Eclipta alba
Summary of Eclipta alba
Primary Information, Benefits, Effects, and Important Facts
Eclipta Alba (False Daisy) is a herb that has traditionally been used in Ayurvedic medicine for being a liver tonic (for which it is one of the more effective herbs apparently) and having beneficial effects on diabetes, eye health, and hair growth.
In regards to these claims, it appears to have some anti-diabetic effects in animal studies with the mechanism of action not yet known. Hair regrowth has been noted in repeated studies with the petroleum ether extract mostly, and its potency rivals that of Minoxidil at 2% solution; combination thrapy of Eclipta Alba with two other herbs (Citrullus Colocynthis and Cuscuta Reflexa) has outperformed Minoxidil according to one study.
Eye health does not have any direct studies on it despite its historical claims, although the one human intervention noted that 7.5% of the sample consuming 3g of the leaves daily claimed they had better eyesight; this study was blinded, and constitutes the only evidence for eye health claims. In a way it is promising (3g of the leaves themselves over 60 days improving eye health even when paricipants were unaware this could be an effect of treatment) but it does not constitute sufficient evidence in and of itself.
Beyond the possible eye/hair benefits and the liver protection, other possible benefits of Eclipta Alba are lessened anger (two animal studies, moderate oral doses), pain reduction (dose dependent, which outperfomed Aspirin when consumed at higher doses of 500mg/kg rats; 80mg/kg ethanolic extract in humans) a reduction in blood pressure, diuretic effects, with at least one study suggesting some benefit to the immune system (increasing macrophage and white blood cell activity).
A possibly promising herb for wellness and beauty, but requires more studies on it.
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Currently, the only human study using Eclipta Alba merely consumed 3,000mg of the leaves. This study did not use a particular extract, but crushed and encapsulated the leaves themselves.
Benefits are seen with the petroleum ether extract on hair growth (up to 5% of solution when applied topically) and the ethanolic extract for pain reduction (dose dependent up to 500mg/kg in rats, which is 80mg/kg in human equivalence).
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Human Effect Matrix
The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (it excludes animal and in vitro studies) to tell you what effects eclipta alba has on your body, and how strong these effects are.
| Grade | Level of Evidence [show legend] |
|---|---|
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Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials |
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Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled |
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Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies |
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Uncontrolled or observational studies only |
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Level of Evidence
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The amount of high quality evidence. The more
evidence, the more we can trust the results.
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Outcome |
Magnitude of effect
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The direction and size of the supplement's impact on
each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.
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Consistency of research results
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Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or
VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.
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Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Notable
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- See study |
Decreases of blood pressure in unhealthy persons using eclipta alba have occurred by 15% (mean arterial pressure)
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Notable
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- See study |
Urine volume has been noted to be increased by 34%, which is fairly notable as it outperforms other nutraceuticals
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Notable
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- See study |
Decreases in LDL-C have been noted with eclipta alba in hypertensive persons to 24%, which is quite a significant reduction.
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Minor
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- See study |
A decrease in biomarkers of lipid peroxidation has been noted, possible related to an increase in serum Vitamin E concentrations
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Minor
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- See study |
A decrease in total cholesterol has been noted with supplementation of eclipta alba
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Minor
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- See study |
Decreases in triglycerides have been noted, but not to a remarkable degree
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Minor
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- See study |
Decreases in fasting vLDL have been noted
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- | - See study |
No detectable influence on HDL-C cholesterol
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Things to Note
Is a Form Of
Primary Function:
Also Known As
False Daisy, Yerba de tago, Kehraj, Karisalankanni
Do Not Confuse With
Ecklonia Cava (sounds similar), Morus Alba or Basella Alba (similar species names, different herbs)
Goes Well With
Piper Longum (antioxidant effects in vitro)
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