Mountain knotgrass

Recurrent small kidney stones with gritty urine, low back ache and burning, in a patient who runs hot

Cystitis that keeps returning with scanty, hot, painful urination and mild swelling of the ankles

Sluggish urine flow with a sense of fullness and heat in the lower abdomen

Overview. Aerva lanata is a woolly, sprawling perennial of the amaranth family found on dry ground, roadsides and field margins across tropical Africa, the Arabian peninsula, India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Plants of the World Online currently places it in the genus Ouret, but almost all medical literature uses Aerva lanata. The whole plant, and especially the leafy flowering tops and root, is used in Ayurveda and Siddha as one of the plants called pashanabheda, the stone breaker, and in Sri Lanka as polpala, a household diuretic tea. It is a cooling, astringent urinary herb that combines gentle diuresis with anti-inflammatory and stone-inhibiting activity.

Clinical Notes. Think of Aerva lanata for the hot, irritated urinary tract: burning micturition, gravel, recurrent low-grade cystitis, and the ache of small calculi trying to pass. It sits well in long courses aimed at reducing stone recurrence.

Ayurvedic Profile. Rasa: kashaya (astringent), tikta (bitter), madhura (sweet). Virya: sheeta (cooling). Vipaka: katu (pungent). Dosha: pacifies kapha and pitta; may aggravate vata in excess.