Plants of the Phyllanthus genus are popularly known as stonebreakers and also by their names: dove grass, saxifraga and piercing walls. They are born spontaneously, mainly in humid and shady places, and have characteristics that vary according to the species. They are native to the Americas, but they also occur in Europe. They are rich in alkaloids, flavonoids, lignans and ricinoleic acid.
The stone breaker is used in folk medicine in the form of tea, made with its leaves and stems, with a bitter taste, it acts in the elimination of calculi, unblocking the urinary tract. It has a purgative, sweating, antibiotic and diuretic action. It helps in the treatment of diabetes, jaundice and hepatitis B and, more recently, researchers have concluded that it is capable of stimulating the immune system.
Some stones are formed by calcium oxalate and organic substances: glycosaminoglycans. The tea from this plant prevents these molecules from attaching to oxalate crystals, reducing and even regressing the size of the stone. As it relaxes the urinary system, it helps to expel it.
There are approximately 200 different species on our continent, and in Brazil, the most used and frequently found is the Phyllanthus niruri, but Phyllanthus amarus and Phyllanthus tenellus are also considered.
THE P. niruri It is approximately 50 cm tall, has a thin, erect stem. Its leaves are small and oval and the flowers, yellowish-green, are very tiny.
Despite having been used since the most remote times by the Brazilian Indians, the dove grass was patented by a US company, Fox Chase Cancer Center, to manufacture a drug for the hepatitis.
By Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology