Plant Comparison
Andrographis vs Eyebright
A side-by-side comparison of two medicinal plants — every documented constituent, action, use, safety note and cited source, assembled automatically from the Omnia Sana database.
At a glance
Andrographis and Eyebright: they share 7 indicated uses (arthritis / joint pain, cancer (anticancer research), fever, …); 2 pharmacological actions in common.
Evidence face-off — shared uses
| Condition | Andrographis | Eyebright | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis / joint pain | 5/10 | 1/10 | Stronger for Andrographis |
| Cancer (anticancer research) | 2/10 | 2/10 | Comparable evidence |
| Fever | 2/10 | 1/10 | Comparable evidence |
| Infection (general) | 8/10 | 2/10 | Stronger for Andrographis |
| Inflammation (general) | 5/10 | 2/10 | Stronger for Andrographis |
| Skin irritation | 5/10 | 1/10 | Stronger for Andrographis |
| Wounds | 5/10 | 1/10 | Stronger for Andrographis |
Evidence scores (1–10) are computed from the tier of each cited source. “Comparable” means the two scores are within one point. Follow a score to its detailed sources.
Key Constituents
Give the plant its anti-inflammatory action on irritated tissue.
Pharmacological Actions
Andrographolide, the principal diterpene lactone of Andrographis paniculata, suppresses proliferation and induces apoptosis across breast, lung, colon, cervical, hepatic and haematological cancers via NF-kappaB and PI3K/Akt inhibition (preclinical).
Astringent and anti-inflammatory for eye irritation, redness and conjunctivitis (traditional, as an eye compress or bath) - an open prospective cohort of Euphrasia single-dose eye drops reported recovery or clear improvement in most patients with conjunctivitis
Traditional & Indicated Uses
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
Andrographolide (from Andrographis paniculata) acts as a chemopreventive and antitumour agent against breast, lung, colorectal, cervical, prostate and hepatocellular cancers and leukaemia, inducing apoptosis and inhibiting NF-kappaB and PI3K/AKT signalling (preclinical).
Symptomatic relief of the common cold and acute upper respiratory tract infection (reduces symptom severity and duration)
Immunostimulant / immune support
Symptomatic relief of the common cold and acute upper respiratory tract infection (reduces symptom severity and duration)
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
Eases eye strain and watery, itchy eyes from allergy (hay fever / allergic conjunctivitis)
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
inferred from anticancer action
Soothes upper-respiratory catarrh and mild infection (traditional)
Astringent and anti-inflammatory for eye irritation, redness and conjunctivitis (traditional, as an eye compress or bath) - an open prospective cohort of Euphrasia single-dose eye drops reported recovery or clear improvement in most patients with conjunctivitis; Eases eye strain and watery, itchy eyes from allergy (hay fever / allergic conjunctivitis)
Eases eye strain and watery, itchy eyes from allergy (hay fever / allergic conjunctivitis)
Soothes upper-respiratory catarrh and mild infection (traditional)
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
Soothes upper-respiratory catarrh and mild infection (traditional)
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
Safety, Cautions & Contraindications
Avoid in pregnancy and when trying to conceive: high doses have shown reproductive toxicity in animals and the herb has a traditional reputation as an abortifacient.
High doses have caused nephrotoxicity and reproductive toxicity in studies; use standardized products at recommended doses and avoid prolonged high-dose use.
CRITICAL: do not put non-sterile, homemade eyebright preparations directly into the eye - this risks serious eye infection. Use only commercially prepared sterile products in the eye, or apply a strained, cooled infusion as a compress over closed eyelids.
Traditional use only; persistent eye symptoms, pain, discharge or vision change need assessment by an eye-care professional. Safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding is not established.
External Ids
Botanical Description
Erect, branching annual herb with a slender, quadrangular (square-sectioned), dark green stem. The leaves are opposite, lance-shaped and glabrous, with a short stalk. Small, two-lipped, white flowers with purple-pink markings are borne in loose, spreading axillary and terminal racemes. The whole plant, and especially the leaves, is intensely and characteristically bitter.[11]
Small, semi-parasitic annual herb (drawing some nutrients from the roots of neighbouring grasses) with tiny, opposite, toothed leaves and delicate, two-lipped white to pale lilac flowers marked with purple veins and a yellow throat spot, giving a bright, eye-like appearance that inspired both its common and Latin names.[11]
Habitat
Native to India and Sri Lanka and widely distributed through South and Southeast Asia, growing wild in plains, hillsides, roadsides and cultivated fields; also grown commercially as a medicinal crop.[11]
Grows in short, unimproved grassland, pastures, meadows and dunes on well-drained soils, always in association with grasses on which it partially parasitises; native to Europe.[11]
Harvesting
The aerial parts (leaves and tender stems) are cut just before or at the onset of flowering, when andrographolide content is typically highest, and dried in shade to preserve the bitter diterpenoid lactones.[11]
The flowering aerial parts are cut in summer while in flower and dried in a warm, shaded, airy place.[11]
Traditional Uses
Andrographis, the 'king of bitters', is a cornerstone bitter tonic of Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine (Chuan xin lian), used for fevers, colds, sore throat, infections and liver complaints. This traditional reputation for treating the common cold and upper respiratory infections is now supported by clinical trials of standardised extracts.[10, 12]
Preparations
Dried aerial parts infused or lightly decocted in hot water as a very bitter traditional fever and cold remedy.
Strained, cooled infusion applied as a compress over closed eyelids, or used (only when sterile, commercially prepared) as an eyewash for irritated or red eyes.
Commercially prepared, sterile Euphrasia eye drops used for conjunctivitis; a prospective clinical cohort found improvement in most users.
Dosage
Clinical trials for upper respiratory infection commonly use extracts standardised to around 60-120 mg andrographolide daily, in divided doses, for up to 5-7 days. Educational reference only, not a prescription.
The WHO monograph on Herba Andrographidis gives, by indication - for the common cold, 1.5-3.0 g of the powdered crude drug three times daily, after meals and at bedtime; for pyrexia, a decoction from 3 g of the crude drug twice daily; for diarrhoea, a decoction from 3-9 g as a single dose as needed, or two 500 mg tablets four times daily. Note that the EMA HMPC assessed this herb and issued a public statement rather than a monograph, so there is no EU posology. Educational reference only, not a prescription.
No dose is given here because no official posology exists. The HMPC assessed eyebright and DECLINED to establish a herbal monograph, concluding that the efficacy of the claimed uses is undocumented and that external eye application of ex tempore (home-prepared) preparations is 'not hygienic and not safe', so therapeutic use cannot be recommended. Traditional sources describe a strained, cooled infusion used as a compress, but that is precisely the practice the HMPC advised against; nothing home-prepared should be put in or on the eye. Educational reference only, not a prescription.
References
Lookalikes Review
References & Sources
- Okonogi, R. and others (2023) 'Efficacy of Andrographis paniculata spray in acute pharyngitis: A randomized controlled trial', Drug Discoveries & Therapeutics, 17(5), pp. 315-321. doi:10.5582/ddt.2023.01053 Randomized trial
https://doi.org/10.5582/ddt.2023.01053 - Hossain, S., Urbi, Z., Karuniawati, H., Mohiuddin, R.B. and others (2018) 'Overview of pharmacological activities of Andrographis paniculata and its major compound andrographolide', Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 61(10), pp. 1635-1652. doi:10.1080/10408398.2018.1501657 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2018.1501657 - Worakunphanich, W. and others (2021) 'Andrographis paniculata Formulations: Impact on Diterpene Lactone Oral Bioavailability', European Journal of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, 46(5), pp. 565-581. doi:10.1007/s13318-021-00736-7 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13318-021-00736-7 - Worakunphanich, W., Thavorncharoensap, M., Youngkong, S., Thakkinstian, A. and Chaikledkaew, U (2021) 'Safety of Andrographis paniculata: A systematic review and meta-analysis', Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 30(6), pp. 727-739. doi:10.1002/pds.5190 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.5190 - Kumar, S., Singh, B. and Bajpai, V (2021) 'Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees and its major constituent andrographolide as potential antiviral agents', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 274, pp. 113954. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2021.113954 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2021.113954 - Barbosa, F.L. and others (2021) 'Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Wall. ex Nees: An Updated Review of Phytochemistry, Antimicrobial Pharmacology, and Clinical Safety and Efficacy', Life, 11(4), pp. 348. doi:10.3390/life11040348 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.3390/life11040348 - Singh, P. and others (2022) 'Andrographis paniculata mitigates first-line anti-tubercular drugs-induced nephrotoxicity in Wistar rats', Biomarkers, 27(4), pp. 385-394. doi:10.1080/1354750X.2022.2043444 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1080/1354750X.2022.2043444 - Coon, J.T. and Ernst, E (2004) 'Andrographis paniculata in the symptomatic treatment of uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection: systematic review of randomized controlled trials', Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 29(1), pp. 37-45. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2710.2003.00534.x Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2710.2003.00534.x - Rondee, N. and others (2023) 'The Effects of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.F.) Wall. Ex Nees and Andrographolide on Neuroinflammation in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases', Nutrients, 15(15), pp. 3428. doi:10.3390/nu15153428 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15153428 - Zeng, B., Wei, A., Zhou, Q., Yuan, M., Lei, K., Liu, Y., Song, J., Guo, L. and Ye, Q (2021) 'Andrographolide: A review of its pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicity and clinical trials and pharmaceutical researches', Phytotherapy Research. doi:10.1002/ptr.7324 Randomized trial
https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.7324 - Gonde, D.P., Bhole, B.K. and Kakad, K.S (2023) 'Andrographolide, diterpenoid constituent of Andrographis paniculata: Review on botany, phytochemistry, molecular docking analysis, and pharmacology', Annales Pharmaceutiques Francaises. doi:10.1016/j.pharma.2023.10.001 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharma.2023.10.001 - Hu, X.Y., Wu, R.H., Logue, M., Blondel, C., Lai, L.Y.W., Stuart, B., Flower, A., Fei, Y.T., Moore, M., Shepherd, J., Liu, J.P. and Lewith, G (2017) 'Andrographis paniculata (Chuan Xin Lian) for symptomatic relief of acute respiratory tract infections in adults and children: A systematic review and meta-analysis', PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0181780 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181780 - World Health Organization (2002) 'Herba Andrographidis'. Available at: https://iris.who.int/items/6418d8af-5200-4e6b-9bf5-004f3aa62a37 Traditional / reference
https://iris.who.int/items/6418d8af-5200-4e6b-9bf5-004f3aa62a37 - Tundis, R. and Patra, J.K. and Bonesi, M. and Das, S. and Nath, R. and Das Talukdar, A. and Das, G. and Loizzo, M.R (2023) 'Anti-Cancer Agent: The Labdane Diterpenoid-Andrographolide', Plants, 12(10), pp. 1969. doi:10.3390/plants12101969 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12101969 - Mishra, S.K. and Tripathi, S. and Shukla, A. and Oh, S.H. and Kim, H.M (2015) 'Andrographolide and analogues in cancer prevention', Frontiers in Bioscience (Elite Edition), 7(2), pp. 255-266. doi:10.2741/E732 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.2741/E732 - Paul, S. and Roy, D. and Pati, S. and Sa, G (2021) 'The Adroitness of Andrographolide as a Natural Weapon Against Colorectal Cancer', Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, pp. 731492. doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.731492 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.731492 - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (n.d.) 'Andrographis (About Herbs)'. Available at: https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/andrographis Traditional / reference
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/andrographis
- Novy, P., Davidova, H., Serrano-Rojero, C.S., Rondevaldova, J. et al (2015) 'Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Euphrasia rostkoviana Hayne Essential Oil', Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015, pp. 734101. doi:10.1155/2015/734101 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/734101 - D'Ambrosio, M., Ciocarlan, A. and Aricu, A (2020) 'Minor acetylated metabolites from Euphrasia rostkoviana', Natural Product Research, 34(2), pp. 290-295. doi:10.1080/14786419.2018.1530227 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2018.1530227 - Ververis, A., Kyriakou, S., Paraskeva, H., Panayiotidis, M.I. et al (2024) 'Chemical Characterization and Assessment of the Neuroprotective Potential of Euphrasia officinalis', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(23), pp. 12902. doi:10.3390/ijms252312902 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252312902 - Meier-Girard, D., Gerstenberg, G., Stoffel, L., Kohler, T., Klein, S.D., Eschenmoser, M., Mitter, V.R., Nelle, M. and Wolf, U (2020) 'Euphrasia eye drops in preterm neonates with ocular discharge: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial', Frontiers in Pediatrics, 8, pp. 449. doi:10.3389/fped.2020.00449 Randomized trial
https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2020.00449 - Liu, Y., Hwang, E., Ngo, H.T.T., Perumalsamy, H., Kim, Y.J., Li, L. and Yi, T.H (2018) 'Protective effects of Euphrasia officinalis extract against ultraviolet B-induced photoaging in normal human dermal fibroblasts', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(11), pp. 3327. doi:10.3390/ijms19113327 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19113327 - Porchezhian, E., Ansari, S.H. and Shreedharan, N.K (2000) 'Antihyperglycemic activity of Euphrasia officinale leaves', Fitoterapia, 71(5), pp. 522-526. doi:10.1016/s0367-326x(00)00204-5 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0367-326x(00)00204-5 - Sticher, O. and Salama, O (1981) 'Iridoid glucosides from Euphrasia rostkoviana', Planta Medica, 42(6), pp. 122-123. doi:10.1055/s-2007-971584 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2007-971584 - Lorenz, P., Knittel, D.N., Conrad, J., Lotter, E.M., Heilmann, J., Stintzing, F.C. and Kammerer, D.R (2016) '1-Acetyl-3-[(3R)-hydroxyfatty acyl]glycerols: lipid compounds from Euphrasia rostkoviana Hayne and E. tetraquetra (Breb.) Arrond', Chemistry & Biodiversity, 13(5), pp. 602-612. doi:10.1002/cbdv.201500233 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1002/cbdv.201500233 - Gawenda-Kempczynska, D., Olech, M., Balcerek, M., Nowak, R., Zaluski, T. and Zaluski, D (2022) 'Phenolic acids as chemotaxonomic markers able to differentiate the Euphrasia species', Phytochemistry, 203, pp. 113342. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2022.113342 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2022.113342 - Benedec, D., Oniga, I., Hanganu, D., Vlase, A.M., Ielciu, I., Crisan, G., Fit, N., Niculae, M., Bab, T., Pall, E. and Vlase, L (2024) 'Revealing the Phenolic Composition and the Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Antiproliferative Activities of Two Euphrasia sp. Extracts', Plants, 13(13), pp. 1790. doi:10.3390/plants13131790 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13131790 - Herbal Reality (n.d.) 'Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis): Benefits, Uses, Safety'. Available at: https://www.herbalreality.com/herb/eyebright/ Traditional / reference
https://www.herbalreality.com/herb/eyebright/ - Paduch, R. and colleagues (2014) 'Assessment of Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis L.) Extract Activity in Relation to Human Corneal Cells Using In Vitro Tests'. doi:10.5152/balkanmedj.2014.8377 Traditional / reference
https://doi.org/10.5152/balkanmedj.2014.8377 - Stoss, M., Michels, C., Peter, E., Beutke, R. and Gorter, R.W (2000) 'Prospective cohort trial of Euphrasia single-dose eye drops in conjunctivitis', Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 6(6), pp. 499--508. doi:10.1089/acm.2000.6.499 Clinical study
https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2000.6.499 - European Medicines Agency (HMPC) (2010) 'Public statement on Euphrasia officinalis L. and Euphrasia rostkoviana Hayne, herba'. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-report/final-public-statement-euphrasia-officinalis-l-and-euphrasia-rostkoviana-hayne-herba_en.pdf Traditional / reference
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-report/final-public-statement-euphrasia-officinalis-l-and-euphrasia-rostkoviana-hayne-herba_en.pdf
Generated automatically from the Omnia Sana plant database and its cited sources. For educational purposes only — not medical advice. Always consult a qualified practitioner before using medicinal plants.