Punarnava or Boerhavia diffusa Benefits and Uses in Liver Health and Weight Loss

This herb is a flowering plant and belongs to Nyctaginaceae family. Leaves, flowers, and roots are used for medicinal purposes in Ayurveda. This plant grows like a weed and is very abundant during the rainy season.

Ayurveda Acharyas explain the health benefits of this plant as follows.

Rejuvenates Liver- Best liver Detox – Good for fatty Liver

This herb is recommended by Ayurveda Acharyas for liver disorders. It is praised as “pittasaraka” which means it helps to stimulate the liver and production of bile. It is praised as pitta shodhaka and helps to remove toxins from the liver and expel it through urine as it also acts as a diuretic (mutrala).

Punarnava is the best ayurvedic medicine for liver detox. It improves appetite and sets right the process of digestion. This reduces the stress on the liver and eases its function. Hence this herb is recommended for Liver Detox and Fatty Liver. This is used along with other liver-protective herbs like Rohitaka, Punarnava, Chitraka, Giloy (amruta), Brungaraj ( brunga), katurohini and bhumyamalakai, to enhance its liver protective properties.  Livobeam Ayurvedic Capsules for Liver detox and fatty liver contain all these herb. Also, This herb is an ingredient in Obenil – ayurvedic capsules for weight loss

Helps in Weight Management

This herb is praised as mutrala  ( diuretic ) and helps to eliminate excess water. Since it has ayurvedic properties like “rooksha” (dryness ) and “Ushna” (heat generating) properties, it boosts the metabolism. In addition to these properties it balances kapha , which in turn balances medha dhatu (body fat). Thus this herb helps in weight management according to the principles of Ayurveda. A study suggested that the phytoconstituents of Punarnava or B. diffusa upon molecular docking revealed the possible binding mechanisms with the CR and thus show potent anti-obesity action (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9105516/).

Punarnava also helps to lower blood cholesterol levels and improves overall lipid profile.

The best herb for women

This herb helps in weight loss and also acts as rasayana or anti-aging herb. It is eulogized as “shothahara” , the one which reduces inflammation. Hence this is useful in the treatment of PCOS or PCOD and bleeding that occurs during stages of menopause. This is recommended as a uterine tonic by ayurveda Acharyas. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4053255/

Helps in UTI and Cystitis

It reduces inflammation of the urinary tract and bladder. This herb acts as a diuretic and increases the volume of urine. This helps to flush the irritants and toxic products that are causing the inflammation of the urinary tract. Research shows this herb has anti-microbial properties too. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268814069_ANTIBACTERIAL_EFFECT_OF_BOERHAVIA_DIFFUSA_AND_PUNARNAVASAVAM_ON_URINARY_TRACT_INFECTION_UTI_CAUSING_PATHOGENS

Ayurveda Properties

Texts of Ayurveda explain Health benefits of this plant as follows

According to texts of Ayurveda punarnava is sweet (Madhura rasa ), bitter (tikta rasa ) and astringent (Kashaya rasa) to taste. After digestion it gets converted into pungent taste ( katu rasa).  It is light to digest ( laghu) and causes dryness of tissues (rooksha). It increases body heat ( Ushna Veerya) that boosts metabolism.  

This herb balances Kapha and Pitta. It has anti-inflammatory properties ( shothahara) and the reduces inflammation of tissues. Ayurveda practitioners recommend this herb in treatment of anemia ( pandu) and liver disorders. This herb is praised as mutrala. This means it is an excellent diuretic. Ayurveda acharyas recommend this herb for women. It helps in conditions like PCOS and menopause ( rakta pradara). This herb is lauded as rasayana which means it slows down the aging process and rejuvenates the body and its tissues. This is the best detox herb that expels toxins from the body. It also accelerates wound healing. It boosts digestion, improves agni, and kindles appetite. Punarnava, improves lung health and is a good remedy for cough and cold.