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Andrographis

Supplement botanical immune
Aka: Andrographis paniculata, chuan xin lian, king of bitters
Brands seen in Singapore: California Gold Nutrition, Swanson Vitamins, Planetary Herbals, Nutricost, Terry Naturally
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Studied for cough and sore throat — trial quality poor
When to take
Trials began within 36 h–3 days of onset
Studied for
Trials ran 3–5 days
Pros & cons
Pros
  • 33 RCTS, 7,175 patients — a large evidence base
  • Cough and sore throat improved vs placebo
  • No major adverse events across those trials
Cons
  • Trial quality was overall poor (hu 2017)
  • Tga: commonest reports were hypersensitivity
  • SG bars cough, cold and flu claims (table 6)
Sources
  1. Andrographis paniculata (Chuān Xīn Lián) for symptomatic relief of acute respiratory tract infections in adults and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Hu et al., PLoS One 2017) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “A. Paniculata improved cough (n = 596, standardised mean difference SMD: -0.39, 95% confidence interval CI [-0.67, -0.10]) and sore throat (n = 314, SMD: -1.13, 95% CI [-1.37, -0.89]) when compared with placebo”
  2. Hu et al., PLoS One 2017 — results and conclusions on trial quality and adverse events · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Thirty-three RCTs (7175 patients) were included … No major AEs were reported and minor AEs were mainly gastrointestinal. The methodological quality of included trials was overall poor.”
  3. Hu et al., PLoS One 2017 — included placebo-controlled trials (dose, frequency, duration, time from onset) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “AP mono (capsule) Placebo capsules, 300mg, bid, 5d … AP mono (tablet) Placebo tablet, 400mg, tid, 5d … Within 3d … Within 36h”
  4. Hu et al., PLoS One 2017 — safety discussion, Australian TGA pharmacovigilance analysis · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “the recent therapeutic goods administration (TGA) pharmacovigilance analysis, which revealed most common AEs associated with A. Paniculata were hypersensitivity or allergic reactions … ADRs tend to be related to highly concentrated methanol extracts”
  5. Hu et al., PLoS One 2017 — safety discussion, EMA toxicity data gaps · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The European Medicines Agency (EMA) reports no acute or genotoxicity data on Andrographis extracts but there is a possibilty of high doses causing reproductive toxicity, with decreases in sperm counts and motility”
  6. Hu et al., PLoS One 2017 — safety discussion, drug interaction signal · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Animal research showed andrographolide-induced induction of CYP1A2, indicating an interaction with theophylline”
  7. Hu et al., PLoS One 2017 — eligibility criteria of the included trials · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Exclusion also applied to trials that included patients who required hospital admission … had a known immune deficiency, or were pregnant or breastfeeding”
  8. HSA Singapore — Health Supplements Guidelines GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. No. 020 (January 2026), clause 6.6 and Table 6 (diseases/conditions not allowed for health supplements) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “HS must not be labelled, advertised or promoted for any specific medicinal purpose … Respiratory system: Asthma, tuberculosis, bronchitis, sinusitis, cough, cold, flu”
  9. HSA Singapore — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. No. 001 (October 2025), Annex A (118 rows) and Annex B (4 rows) — andrographis / Andrographis paniculata not listed in either (alphabetical neighbours 4. Adonis vernalis, 5. Antiaris toxicaria) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list.”
  10. HSA Singapore — Health Supplements Guidelines GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. No. 020 (January 2026), clause 4.8 with Tables 4–5 (vitamins and minerals only — no botanical rows) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “4.8 HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5.”
  11. iHerb Singapore — Andrographis category page, default listing order · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “1 - 17 of 17 results: California Gold Nutrition, Andrographis Immune with AP-Bio; Swanson Vitamins, Full Spectrum Andrographis Paniculata; Planetary Herbals, Full Spectrum Andrographis; Nutricost, Andrographis Extract; Terry Naturally, Andrographis EP80”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.