Dronapushpi (Leucas cephalotes)
Leucas cephalotes
Ayurvedic Herbalism
Ayurvedic Herbalism

Dronapushpi

Leucas cephalotes

Also known as spider wort (regional, misleading), gumma, thumbai (shared with Leucas aspera), white dead nettle of India, Dronapushpi, Drona, Phalepushpa.

WarmingDryingTaste: PungentTaste: BitterTaste: Salty

Leucas cephalotes is an erect annual herb of the mint family with square hairy stems and dense terminal heads of small white flowers, springing up as a weed in fields, fallow land and roadsides across the plains and lower hills of India and Nepal after the monsoon. Ayurveda knows it as Dronapushpi, the flower shaped like a leaf cup, a hot, pungent, bitter herb for fever, catarrh, cough and jaundice, and it is one of the most widely used household plants of rural India, particularly as fresh juice dropped into the nose for head colds and sinus congestion.

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AntipyreticAnti-inflammatoryExpectorantDecongestant (nasal, as fresh juice)HepatoprotectiveHypoglycemicAntioxidantAntibacterialAntiviral (experimental)AnthelminticInsecticidal and antiparasitic (topical)Digestive stimulant

Indications what the tradition reached for it in

Specific indications

A cold with a blocked nose, dull frontal headache and a heavy head where a few drops of the fresh juice in each nostril open the passages and clear the head, a use every rural household in India knows

Recurrent low grade fever with chills, poor appetite and a coated tongue in a damp season, the vishama jvara picture, where the decoction is given with ginger and long pepper

A chesty kapha patient with a wet cough, sinus fullness and sluggish digestion who needs one warming aromatic herb to address all three

Yellowing of the eyes and skin with loss of appetite in a mild hepatitis, where the folk practice of nasal drops and decoction accompanies proper liver care

Safety

Pregnancy: Avoid medicinal doses in pregnancy as a precaution: no published safety class is known to us, no human or animal reproductive data exist, and the herb is heating and sharp; the cooked plant as an occasional vegetable is regarded as acceptable.

The record lists 7 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.

In practice

The Ayurvedic practitioner uses Dronapushpi as a fever and kapha herb of the humble sort, gathered fresh rather than bought. Its best known application is nasya: the fresh juice of the leaves and flowers, two to four drops in each nostril, for blocked nose, sinusitis, frontal headache and, in folk practice, for jaundice, where the tradition holds that the yellowness drains through the nose.

In Ayurveda

Rasa: katu (pungent), tikta (bitter), lavana (salty). Virya: ushna (heating). Vipaka: katu (pungent). Guna: laghu (light), ruksha (dry), tikshna (sharp). Dosha: pacifies kapha and vata; aggravates pitta in excess. Karma: jvaraghna (relieves fever); kaphahara (reduces kapha); kasahara (relieves cough); shvasahara (relieves dyspnea); krimighna (anthelmintic); deepana (kindles digestion); pachana (digestive); kamalahara (relieves jaundice); shothahara (reduces swelling); vishaghna (counters poisons, especially snake and insect bites, folk); netrya (benefits the eyes, juice); rochana (improves taste and appetite). Classical indications: jvara (fever, especially intermittent and malarial fever); vishama jvara (intermittent fever); kasa (cough); shvasa (dyspnea and asthma); pratishyaya (rhinitis and head cold); kamala (jaundice); krimi (worms); shotha (swelling); agnimandya (weak digestion); aruchi (anorexia); kandu and pama (itching and scabies); sarpa damsha (snake bite, folk use). The whole flowering plant is the drug, used fresh as swarasa dropped into the nostrils for head cold, sinusitis and jaundice, decocted as kwatha for fever and cough, powdered as churna, made into a paste for skin disease and swellings, and eaten as a bitter pot herb in some regions. Classical formulations: Dronapushpi swarasa (nasya), Dronapushpyadi kwatha, Drona taila, Dronapushpi churna, Kamala hara yoga (folk), Jvarahara kashaya (regional variants). Described in: Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, Raja Nighantu, Dhanvantari Nighantu, Kaiyadeva Nighantu, Madanapala Nighantu, Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India.

Dosing as the sources wrote it

PreparationAs writtenMetric
Swarasa, nasya2-4 drops fresh juice in each nostril once or twice daily0.04-0.08 mL
Swarasa, internal10-20 mL fresh plant juice once or twice daily10-20 mL
Kwatha30-60 mL decoction twice daily30-60 mL
Churna3-6 g powdered whole plant daily in divided doses with honey or warm water3000-6000 mg
Kalka, topical5-10 g leaf paste applied to the affected area once or twice daily5000-10000 mg

Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.

From the sources

Overview. Leucas cephalotes is an erect annual herb of the mint family with square hairy stems and dense terminal heads of small white flowers, springing up as a weed in fields, fallow land and roadsides across the plains and lower hills of India and Nepal after the monsoon. Ayurveda knows it as Dronapushpi, the flower shaped like a leaf cup, a hot, pungent, bitter herb for fever, catarrh, cough and jaundice, and it is one of the most widely used household plants of rural India, particularly as fresh juice dropped into the nose for head colds and sinus congestion.

Clinical Notes. The Ayurvedic practitioner uses Dronapushpi as a fever and kapha herb of the humble sort, gathered fresh rather than bought. Its best known application is nasya: the fresh juice of the leaves and flowers, two to four drops in each nostril, for blocked nose, sinusitis, frontal headache and, in folk practice, for jaundice, where the tradition holds that the yellowness drains through the nose.

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