Benefits of brotowali, the bitter herbal medicine which has many health benefits: uses, side effects, interactions

Have you ever consumed the brotowali herbal medicine? This traditional Indonesian herbal medicine is believed to help cure various diseases. Even though it has a bitter taste, Brotowali can actually provide benefits for overall health. What are the benefits of Brotowali?

What is brotowali?

Brotowali is included in traditional medicinal plants that have been used for years by many Indonesians to cure diseases, one of which is diabetes. Brotowali which has a Latin name Tinospora crispa is a plant from the Menispermiaceae family. This plant is found in Southeast Asia and northeast India.

What are the benefits of Brotowali?

Brotowali contains many phytochemical compounds that can protect you from various diseases. Some of the phytochemical compounds contained in brotowali are alkaloids, flavonoids, flavone glycosides, triterpenes, diterpenes, diterpenes glycosides, firoditerpenes, lactones, sterols, lignans, and nucleosides. Lots of research has been done to explore the benefits of brotowali. Unfortunately, however, very little has been done to humans.

Some of the benefits of brotowali seen in these studies are:

Helps treat hypertension

In Indonesia, brotowali is believed to help lower high blood pressure. In a 2013 study conducted on mice reported that some of the ingredients in brotowali can lower blood pressure. In addition, brotowali can also inhibit atherosclerotic activity, thus protecting the health of your heart.

Brotowali can delay the development of atherosclerosis in blood vessels by reducing levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low density lipoproteins. The antioxidant properties possessed by Brotowali can also protect the health of the heart and blood vessels.

Helps control diabetes

Not only in Indonesia, but in other countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Guyana, Bangladesh and India, brotowali has been widely used in the treatment of diabetes. Animal studies and cell cultures have shown that brotowali can stimulate insulin production from beta cells present in the pancreas. Brotowali can also increase the absorption of glucose by muscles. So, brotowali can help control diabetes.

Treat skin diseases

Besides being drunk, brotowali can also be used as an external medicine to treat skin diseases, such as scabies. The strong antioxidant and antiradical properties contained in brotowali are proven to help treat skin diseases.

Against allergies

Reporting from WebMD, species extract Tinospora cordifolia demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing allergy-induced sneezing and nasal itching. In addition, brotowali also helps reduce symptoms of nasal congestion and itching due to allergies.

Excessive use of brotowali can be dangerous

Although brotowali is an herbal plant that has many health benefits, excessive use of brotowali has been reported to cause liver and kidney poisoning. Research conducted on mice showed that the brotowali extract at the highest dose, namely 4 g / kg body weight or equivalent to powder brotowali of 28.95 g / kg body weight, has the potential to cause liver and kidney poisoning.

So, it is recommended that you avoid using Brotowali in high doses and for a long time. If you experience signs of liver or kidney poisoning after drinking the herbal brotowali, you should stop using it.