ingredient listed on the label.
Children and adolescents. This product is for adults. There is no established safety data for use in under-18s.
Anyone who is pregnant or trying to conceive. See below.
Anyone breastfeeding. See below.

Blood sugar — important

Chanca Piedra has been reported to lower blood glucose. If you have diabetes or a tendency to hypoglycaemia, or you take insulin, metformin, sulfonylureas or any other glucose-lowering medicine, this matters: the effects could add together and push readings lower than intended. Speak to your GP, diabetes team or pharmacist before you start, monitor your levels more closely if you do, and know the signs of a hypo. The same caution applies to other blood-sugar-lowering herbs and supplements taken alongside it.

Blood pressure — important

Chanca Piedra has also been reported to lower blood pressure. If you take antihypertensive medicines — ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers, diuretics — or if your blood pressure already runs low, the combined effect could cause dizziness, light-headedness or faintness on standing. Discuss it with your prescriber first, and check your readings if you proceed.

Bleeding and clotting

There is laboratory evidence that extracts of Phyllanthus niruri can inhibit platelet aggregation, which raises a theoretical bleeding risk. Do not take it alongside anticoagulants or antiplatelet medicines — warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban, dabigatran, clopidogrel, aspirin used for cardiovascular protection — without speaking to your prescriber or pharmacist first. The same caution applies if you have a bleeding disorder, or if you bruise or bleed easily.

Before surgery

Stop taking Chanca Piedra at least two weeks before any planned surgery, dental extraction or other procedure involving bleeding risk, and tell your surgeon and anaesthetist that you have been taking it. Anaesthetists routinely ask about supplements for exactly these reasons — blood sugar, blood pressure and clotting.

Other medicines and supplements

Diuretics (water tablets). Discuss before combining. There is a theoretical concern about additive fluid and electrolyte effects.
Potassium and magnesium supplements. Mention these to your pharmacist. Tell your clinician if you already have low potassium or low magnesium levels.
Lithium. Anyone on lithium should not take any supplement that may affect fluid balance without their prescriber's agreement, because lithium levels are sensitive to it.
Anything else on prescription. Interactions between Chanca Piedra and medicines are not fully characterised. That uncertainty is a reason to check, not a reason to assume it is fine.

Existing health conditions

Tell your doctor or pharmacist before taking Chanca Piedra if you have, or have had, any of the following: diabetes; low blood pressure; gallstones; kidney problems of any kind, including a history of kidney stones; liver problems, including hepatitis; low potassium or low magnesium; a bleeding disorder; or if you are under any ongoing medical care.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Do not take Chanca Piedra if you are pregnant, may be pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known whether it affects pregnancy or a developing baby, and it is not known whether it passes into breast milk. In the absence of safety data, avoidance is the appropriate course. This is the standard position for botanical supplements without pregnancy safety evidence.

Side effects

The side effects most commonly reported with Chanca Piedra are nausea and vomiting. Stop taking it and seek medical advice if you develop persistent stomach upset, unusual bruising or bleeding, unexplained dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, or any symptom that concerns you.

Stop immediately and seek urgent medical help if you develop signs of a severe allergic reaction: a rash or hives, swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, wheezing, or difficulty breathing.

How long to take it for

There is no regulator-agreed duration of use for Phyllanthus niruri. Published human use has generally been short-term and supervised, over periods of around a month rather than years, and there is no good long-term safety data. Sensible practice is to keep any period of use short and defined, take breaks, and review it with a healthcare professional rather than taking it open-endedly. If you feel you need to keep taking something indefinitely, that is a conversation to have with your GP.

When to speak to a pharmacist

Community pharmacists are free to talk to, do not need an appointment, and can check your full medicines list against a supplement in a couple of minutes. Take the bottle with you, or a photograph of the label. It is worth doing before you start if you take any prescription medicine at all, if you are managing a long-term condition, if you are over 65, if you are on several medicines at once, or if you are about to have a procedure. Bring the label rather than a description — the extract ratio and the milligram figure are the details they will want.

Sources consulted for this section: EMA guidance on European Union herbal monographs (no monograph exists for this species), MHRA Traditional Herbal Registration guidance, and published safety and pharmacology summaries for Phyllanthus niruri. Where sources disagree or data is absent, we have said so rather than filled the gap.

06 Where to find it

Our Chanca Piedra is a 10:1 extract, 900 mg per two-capsule serving, 60 vegan capsules to a bottle — a one-month supply, with two ingredients and nothing else.

Chanca Piedra Capsules

UK Standard delivery: Free on orders of £28 or more; otherwise £2.99
UK Express delivery: £5.99; free on orders of £48 or more
Dispatch: Within 1–2 business days
Typical delivery time: 1–4 business days, by Royal Mail or Amazon Logistics
Returns: 30 days from receipt to request a return. Item must be unopened, untampered, in its original packaging, with proof of purchase. Email hello@probotanics.co.uk to start — an accepted return receives a return shipping label and instructions. Items sent back without requesting a return first are not accepted. For damaged, defective or incorrect items, contact us immediately on receipt.
Questions: hello@probotanics.co.uk

ProBotanics Ltd is a UK company, number 13685177, with its registered office at 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE. It was incorporated on 18 October 2021 as Peak Supplements Ltd and renamed ProBotanics Ltd on 28 November 2023, when the brand moved away from its original sports and bodybuilding range to single-botanical food supplements.

This is a food supplement, not a medicine. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition, and it is not a substitute for a varied and balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking any medication or under medical care, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before use. Keep out of the sight and reach of children.