Ishwari

Aristolochia indica L.

Ishwari (Aristolochia indica L.) is a plant used in Ayurveda, from the Aristolochiaceae family. [Characterization of the aqueous extract of the root of Aristolochia indica: evaluation of its traditional use as an antidote for snake bites](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23174522/).

Key facts
Botanical name	Aristolochia indica L.
Family	Aristolochiaceae
Order	Piperales
Pharmacopoeia status	WHO and IARC have classified aristolochic acids as Group 1 human carcinogens; European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued public warnings against all Aristolochia-containing products; banned in EU, US, and many Asian countries
Taxon identifiers	GBIF 7313567 · Wikidata Q3595780 · NCBI Taxonomy 158548

Names and identification

Language	Name
English	Ishwari
Latin/Botanical	Aristolochia indica L.

Key Phytochemical Constituents

Aristolochic acid I and II (CARCINOGENIC)
Aristolactams
Aristolochine and aristolochene
Ishwarone and ishwarane (sesquiterpenes)
Cepharanthine (bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid)
Aristolindiquinone

How does it work?

CARCINOGENIC: Aristolochic acid forms DNA adducts (dA-AA and dG-AA) leading to characteristic A:T to T:A transversion mutations in TP53 tumor suppressor gene
Nephrotoxic: Causes progressive tubulointerstitial fibrosis and renal failure (aristolochic acid nephropathy)
Anti-snake venom (traditional): Root extract shows neutralization of phospholipase A2 and protease activities of snake venoms in vitro
Anti-inflammatory: Aristolactams show COX-2 inhibition but this benefit does not justify the carcinogenic risk

Which traditional uses are supported by research?

Snake bite antidote (Sarpa-visha-hara) - partial in vitro validation of anti-venom properties but UNSAFE for human use due to aristolochic acid content
Emmenagogue (Artava-janana) - traditional use confirmed pharmacologically but CONTRAINDICATED due to carcinogenicity
Anti-inflammatory (Shotha-hara) - confirmed but completely outweighed by cancer and kidney damage risk
NOTE: ALL traditional uses of Aristolochia indica are SUPERSEDED by safety concerns; use of this herb is NOT recommended under any circumstances

What do recent clinical trials show?

Bhattacharjee P, Bhattacharyya D 2013. Characterization of the aqueous extract of the root of Aristolochia indica: evaluation of its traditional use as an antidote for snake bites. Journal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 23174522 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2012.10.056
Identified aristolochic acid content of root extract as 3.08 +/- 1.88 x 10^-3 mg/mL; acute and sub-chronic studies showed no toxicity at lower doses, but high doses caused liver and kidney damage.

2 further claims previously listed here could not be traced to a published paper and have been removed. An absence here means we could not identify the source, not that no work exists.

Recent safety updates

BANNED in multiple countries including USA, Canada, Germany, UK, France, Belgium, Austria, and Japan due to confirmed carcinogenicity and nephrotoxicity of aristolochic acids
IARC Group 1 carcinogen (confirmed human carcinogen); causes aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN) and significantly increases risk of urothelial/bladder cancer
Even low aristolochic acid concentrations pose cumulative cancer risk with chronic exposure; no safe dose established for internal human use; traditional Ayurvedic Shodhana methods do NOT reliably eliminate aristolochic acids

Dosage forms and preparation

Dosage Forms: Churna (powder), Kashayam (decoction), Capsule, Swarasa (fresh juice)

Standard Dosage: 1-3g powder twice daily; 30-60ml decoction

Bioavailability: Aristolochia indica root contains aristolochic acids (CAUTION: nephrotoxic and carcinogenic) and terpenoids. Aristolochic acids are well absorbed orally but are highly toxic. REGULATORY WARNING: Aristolochic acid-containing herbs are BANNED or restricted in many countries (USA, EU, UK, Australia). Modern formulations must demonstrate absence of aristolochic acids below detection limits or use aristolochic acid-free chemotypes if available.

Optimal Timing: Traditional use only under strict physician supervision; NOT recommended for modern formulation

Standardized Extract: NOT RECOMMENDED for modern extract standardization due to aristolochic acid toxicity. Traditional aqueous decoction with Shodhana only under qualified Vaidya supervision.

Shelf Life: Not applicable for modern commercial products due to regulatory restrictions

Storage: If held for research purposes: controlled substance storage, clearly labeled as toxic/restricted material. Not for commercial distribution in most markets.

Marker Compounds: Aristolochic acid I (toxic marker - must be below detection/regulatory limit), Aristolochic acid II (toxic marker), Aristolactam, Ceryl alcohol, Beta-sitosterol

Extraction Methods

Aqueous decoction (traditional)
Hydroalcoholic extraction - MUST test for aristolochic acid content
Traditional Shodhana processing (may partially reduce but not eliminate toxic components)

Synergistic Combinations

With Maricha for snakebite antidote (traditional use)
With Pippali for respiratory conditions (traditional use only)

Published research

Literature indexed in PubMed that concerns this subject, grouped by study type. A paper appearing here is a record of what has been published, not evidence that the subject works, and laboratory or animal results do not transfer to people. Study titles link to PubMed so you can read the source rather than take our word.

Other clinical studies and reviews4

Bernstein N, Akram M, Yaniv-Bachrach Z and others. 2021. Is it safe to consume traditional medicinal plants during pregnancy?Phytotherapy research : PTR. PMID 33164294 · doi:10.1002/ptr.6935
Das A, Kumar GS. 2018. Natural Aristolochia Alkaloid Aristololactam-β-D-glucoside: Interaction with Biomacromolecules and Correlation to the Biological PerspectivesMini reviews in medicinal chemistry. PMID 29473499 · doi:10.2174/1389557518666180222170050
Heinrich M, Chan J, Wanke S and others. 2009. Local uses of Aristolochia species and content of nephrotoxic aristolochic acid 1 and 2--a global assessment based on bibliographic sourcesJournal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 19505558 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.05.028
Kamboj VP, Dhawan BN. 1982. Research on plants for fertility regulation in IndiaJournal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 6752588 · doi:10.1016/0378-8741(82)90004-6

Laboratory and animal studies8

Sivaraj D, Butcher RJ, Jasinski JP and others. 2022. Antioxidant and Antivenom Potential of an Essential Oil, 4-(2-Oxo-propyl)-cyclopentane-1,3-dione, and Allantoin Derived from the Polyherbal Combination of Aristolochia indica L. and Piper nigrum LEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM. PMID 35295928 · doi:10.1155/2022/4797884
Dey A, Hazra AK, Mukherjee A and others. 2021. Chemotaxonomy of the ethnic antidote Aristolochia indica for aristolochic acid content: Implications of anti-phospholipase activity and genotoxicity studyJournal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 32980485 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2020.113416
Bhattacharyya R, Bhattacharjee S, Pathak BK and others. 2020. Heptameric Peptide Interferes with Amyloid-β Aggregation by Structural Reorganization of the Toxic OligomersACS omega. PMID 32656435 · doi:10.1021/acsomega.0c01730
Sivaraj D, Shanmugam S, Rajan M and others. 2018. Evaluation of Aristolochia indica L. and Piper nigrum L. methanol extract against centipede Scolopendra moristans L. using Wistar albino rats and screening of bioactive compounds by high pressure liquid chromatography: a polyherbal formulationBiomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie. PMID 29793322 · doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2017.11.114
Naz R, Ayub H, Nawaz S and others. 2017. Antimicrobial activity, toxicity and anti-inflammatory potential of methanolic extracts of four ethnomedicinal plant species from Punjab, PakistanBMC complementary and alternative medicine. PMID 28595608 · doi:10.1186/s12906-017-1815-z
Bhattacharjee P, Bera I, Chakraborty S and others. 2017. Aristolochic acid and its derivatives as inhibitors of snake venom L-amino acid oxidaseToxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology. PMID 28803055 · doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2017.08.003
Bhattacharjee P, Bhattacharyya D. 2013. Characterization of the aqueous extract of the root of Aristolochia indica: evaluation of its traditional use as an antidote for snake bitesJournal of ethnopharmacology. PMID 23174522 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2012.10.056
Mathew JE, Kaitheri SK, Dinakaranvachala S and others. 2011. Anti-inflammatory, Antipruritic and Mast Cell Stabilizing Activity of Aristolochia IndicaIranian journal of basic medical sciences. PMID 23493617

Cite this page. Age Ayurveda. “Ishwari.” Age Ayurveda Nighantu. Last reviewed 18 September 2026. https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/herb/ishwari/
Machine-readable source: Markdown. Reviewed 2026-09-18.

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